by Molly Balfe, Campfire Head Coach and Co-founder
“So, what's your big race this year?” Have you fielded this question yet? It’s already late January, so your race calendar should be taking form, making it the perfect time to focus on goal-setting for the season. Your coaches know that you are looking to see improvements year upon year, but it is crucial to have a conversation about what you are specifically hoping to accomplish, and how you’ll know you have achieved those goals. Goal-setting is a perennial topic for anybody, regardless of whether they are endurance athletes or not. If you’re a podcast fan, the excellent Huberman Lab podcast recently covered suggestions for effective goal setting, and we have some thoughts of our own. Here are a few tips to help you work with your coach to make 2024 your best year yet:
Get Specific
Be clear with yourself and your coach about what you want to achieve. Improving your swim is a commendable goal, but what are the specific indicators that will help you measure that improvement? Are you hoping to drop time off your threshold pace? Swim under an hour for your Ironman? Complete a sprint distance race without stopping? The more specifically you define your desired outcome, the better your coach can help you get there. Also, make your goals “moderately lofty.” That can sound vague, but the goal should be realistic but still challenging. Is your 70.3 swim time usually around 36-37 minutes? Aim for swimming 33-34 minutes this year, or about a 10% improvement. If you aim to swim sub-30 this year, that might be too lofty. If you aim to only swim 30” faster, then you might “achieve” your goal due to factors out of your control, like a salt-water swim, a short course, or a current. So don’t aim too high, but don’t aim too low, either.
Is swim form a goal for you this year? Then practice excellent form, even when you’re joking around
Think Short and Long Term
Remember the bigger picture when you decide what you want to accomplish this year, ensuring your short-term goals are compatible with your overarching goals for yourself as an athlete. How does this season move you towards being the athlete (and person!) you want to be? If you are hoping to one day get to Kona, stand on a podium at Pacific Crest, or compete in an ITU race, your coach needs to know that. Even if that is not this year’s goal, every step you take should move you in that direction. What are the small to medium-sized accomplishments that you can achieve this year that would help Future You reach that bigger goal? Pro Tip - don’t neglect the psychological aspects of the sport. If you feel you are consistently falling short of your potential, take a good look at your mental game and consider if working on that should be part of your annual planning.
Second, whey you are thinking long term, try and only set one or two big goals per year. Goal Distraction (the sibling of Goal Envy, covered below) can be just as debilitating. Think about this idea long and hard, since it will be step two of our exercise below. It can be easy to start dreaming of all the things you want to accomplish, and how you’ll paint a rainbow of accomplishment this year composed of many different colors. We know what actually happens when you play with too many colors: you get brown. No shade on brown, but…brown. Be ruthless in your long-term goal setting. Take an axe to the things that aren’t ABSOLUTELY MUST ACCOMPLISH. There will be time to attempt most things, we promise, but if you try and do everything you’ll often get nothing.
Resist Goal Envy
There is always someone whose goal seems bigger, badder, or more audacious. Example: that athlete who is trying to win the race you’re merely hoping you can complete. Stay away from this type of comparison. We spend large portions of our time, energy, and income training and racing in this sport. Your goal may not land you on the cover of a magazine, but it may add quality years to your life or quality moments to your year. Take your goals seriously, train hard, and be grateful for the times when you feel strong. Also, remember that your goal is bigger, badder, and more audacious than someone else’s. Cheer on your fellow athletes. Go fast. Have fun. Be nice.
Goal Setting In Practice
Start by keeping score
Knowing your goals for long term, monthly, weekly, and daily keeps you moving ahead effectively
(if you click on the image above, you’ll be able to download a copy of this goals sheet!)
Now that we’ve got some of the big picture stuff out of the way, let’s set some goals! Download the worksheet above (big thanks to Brian Baxter at AMPlify Sports Psychology for this resource) and grab a pen. Remembering point number two above (only 1-2 moderately lofty goals per year!) set a big picture goal that really fires your imagination. Write down those long term goals and make sure that you include an expiration date—WHEN will you achieve this by? Maybe you’d like to qualify for Kona by 2027. Write that down and set a date when that will happen, maybe in the early spring of 2026, two years from now. TWO YEARS?! You might be saying. Yup. We said long term!
Next, set three monthly goals that will move you in the direction of your long term goal(s). It’s January 10th, so let’s focus on February. What can you accomplish in February that will move you towards qualifying for Kona by 2026? We’d guess that you probably need to ride a bunch and swim a bunch. Maybe you need to commit to a strength-training routine. Maybe you just need to start getting out the door to run. Set three moderately lofty goals to accomplish next month, like ride 800 miles, swim 15 hours, hit the gym twice a week, or simply run sixteen times in 28 days.
You’re probably getting the picture, now. Next up you will set goals for next week. If you’re trying to ride 800 miles in February, well, then you’ll have to ride 200 miles next week. What does that look like? How many rides do you need? How long are each of them? Which ones will be outside and which will be inside? Get those scripted and start planning now.
Next, what needs to change in your habitual behavior so you can achieve next week’s goals? Maybe you need to wake up a little earlier to get on the bike sooner. Maybe you need to go to sleep at 9pm. Maybe you need to alter your diet so your body can handle the uptick in training. Write those habits down, and if you’re a podcast listener, head back over to Mr. Huberman for this post on habits.
Finally, commit to THIS particular habit every week. Maybe you do this goal-setting every Friday afternoon, or roll it into your Sunday planning for the week ahead. But keep doing it. “Wait a second,” we hear you saying. “I’m gonna write down this big picture goal every week for the next two years?” Yes, that’s correct. We want you to write it down so many times your brain thinks it’s a foregone conclusion. Affirmations work, but you gotta work at at affirmations.