Feb 12
12
Staying on a one way road
One of the biggest challenges I have found as a participant of various sports is following the end of the road before I turn down the side streets. What do I mean?
There are as the old saying goes many routes to the same destination. If you point north and keep driving everyone ends up somewhere in the Arctic sticking their flag up on the hill. Question is how many die off ,get lost or run out of energy getting there?
The longer we travel the greater the chance we’ll run into someone going the same way as we are – albeit with a different mode of transport or different stopover points.
Do we follow them if they look like they “know” or keep going our own path?
Learning about how other athletes get “there” and reading lots of “stuff” you start to question if a swing off the track (even for a day or two) might be beneficial
There are occassions when you find out you have been going due south and running into someone who has a clue is just whats needed.
However many of us are making progress, just different tracks?
Who has the best one? It takes a friggen long time to find out
Generally I like the idea of staying on the same road for at least a couple of racing seasons. If you are working with a new coach you have to give them at least 18mths-2years (arguably more if you are at a high level) to find out if they have a better route for you
To lengthen my analogy- as you progress towards the pole things change season to season- the road can freeze or hit impassable mountains
I remember Faris Al Sultan said he had found that he had to change the program every 18mths-2 years or so because as a pro with his level of consistency day in day out things just eventually went stale. Adaptions slowed down. The sports sci guys agree with that principal. However dont get dellusional. If you cant string a basic week together for 40-50 weeks of the year consistently then you are unlikely to fall into this bracket. You havent stayed “on the road”
When you start out as a new coach you might think your road is the fast one or you know how to avoid the frozen up old routes. The longer you stay at it the longer you realise there are so many routes – and so dependant upon the individual
the biggest battle- picking one and sticking to it. If there was a reason to train a certain “way” at the start of the season just stick on it . When you hear new “stuff” file it away- dont block your ears- but dont worry about applying it there and then.
Wait till you at least get to the end of that road. Then you can decide where you are going to turn. That more than anything is going to lead to progress
