We’re at the time of year when you might be starting to think about your next year’s race plans, and your big goals. There are many factors that need to come together to achieve success, and the following is by no means an exhaustive list, but are arguably 3 of the most important elements to think about and try to get right as you move through winter training into the spring next year.
November to March time is a crucial time to set you up for a strong build into your races next year, so make the most of this time now!
To perform better you need:
- Individualized, specific training for you. Are you doing the right training, at the right time, every time, for you? This is where having a coach who has the time to check in on your training regularly and for you to discuss things with really helps.
- Adequate sleep/recovery – we only adapt from the sessions we recover from. If you do not have enough recovery and sleep you will not get the adaptations that lead to increased fitness. You want to aim for 7+ hours a night. There is no point doing a hard intense session if you are under-recovered and under-fuelled. You will not be able to hit the intensities required that would lead to the maximum improvements in your fitness and fulfil the aims of the session. It takes around 24h to recover from a training session, but we know we are often all training daily (sometimes twice a day), so you need to be constantly thinking about your recovery and get the timing right to maximise your recovery – even harder to get right when time is not a luxury most of us as Age Groupers have. Nutrition also plays a huge role in recovery. So, on to nutrition…
- Good nutrition. Repair. Protein is key – you want to be getting enough protein in the recovery window, at main meals and in snacks throughout the day, ideally from real food not supplements (real food has higher nutrient value, and can supply other macronutrients at the same time, supplements do have a time and place though but that is for another discussion!). Refuel. Carbohydrate is king here. What you need depends on where you are in the season, body comp goals and what session you have just done. Revitalise. Getting all the vitamins and minerals back into your system to help you recover from the stress of the session you’ve just done. Rehydrate. This again depends on your own sweat rate and saltiness of your sweat. Also, within the area of nutrition do not underfuel – if you feel like a nap would help in the day/you reach for sugar or caffeine in the afternoon/you bonk in longer sessions or fade at the back end of sessions – these are all signs that you are underfuelled. Or, if you are constantly getting sick or run down and lots of niggling injuries it could be a sign you are not fuelling adequately and are entering into a state of low energy availability. Again, this is for another discussion as nutrition is a huge topic, but being aware of this at the outset is important.
As you can see there is lots to get right: fitting in all the training, getting enough intensity, allowing time for recovery and keeping on top of your nutrition. If you have the option to consider coaching, then this is where a coach can really help maximise your potential.
So when planning for how you are going to approach next year’s race season think about all these factors to hit that sweetspot and nail it!
Kat Berry Coaching 