Your First Three Years ~ Part 15:

Goals?  Next Season Starts NOW

A Guide for Beginner (and Experienced!) Cyclists, to the Art and Practice of Cycling.  Becoming Proficient, Fit, and Happy on your bike.

The Holidays are almost upon us.  This is an extremely difficult time for cyclists and other outdoors athletes.  It is also an extremely important time.

The holiday season should be one of joyous occasions, reunions, peaceful contemplation, and relaxation.  Our society complicates this.  For those who attempt athletic pursuits, this can be a deadly time of year.

We have struggled to attain some level of fitness and expertise.  The weather has closed in, and the days have grown shorter.  That’s enough of a challenge.  Now comes the distractions of the season…  Along with copious amounts of very rich food.  All of which build ot a fever pitch, and then leave us.  That’s right.  The holidays end.  And worse, the end just as full Winter sets in.  We tend to find ourselves facing the grey and cold, overweight, out of shape, and somewhat depressed.  It’s hard to get re-motivated under those conditions.  The typical response is to just give up, with a vague internal promise that,  “I’ll get on the bike when it gets a bit better outside.”  Or,  “I’ll do some workout stuff at the gym….  Maybe.”  You know.  All the New Year’s Resolution stuff.

What follows is a solution to this dilemma.  We don’t claim that it’s the only solution, but it works.  In fact, if the opportunity is seized, this time just could lead to one of the best years of your life.

Best of all, this solution will only take you about an hour to get started.  Ready?  Here goes!

The Three Part Solution

First:  Set a GOAL!

Second:  Make a Plan

Third:  Accountability

 First:  Set a GOAL!

Humans are goal-driven, goal-seeking creatures.  Goals motivate us.  We strive best to achieve when we have a target or strong desire to motivate us.  There are all kinds of goals.  Some are short term, e.g. “I will say something constructive in this meeting.”  Some are a bit longer term, such as the intention to get to Bob’s Birthday Party next month.  And then there are the big, motivating ones, involving longer intervals of time.  These are “Big Goals.”

A “Big Goal” is not vague.  It’s not something like,  “Someday I’d like to take a trip to Paris.”  No, no!  A “Big Goal”  is simply this…  A DREAM WITH A DEADLINE!

Pick out something that really excites you.  For cyclists it just might be riding 100 miles at once.  It might be doing that big charity event.  It might be racking up a Personal Best in a given event.  It has to be something that turns you on, and gets your juices flowing.  In other words, it has to be a DREAM.

But then comes the “Deadline” part.  Pick the date.  The event might be an annual one.  So you already know when it will run.  If it’s an individual accomplishment, set the date yourself.  Mark it down on your personal calendar. And then…  (here comes the really really hard part.  Are you ready?)  …Write the check!  That’s right.  Commit to it.  And no commitment is more committed than putting your money down.

The event isn’t set up to take an entry fee yet?  Doesn’t matter.  You know about how much it will be.  Write the check and tumb-tack it to the wall over your desk.  Set the deadline!

Second:  Make a Plan

Nothing happens without preparation.  Set up your PLAN now.  You may not know exactly what it will take to actually be ready to achieve your goal.  You may not know just what types and specifics of training are going to be necessary.  But you do know that you will have to work to achieve your Dream, and that work will take time.  So get out your calendar (or your calendar App) and schedule the training time.  You do know that your training will require time.  You can do the research, ask the question, define the specific actions later, but block off the time now, and start doing something with it immediately.

Third:  Accountability

What does it take to hold yourself accountable?  The answer is simple.  Keep a Training Log.  This is your record of what you have done, when you have done it, how much you have done, and the day-to-day effects and success of the actions.  Your Training Log is your accountability file.  It doesn’t lie to you.  It lets you know when you have skipped a precious day of training.  It lets you know when you are doing a lot, so that you know why you are fatigued right now.  Your training log is the most valuable tool you could possibly have if you decide to consult a coach.  But it’s most important function is that of holding you to your day-to-day commitments.

Your Training Log records your progress.  It is how you implement those intermediate goals, and short term “process goals” that will ultimately bring you to the realization of your Big Dream.

A training log doesn’t have to be overly complicated.  It has to record the day, date, and the activity performed.  You can use it to rate each training activity.  It is your error log.  It will help you find and diagnose problems with your training.  Above all, it keeps you honest and on track.

