Off-Season SMART Goals

Triathlon season is over for most of us in the north and marathon season is coming to a close over the next month as well. So what do we do now? Taking some down time is a great idea - allowing more time to relax, step away from the super structure we have been used to for the past number of months, spend time with family and friends, maybe work on your weaknesses (just going to put it here - get in the pool is a good one for most triathletes) and start thinking about your next season of races and goals.

If you are going to work on goals, think it out clearly and be SMART about it.  SMART goals aren’t just for businesses, they are just as important for athletes, because if they aren’t clear and concise, you may jeopardize your season.

S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Timely

Be Specific – This needs to include the 5Ws – Why, When, What, Where, Who?  Who is involved in this goal? When is it? Where is it?  What is my goal?  And most importantly, Why do I want to set this goal - make this personal, as you’ll want this to be a driving force when the times get tough.

Measurable – How are you going to measure your progress?  Logging your progress is important.  Have a baseline and go from there.  Measure it daily, weekly, and/or monthly.  Without logging your progress, how do you know if you are on track and will reach your goal?  For my athletes, I use an online program called Training Peaks.  We can schedule their workouts, track their progress and see where they started and will finish.

Attainable – With present conditions or restrictions in your life are your goals attainable? Do you have little ones that require being taken to practice 4 times a week? Do you work 5 or 6 days a week 10-12 hours? Do you have a 2 hour commute, each way? Do you have complete control over your schedule? With an attainable goal, you will be able to develop the attitudes, abilities, skills and financial capacity to reach them.

Realistic – A goal must represent something you are able and willing to work towards.  You are the only one who knows if it can be too high or realistic.  Setting your goals high, will make you work harder to achieve them.  But set them too high and you will get frustrated and lose interest. The same will hold true if they are set too low, you will get bored and lose interest.

Timely – You need a time frame for your goal.  A start and a finish.  Without these, you don’t have a sense of urgency. Therefore, minimizing your chances of achieving your goals.

So an example of your SMART goal could look like this:

It is January 1, I will run the XYZ Marathon on May 4 in a time of 3:30. This is possible as I have the time available and have recently run a half marathon in 1:45 without properly training, therefore, with a plan in place by a coach, I will be able to do this.

Once you have your SMART goals, make sure you write them down!!  It’s one thing to have them in your mind, but if it isn’t on “paper”, then they are just thoughts and wishes! Also, go back and review and reassess your goals once in a while.  Sometimes, unforeseen life events may slow down your progress or maybe you are attaining your goals faster than anticipated.  Either way, it’s always good to go back and check in on yourself.

Meet coach Eric D'Arcy, Limitless Endurance Coaching, NCCP Coach and certified cycling instructor.

I have been coaching athletes towards their running and triathlon goals since 2006.  I work with athletes of all abilities – from those just learning to run to ultra endurance competitors. I believe that open communication between coach and athlete is crucial. I can help you to reach your goals in a healthy and well-reasoned manner – however, your open and ongoing communication with me is essential to this process. I continue to learn and develop as a coach and as an athlete in order to better understand and address your needs. I create individualized plans based on each athlete and their personal goals. An effective plan will fit into your life (not overrun it), so that it will become part of your everyday lifestyle – which in turn, will allow you to stay motivated and continue to grow and have fun with your training and racing activities.

Threshold Set for the Run by coach Tara

3k, 2k, 1K. 

Training for a fall ½ or full marathon?  This set is a great way to build in some tempo / threshold.

• Begin with a 2k warm up and start the 3k at marathon or ½ marathon pace, the 2k at ½ marathon to 10k pace and the 1k at 10-5k pace.  
• For recovery between sets try 90-120s of easy walk/jog. 
• Finish off with a 2k cool down for a solid 10k run.

Meet Tara Postnikoff, Hon BA, RNCP, NCCP-certified coach

As the owner and founder of HEAL™ (HEALTHY EATING ACTIVE LIVING™), Tara Postnikoff has been coaching people through healthy eating and active living since 2006.  As a sports nutritionist, triathlon coach and personal trainer, Tara is passionate about helping athletes eat better and perform better and focuses on a balanced approach to eating, training and life in general.   As a Triathlete, Tara over the past 15 years, has competed in all distances from Try-a-tri to Ironman, and is currently training for the Ironman 70.3 WC in Utah.

Mobility Flow by coach PK

Here is a link to Coach PK’s mobility flow.  We all know Coach PK is the queen of mobility here at Toronto Triathlon Club.  Check out her short mobility flow exercises to help you work out any kinks or muscular imbalances.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbYZB2cPqh8/

Phaedra Kennedy or “PK” to most people has been coaching runners + triathletes of all levels since 2015. She is an NCCP trained triathlon coach an NAASFP Certified Run Coach, CanFit Pro Certified Personal Trainer and a DTS Level One Exercise Coach. In 2017 she started PK Performance Coaching so she could help novice and intermediate endurance athletes level up their performance. She believes moving well is the key to performing well and strives to help athletes integrate regular mobility + strength work into their lives.

As a life long endurance athlete, Phaedra has completed the Boston Marathon three times and tackled the 70.3 World Champs in Nice, France. She’s completed every triathlon distance from sprint to Ironman and her bucket list race, Challenge Roth this past July.

Pre-workout and post-workout nutrition tips by coach Tara

Don't waste your workout! You invest so much time into training, that you'd better invest some time and consideration towards the engine (aka your body) that allows you to train. Pre-exercise remember to hydrate with 250-500mL of fluids and to fuel with about 1-1.5g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight on your quality and long workouts. Post run remember the 3Rs of Recovery in the first 60 mins following a workout: Rehydrate, Refuel and Repair. Rehydrate with 500mL of fluids to start, Refuel with 1-1.5g of carbs per kg/body weight and Repair with 10-15g of high quality lean protein.

