Goals and plans - we need them!

I believe that it is vital to have goals in life.

It is the same with track cycling. Sometimes the goal can be big and audacious and other times it can be simple. Having these goals energizes one to push through to achieve ones dreams.

Visions, missions, strategies and plans are all part of the corporate world. Years ago I've started to apply some of the lessons that I've learned during my time in the retail sector to cycling and I've experienced that planning and executing my training plans successfully in support of my cycling goals has yielded very good results.

I've referred to the value of miles in the legs in one of my previous blogs, but generally ones training program should be in support of your own goals e.g. if your goal is to be fit and healthy and to train regularly then you might set a goal to train 4 times a week for 30 minutes to an hour per day. If your goal is for instance to be the top pursuit rider in the club, province or country then a more structured approach in terms of training and racing will be needed.

We have wet and cold weather from May to August in the Western Cape where I live and therefore I need to be creative with my training to ensure that I can execute my plan. My training plan is rather simple at a high level and starts with a recovery phase in May, a general phase in June and then leading into specialization. I'm happy to follow this long term approach since I am able to see through a longer term plan. Some riders want to be fit for more races and in this case they will adapt their high level programs in support of that.

Example of a high level training plan:

The high level program has a training period linked to each month e.g. transition, preparation and competition. Each of these periods are broken down in a phase(s) e.g. Transition has regeneration as its phase. Preparation has general and specialization as phases.

Each phase can then be broken down further into activities per week and day.

Example of a phase (regeneration) broken down to a week and days:

The specialization phases can be much more complex than the above sample and would include specialized workouts for each day. The racing phase will list the preperation races and important races in the weekly and daily activities. I believe that training schedules should be put together in a support of a goal. Therefore one needs to start with defining the goal and work back to put the plan together in support of that goal.

There are a few points that can help one to achieve goals and these include:

• A good support structure e.g. family, training partners, coaches and/or mentors.
• Balanced diet & good nutrition
• Ample rest & recovery
• A good training plan that suits your needs
• Executing the plan and/or adapting it based on progress made
• Positive attitude

I'll discuss the above points futher in my blog, but today I had a prime example of my support structure in action. I had a busy week at work and it was cold and overcast this morning with rain clouds distantly looming. However my training partner confirmed yesterday that we are going to ride. This pressure was just the motivation that I needed to get out of "club duvet" in the morning to go on our 2 hour road ride through the Cape winelands. The ride was fantastic and I even included the steeper climb into our usual route. The skies opened during the last last 10 minutes of the ride, but this did not dampen my sense of achievement. The mission for the day was accomplished and 1 more day of the plan could be ticked off the list.

Happy planning and keep the pedals turning!