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Setting Goals
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 2004-10-19 6:27 PM |
Veteran  184   MA |  Subject: Setting GoalsHow do you set your goals? Do you pick a certain finish time as your goal? How do you know what is a reasonable stretch vs way out of your reach? Does it help to have a specific finish time in mind? Does it hurt? Thanks for any help, I am struggling with these questions. Deb |
| 2004-10-19 6:37 PM in reply to: #74161 |
Regular 185 New New York | Subject: RE: Setting Goals I don't usually set goals. I have estimates of what I think I can do if I have a good day but I rarely say 'I want to do xx:xx time in my next race. |
| 2004-10-19 6:39 PM in reply to: #74161 |
Elite 3235  San Diego | Subject: RE: Setting Goals Hey Deb, I always conservatively figure out my pace for each event then add 5 min for transitions and add it all up. I figure I am: 2 min per 100 meters in the swim (I am closer to 1:40) 20 mph on the bike or 3 min per mile (pretty close) 10 min per mile run (closer to 8:40 in a sprint) This always gives me a realistic time to shoot for but I am always trying for sub 1 hour sprints  Hope that's what you were looking for Tom |
| 2004-10-19 7:30 PM in reply to: #74161 |
molto veloce mama 9311 | Subject: RE: Setting Goals my first goal is always - finish! then, i do what madcow does and average a time for each event and then add them up. for my first tri, i wanted to finish under 1:30, and came in at 1:23. for my second, i wanted to just do better than the last time. while my overall time was longer (1:32), it was still better time in each sport because the distances were longer and/or course were slightly more difficult. for the running races i've done more recently, i wanted to finish, pace myself so i don't bonk, and lastly get a good time. |
| 2004-10-19 7:58 PM in reply to: #74161 |
| Extreme Veteran 463 | Subject: RE: Setting Goals I generally look at the last year's race splits and compare them what I think are my abilities and set a goal from there. But I think this would be fairly hard to do if you don't know the course. Since this was my first year doing tris, my biggest goal was to finish. After my first tri where I finished last in my AG, my tri goal was to at least beat somebody. I did, but I think it had a lot to do with upgrading to a road bike from my husband's mountain bike. This next year it will be interesting to measure my progress as I plan to do the same tris I did this season. I know you can't directly compare times as race conditions will most likely differ, but it would be very motivating to actually move up in my AG. |
| 2004-10-19 9:29 PM in reply to: #74161 |
Expert 1836 Lafayette, CO | Subject: RE: Setting Goals I do the same as Aikane - I look at the previous times, and calculate where I think I can be. I was fairly strong on the bike, but I'm also glad I switched to a tri bike. For next season, I'm including some Oly distance tris, and looking to best my own times. By doing that, I'm fairly confident that I can place well in my age group. I always try to set my sights fairly high, but not too high, so that I feel a real sense of accomplishment. |
| 2004-10-19 11:09 PM in reply to: #74161 |
Veteran 184 MA | Subject: RE: Setting Goals Thanks everyone! Here are some more questions - I'm trying to be more specific... How much is it reasonable to hope for improving on the same course (assuming similar conditions) from one year to the next. 5%? 10%? How would I set a time goal for a length that I have never done before? I've never had goals beyond "finish" or "race hard" or "have fun" or "do x races this year". I'm wondering if it would help to have more specific goals. Deb |
| 2004-10-20 12:37 AM in reply to: #74161 |
| New user 3 brisbane | Subject: RE: Setting Goals i usually pick goal races where i work out a good day time and a bad time. with this in mind i am always working out splits in my head while training which helps me when i am racing. the rest of the races i do are for fun and the time doesn't usually matter as long as i have a go. |
| 2004-10-20 9:02 AM in reply to: #74255 |
Expert 1166 Colchester, CT | Subject: RE: Setting Goals I like to set three time goals going into each race. The lowest time would be if everything went perfect and I was rally able to push myself (likely be a PR time), the next would be a satisfying race maybe not reach the ultimate time, but would still be a great effort (close to a PR), and the the last is usually something I would be happy with, which would mean something went wrong (weather, injury, etc.). As far as improving from year to year, just in the past year, I've seen improvements of 4% for a 15k, 3% for a half marathon, and about 6% for a marathon. All these races were PR's for me this year, and my guess is, based on my times, and the way I felt at the end of the races, is that my times are pretty close to getting as low as they are going to get. Depending on where you are in your fitness, I would say 5% isn't unreasonable, but 10% may be hard to achieve. As far as setting time goals, I try to run a race 3-4 weeks before my goal race to gauge my fitness, and use the on line calculators to establish a goal pace for the key race. One final note, all of this is related to running, so I'm not sure how it translates to triathlons Chris |
| 2004-10-20 10:49 AM in reply to: #74255 |
Elite Veteran 970 Smyrna, Georgia | Subject: RE: Setting Goals I think it is all based on how you're doing in your training. Even if you've never done a tri, you should have done all the distances at least once before the tri. Once you've done those distances, add up your times for each segment and then a few minutes for each transition (you can practice those too to get an idea of how long it will take you). I estimated for my first tri that I would finish in about 1:45. This was a very conservative estimate. I finished in 1:25. Next year, if I do the same tri, I will look at how fast I am at THAT time and do another estimate. Of course, I would hope to do better than last year, but I would have to really look at how much I'd improved to be able to estimate how much better I'd do. I hope that helps. |
| 2004-10-20 11:03 AM in reply to: #74161 |
Expert 1180 Iowa | Subject: RE: Setting Goals Deb - great questions. Goals are essential if you're trying for more than "just to finish." If you're out to do the best that you can do, and improve on that time in your next race or the same race next year, you must have something to shoot for. Knocking off 5% to 10% is very doable, especially if in your first race you found yourself near the middle or the back of the pack. If you're already a top 10 finisher, age group or otherwise, it's a bit tougher to knock off those kinds of percentages. Your improvements at that level will be in smaller - though just as important - increments. This will all happen with patient, proper training. Proper training implies you're familiar with the distance you plan to do. But even if say you've only raced a 5k and suddenly you have a chance to run a 5 mile race, you should be able to give yourself a good goal time based on your 5k pace. Add 10 to 30 seconds to the 5 mile pace if you wish, then go out and smash it!! Good luck! |
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