That’s it.  Do those three things.  Do them now.  Then follow through.  There are a lot of refinements, and we’ll talk about some of them in the future, but implement those three steps and you will be well on the way to having an absolutely aamazing riding season next year.

Next Week: Coming back from Illness or Injury

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This series began with the post on Tuesday, 19 June 2012.  It is intended to continue for three years.  Each week, we will discuss exercises, skills, practices, and activities designed to bring the new (or “experienced”) rider a high level of cycling competence.  We’ll address common problems, and (always) stress safe practice.

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A Note on Timing:  This series uses Mid-June as the starting point of the “Cyclists Year.”  We do this because this is the time that most folks decide to start riding.  If you are following this guide, you can “adjust” the timing to fit your personal “first three years.”  Do note that some of the posts will concern weather and seasonal changes.  When that starts to happen, just swap the “months” around to fit your personal timeline.

Thursday Thoughts: Thinking About Goals

I spend a fair amount of time puzzling about “Yo-Yo Cyclists.”  All jokes about “Winter Training Weight,” and the “Old Guys Who get Fat in the Winter Racing Team” aside, I wonder about it.  I’m referring to folks who fight to get in shape, accomplish the feat, maintain a level of fitness, and then “fall off the wagon.”

I think I may know part of the answer.  For some, the goal is about getting fit and slim.  But that kind of thinking is automatically doomed.  The thing is, fitness is not an event.  It’s a lifetime commitment.

Our society is largely event driven.  We see the Olympics, World Series, Super Bowl, Tour de France, and such.  We are enthralled and amazed by folks who achieve great things there.  Our media, and our water-cooler conversations, are all about the event.  But we don’t see the process that led to that event.

I often talk about Goals as motivators.  This is good, as far as it goes.  I know it works for me.  I’ve seen it work for others.  But the problem is, it doesn’t seem to work for everyone.

Here’s what I think is at the crux of the matter.  A goal should be a motivator, but the process necessary to achieve that goal should be rewarding in and of itself.  If the goal is deemed to be a “Big Reward,” but the process necessary to reach it is considered unpleasant drudgery, then it is very unlikely that the success producing process will be continued beyond the point where the goal is reached.

In short, if one is training for a specific event, the event should motivate the training.  But, one had better be deeply into liking the training.  Anything else will result in backsliding.

I’d like to hear other thoughts on this.  What’s your experience?

Getting through the Winter

Okay, the year is launched.  Most folks (not all!) have put away the Christmas decorations.  The greeting card companies are already gearing up for an attempt at Valentine’s day.  In somewhat typical fashion, our north Georgia Winter has arrived in earnest.  To make matters a bit worse, there are any number of bits on “resolutions” in various media.  (Most of these are pretty depressing.)  What ever are we to do?

For those of us who ride, getting through the Winter is a tough chore.  Yes, the days are getting slightly longer now, but it will be a long time before the effect is worth noting.  Winter brings us cold, rain, and dark, often all three at once.  It take some strategy to get through this.

In my experience, the biggest aid to getting through all of this is to have some goals.  Long term goals are good.  They motivate us.  Intermediate goals are mileposts that help us keep track of our progress in reaching the longer ones.  Short Term Goals and Process Goals keep us on track, and accountable, in the day-to-day routine.

For the Long Term Goal, pick something big and exciting, something that turns you on.  This isn’t a “it would be nice to…” kind of thing.  It should be something that feels like you must do it.  Something from your “bucket list.”  Don’t pick something because you feel you should, but rather go for that thing that grabs you by the throat.  The thing that makes your heart race a bit.  And yes, the thing that’s a little scary.

In my own modest way, I’d like to offer some stuff that might work in with your goals.

There will be an annual Audax Ride coming up in the Spring.  In aid of that there will be four Audax Tune Up rides.  The Seasonal Night Rides will resume with the Spring Equinox in March.  I’m considering a couple of weekend touring type rides.  These will be two or three day self-supported tours to distant locations and back.  You’ll be seeing more about all of this (dates, times, and descriptions) in the very near future.

In the shorter term, we are still offering Spin Classes at Bicycles Unlimited.  These will continue until Spring.  Don’t delay.  Come in and sign up now.  (There’s that intermediate goal thing, coupled with some process goals.)

Basically, the best suggestion I have for getting through the dark months is, “Get busy, and stay active.”  Goals help.  More to come.