You're Not Supposed to Set PB's in Each Workout!
It is human nature to want to hit personal bests each and every time we head out the door for a training session, let alone a race!
That's why we find ourselves going over the same out & back course both running and cycling or maybe it's a favorite loop. Swimming, that's the easy one because we know it's measured. We do this purely to see if we can beat the 'control' - our average times.
Experience suggests and I would say has proven that we all have those days where we cannot even come close to good or even average splits, times etcetera let alone a PB! Conversely you will also experience those days where you're just on fire... don't we love those days...
The problem, not that it's really a problem at all, is that we just don't think logically... we think 'man I suck today' and this can lead to a negative downward spiral and we end up throwing in the towel, when maybe it's really not called for.
There is a BIG difference between being tired and not as fast and being so tired that you need extra recovery. Learning to LISTEN to your body will help you decipher this (see tips below).
What we NEED to remember is we are consistently training in a certain state of fatigue. This is designed. So with that in mind, some sessions, potentially more then most, you might be gunning for PB's, your putting in PB's efforts but the times just aren't showing it...
This is ok and normal. It's the effort that counts, because IF you were fresh putting in the same amount of effort, there is no doubt the clock would read differently. But we don't want to be fresh in training because training hard on a fresh body breaks us down quicker and results in longer recovery!
Feeling more tired then usual when you wake up or just not hitting those times, then use the tips below to develop greater intuition.
Test Driving the Body
It's better to make an informed decision rather than a subjective one, so head out the door anyway and warm up very easy for 20 minutes or so. Then...
- If you feel better, try to do the scheduled session.
- If you feel the same (still tired, but not worse), do an easy session and adjust as indicated below.
- If you feel worse, pack in the session and head home.
Adjusting a Session
How to adjust a session when you're tired but do not feel worse after a warm up. Sometimes you'll find that you do come good and if you have done the above and below, we have kept consistency going which is what results are all about.
Lets say you session called for a 30 minute TT (that's all out) after a god warm up. However after your 'test drive' you still feel tired but no worse. What we want to do is lightly stimulate the system that is meant to be trained without overly stressing your aerobic system.
So opt for multiple 3-5 minute efforts with recoveries rather then hammering for the whole 30 minutes. This way we stimulate what we want and keep that system engaged for the week and haven't unduly stressed our aerobic system.
Don't let the slower times get to you, just give the best of what you have each day and follow the guidelines above and when you do that... good things happen in both training and racing. Remember training and life are about qualitative experiences and quantitative ones!
Enjoy your Training
Kristian