Don’t skip the recovery meal or snack after long or intense exercise, or if exercising again in less than 12 hours. The mindset of many still involves a hesitation to consume calories after just burning them. In order to optimize the benefits of a training session and jumpstart recovery for maximal gains, it is critical to consume a post workout meal that blends both carbs and protein

Meet Tara Postnikoff, Hon BA, RNCP, NCCP-certified coach

As the owner and founder of HEAL™ (HEALTHY EATING ACTIVE LIVING™), Tara Postnikoff has been coaching people through healthy eating and active living since 2006. As a sports nutritionist, triathlon coach and personal trainer, Tara is passionate about helping athletes eat better and perform better and focuses on a balanced approach to eating, training and life in general. As a Triathlete, Tara over the past 15 years, has competed in all distances from Try-a-tri to Ironman, and is currently training for the ITU Sprint WC in Montreal and the Ironman 70.3 WC in Utah.

Swim workout: Pacing practice by coach Miranda Tomenson

200-400 warmup

4x50 choice (20s rest) 

*choice can be drills or faster swimming, something you know you need to improve or work on, given the theme of the workout something like 50ez, 50 fast would work to get a sense of pacing

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3-5 times: 

100 easy

100 medium

100 harder

*You could take 10-30s in between 100s. Typically, the more advanced the swimmer, the shorter rest they may need

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200 cool down

This is called a descending workout and is great as you approach race season. Since you can’t usually check your pace during an open water swim, it’s a great way to develop a feel for what a given pace is. It also helps you develop endurance and durability by having to start slow and finish fast. You can progress this workout by doing descending 200s, 300s or even 400s! 

Miranda Tomenson is the owner/founder of Tomenson Performance & Wellness. Miranda has been coaching athletes for 18 years. She has worked with athletes of all ages and abilities, from novice young swimmers to adult runners, swimmers and triathletes. She currently enjoys working with adult athletes who want to achieve their own best performances in endurance sports, while not sacrificing their work, family and personal life to do so. Miranda's athletes consistently make personal best times, and a few have qualified for the Ironman 70.3 and ITU Age Group World Championships. Miranda was given an honourable mention for coach of the year from Triathlon Ontario in 2016. 

Hill workout for the run by Coach Phaedra Kennedy

PK’s Power Pyramid 

15-20 minute warm up

Do this 2-3 x through:

10 seconds uphill @ 5 km + effort, 90 seconds recovery (walking downhill)

20 seconds uphill @ 5 km + effort, 90 seconds recovery (walking downhill)

30 seconds uphill @ 5 km + effort, 90 seconds recovery (walking downhill)

Workout notes:  This workout is all about power + running economy.  The focus here is on EFFORT, not pace. These repeats should be hard but controlled.  

Form cues to think about:  Lean from your ankles, not your waist, keep your chest up + look up the hill vs, down at the ground.  Use your arms to help drive you up the hill.

Phaedra Kennedy or “PK” to most people has been coaching runners + triathletes of all levels since 2015. She is an NCCP trained triathlon coach an NAASFP Certified Run Coach, CanFit Pro Certified Personal Trainer and a DTS Level One Exercise Coach. In 2017 she started PK Performance Coaching so she could help novice and intermediate endurance athletes level up their performance. She believes moving well is the key to performing well and strives to help athletes integrate regular mobility + strength work into their lives.

As a life long endurance athlete, Phaedra has completed the Boston Marathon three times and tackled the 70.3 World Champs in Nice, France. She’s completed every triathlon distance from sprint to Ironman and is currently training for her bucket list race, Challenge Roth in July.

• Critical to get a good warmup and raise your heart rate before any hard sets in an open water training swim or before the start of a race. 
• Make sure to get plenty of open water swim practice. Swimming in a pool is very different than swimming in open water.

Open water workout:

1. 15 min warmup – include a few hard efforts as you would before a race 
2. 3 x 10-20 min (depending on your key race distance) trying to go further with each swim. Take 1-2 min rest between each 10 min. 
3. In open water your line is as important as your speed so make sure you are sighting frequently to swim straight

Meet Kevin McCormick,  NCCP Certified Triathlon Coach; Triathlon Ontario Certificate –Exercise Physiology for Triathlon; CanFit Pro Personal Trainer Specialist [in training]
Kevin has been working in the endurance sports world for 12 years and competing as an athlete for 21 years. He is the Owner of GoFasterGetFurther Coaching. Kevin is motivated by helping athletes achieve race distances and times that they never thought possible. He helps athletes train with consistency and focus, balanced with the rest of life. Outside of triathlon Kevin enjoys hockey, golf, time with his family, and having a beer while talking about all things sports.

Classic Speed Set by coach Tara

Here is a classic speed workout for the run:

8 to 12 X 400m, 60s rest.  This back-to-basics workout should be done at ~5k race effort.  

Try to be consistent with the pace throughout the set.  If you are still holding the time at the end, you can pick it up for the last few.

Don’t forget at solid 2k warm up and 2k cool down

Meet Tara Postnikoff, Hon BA, RNCP, NCCP-certified coach

As the owner and founder of HEAL™ (HEALTHY EATING ACTIVE LIVING™), Tara Postnikoff has been coaching people through healthy eating and active living since 2006.  As a sports nutritionist, triathlon coach and personal trainer, Tara is passionate about helping athletes eat better and perform better and focuses on a balanced approach to eating, training and life in general.   As a Triathlete, Tara over the past 15 years, has competed in all distances from Try-a-tri to Ironman, and is currently training for the ITU Sprint WC in Montreal and the Ironman 70.3 WC in Utah.