You need to set yourself challenges in life. It is important that we all set goals and you need spend some time setting ourselves challenges in Triathlon.
The challenge needs to be achievable, but it also needs to test you.
It needs to inspire... YOU.
YOU are the individual who has to go out and achieve whatever it is that you have set yourself.
Each season, we set out our big Triathlon goals. Then we set ourselves smaller challenges and goals along the way.
Setting challenges can inspire.
So an athlete sets their goal for the season. The goal is to finish the IRONMAN in under 9 hours!
Ok... brilliant. Now for most mortals that is a big ask... remember to make your challenge SMART
- Specific (what are you going to do)
- Measureable (how will you know you have achieved it?)
- ACHIEVEABLE (with hard work)
- Realistic (is going sub-9 actually going to happen?)
- Time managed (when are you going to do this?)
So we set smaller achievable goals and targets en route to this challenge. We encourage the athlete to finish their training session for the day. The need to eat properly. They need to rest properly. Just for the record, clearing the gutters, mowing the lawn, cleaning the pool or chopping wood... are NOT RESTING!
What inspires you? What do you want to achieve in Triathlon? Where do you want to race?
So for me... and this is purely me...
I wouldn't want to rock up at a Sprint Triathlon unless I was going to be competitive... that means in amongst the top end guys for my age-group throughout the race. I am lucky I have raced at ITU World Age Group Champs and I would not be doing myself justice, or the race organiser for that matter, racing 'to finish' a Sprint... that does not inspire me as an athlete...
For others, simply finishing IS THE ACHIEVEMENT.
However, my point is, it must be a challenge to inspire you as an individual.
Sometimes when we set a challenge it can reassure us that we can do something... or reiterate that our knowledge is what it should be... and that we should never be-little anyone's achievements. No one else knows what that individual has gone through to achieve it!
Whatever your next challenge is in the Triathlon world, enjoy the journey... make your challenge yours!
Paul is a Professional Triathlon Coach. Passionate about the sport of Triathlon. Paul empowers athletic achievements with quality individualised bespoke triathlon coaching.
Coach Paul is a British Triathlon Federation Level 3 Coach and a Triathlon Australia Performance Coach.
He is also an IRONMAN Certified Coach and a Level 2 Training Peaks Coach. F4L Triathlon Coaching offers triathletes and other endurance athletes a full coaching and training service that caters to all levels of triathletes. F4L offers professional triathlon and endurance coaching and the reliability triathletes and endurance athletes require. Each athlete is an individual, every athlete has different needs.
