Frequent racing throughout the year can hinder your ability to perform at your best. Take a look a your most recent year of training and racing. How often did you race and what was the goal of each race? Did you get faster with each race? Were you successful? If you can resist the temptation to race year round, you are likely to have that break out performance you have been hoping for.
Here is the rationale behind it. If you are always racing, there is a high likelihood that your training is somewhat the same throughout the entire year with maybe a little volume change here and there. You would be likely training hard because you want to do well in "next month's race". This typically eliminates the true base training that is so necessary for any endurance athlete. Too much racing also causes a loss of motivation because there is no build up (both physically and mentally) for the race.
Take a look at the main phases of a solid training plan.
1. Base - This is the longest portion of the year where you increase volume and perhaps complete some off season strength training
2. Build - Workouts during this portion of the year begin to transition to higher intensity for key workouts.
3. Peak - A reduction in your mileage is replaced with higher intensity and more race specific workouts
Your training should have a different focus at various times of the year. This not only allows you to focus on different components of your fitness and address your limiters, but it is also a nice mental break. Once you accept the reality that you cannot be at your peak year round, your training will begin to take on a new meaning and your race day performances might just be new personal bests.
Author Resource:-
Joby Gutierrez is the owner of Fitness Coaching, LLC, an Orange County based organization specializing in preparing runners and triathletes for peak performance. Joby Gutierrez is USAT level 1 Coach and Cross Country Coach. For details about services, visit http://fitnesscoaching.us/
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://best-running-articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
