Taking the time to assess what went wrong this season can provide ample opportunity to improve your chances for success in the season to come. This guide is based on personal experience, outlines possible scenario and how to fix it.
Fatigue
Did you burn out?
Where you prone to excessive aches and pains?
Did you get sick easily and too often?
Remedy: First rest, and then start easy and slow.
Purposely ceasing training for a few weeks will give your body and mind time to rest, rejuvenate and rebuild freshness and motivation.
After rest and recovery, start the season easy and slow! And.....
Sleep more.
Eat more of your favourite foods.
Include one lazy day.
Include one to two days of cross-training such as running, hiking, walking, swimming or paddling.
Increase your weekly load by 10%.
Gut Problems
Have you had tummy trouble while racing? Did you struggle to find the right combination of hydration and nutrition?
Remedy: Fine-tune training and race-day nutrition.
Practice race-day nutrition often and early in the season. On your longer rides, get into the habit of waking up at the same time as you would on race day and eating a potential race-day breakfast, and during training, eat and drink what you eat and drink on race day.
Rules of thumb....
Your intake should be high if you are bigger, if the intensity is higher, and or if the duration is longer. Eat and drink small amounts early and often to make it easier for your digestive system to process and absorb the intake. Eat solid foods first, and save the gels for later because gels are easier to digest when fatigued.
Chronic Injury
Did you injure yourself while training or during a race?
Remedy: Lift weights and include abdominal strength work.
For most adults, a good portion of muscle strength loss is due to reduced lifestyle and work-related activities. Including strength training will lower the risk of injury and create a durable well-rounded body that is necessary for longevity in the sport as well as when we old and grey.
Fitness Plateau
Are your result staying the same?
Has your endurance, speed and strength returned to a former or less developed state?
Remedy: Mix it up!
Include variation. The same training may lead to the same results over and over. Change the outcome by changing the training load, volume and or type.
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That is it. Thank you for reading. I hope you found it to be a useful resource. Questions, comments and high fives! Drop them here.
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