Tuesday 13 March 2018

Having a plan

I am a big fan of having a plan which is a fact that I have written about numerous times before. A plan for training, a plan for a racing, a plan for nutrition. In long course racing having a plan is about preparation, not having a plan is just relying on luck.

Anyway, this morning I was reminded about the importance of heading into each session with a plan. When I coach people I tell them that each session should have a point, whether the session is about increasing threshold, building volume or recovering, each session should have a reason. Once you know what the session is for then it is much easier to put together a plan for the session. Once you have a plan for the session that makes it much easier to stick to the 'why' of what you are doing. 

The issue this morning is that I went into my session without a plan. Or rather I went in with a plan, but it wasn't a very good one. 

My plan for the session was to meet some friends and do whatever they were doing. Not a particularly complicated plan I will admit. I had no contingency to that plan so when the predictable happened and I couldn't find my friends. Once my plan A for the session went out the window I was sort at a loose end and I ended up wandering around 20 minutes sort of aimlessly. 

The point of the session was a threshold workout and so I finally got myself together and did a generic threshold set, but really it was not a particularly efficient session. As a result it wasn't a particularly fulfilling session either ending up with me feeling just a bit frustrated. Some exercise is certainly better than no exercise, but this was an example where the exercise that was done was not of great quality.

It was a good reminder of the basic principals behind session planning. Even though I had plans to meet friends it is the sort of session where missing them is a realistic occurrence (it has happened before) so really I should have known better. For somebody who is such a big advocate of always going in with a plan it was a fairly frustrating. 

Oh well, lesson learnt. Plan definitely in place for tomorrow.


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