On ZAP Endurance coach Pete Rea has written that he believes goal setting is a lost art. Fewer and fewer athletes take the time to set concrete goals for their upcoming training and racing. Virtually every study associated with athletic performance shows that setting goals holds an athlete accountable to themselves – and if made public – by their training partners. In addition to the obvious outcome performance-based goals, be certain to have daily process goals which, unlike outcome goals, are completely within your control. For example: Drink 8 glasses of water each day. Get a massage once every 2 weeks. Execute 2 training runs each week on softer, non-paved surfaces Process goals should also be put on paper, thus, enabling a level of confidence on race day that comes only from knowing you’ve done all things properly.
