More is More Better...Huh?

MUSINGS FROM A COACH - 15 JULY '25

I've been getting lots of questions recently from local athletes who I do not coach, or just see for 1v1 for technique work, centered around how much and for how long should they train leading into their big endurance event.

What do I do the last week before my big event? 

Do I take the week off?Do I squeeze in that 3 hour session I missed two days ago?

You get the idea. Of course there's no one answer that's appropriate for everyone. We would have to consider performance and outcome goals of the event, success or lack there of of recent training leading into the event, athletic history and experience in the type of event and larger, more macro "big picture" goals of the season and subsequent seasons.

But...

I feel confident that in most cases (and here I insert my beloved "bell curve") that we should start with how we want to feel the day of the event, right before the start. If the event is very short and we're worried of feeling "flat", our week of training into that event might be different than if the event was quite long and our requirement to be fully and completely rested was paramount.

If our event was the first of many successive events in a row and there was an opportunity to experiment, that lead-in might look different than if it's the Olympics or World Championships.

And if we're planning on doing a particularly taxing and lengthy event, one that we've never done anything like in the past, well we may prioritized rest above all else simply because we don't know what we don't know.

Now this sound logical to all of us, of course. But during the weeks leading into an event, our minds start playing tricks on us. It thinks, "Hey, I'm foreseeing great pain in the near future that will stress and push my body to the brink! I think I'll start sending signals and thoughts to possible trick myself into NOT doing the event!Some of those "tricks" that the mind throws at us is doubt, fear, the uneasiness of not knowing if we've done enough. And for amateurs, this is a daily occurrence since none of us have enough time to do all the training we want! :)

And here's how we can avoid those mind tricks - don't be tempted to squeeze in last minute, unplanned training close to the race. Instead, focus on planning, organization, sleeping and sticking to your plan. No "double up to catch up" and no "just a bit longer" the week of the race. Remember, we hope to feel our very best the morning of the race, not 5 days out.

Let's use the upcoming event as a celebration of everything we've done over the many months of preparation. Control the controllables and understand and be OK with things outside of our control. Just get yourself to that start line.

Once the gun goes off, you'll be in the moment...and that moment is something that should be cherished.