Posted: January 4, 2005

Multisport: Goal setting for 2005: Reflection, Analysis and Your Personal Road Map for Success

By Lucy Smith and Lance Watson, Watson LifeSport

Not too long ago an interesting article on the psychology of excellence came across my desk. The authors had taken an in-depth study of 10 Olympians in order to identify what it was about these outstanding women and men that led to success. One of the more compelling characteristics that they identified was the concept of sport intelligence:

"...which consisted of such themes as the ability to analyze performance, being innovative relative to one's sport technique, being a student of the sport, making good sport-related decisions, understanding the nature of elite sport and being a quick learner."

(PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF U.S. OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS, by: Daniel Gould, Ph.D.; Kristen Dieffenbach, M.S., and Aaron Moffett, M.S. University of North Carolina - Greensboro)

All athletes can develop a sense of expertise in their goal setting and training, using the principles of excellence as illustrated by the above quote. As I help my athletes set their 2005 goals, using and learning from past performances is key in guiding decisions about the future.

Before setting any goals we first need to analyze the current skill level and psychology of an athlete and find out where there is a potential for improvement. With three sports to train, it helps to understand your weakness relative to your strengths, as you can adjust your future training to bring them more closely balanced. Using paper and pen write your season report, focusing on listing your current physical and psychological skills.

1. Analysis of skills

· Swim, bike and run, and to a lesser extent, transitions
· Open water versus pool swim competence
· T1: Swim to bike strength
· T2: Bike to run strength

Most people have a good idea of where they would like to improve. They can say things like, "I am a great cyclist, but I have problems on the run," or "I can swim fast in the pool, but I swim a dog's leg course once I get to open water." They know if they are good hill climbers or strong flat course riders and if they waste too much time in transition. A list of your current skills and level will give you a solid starting point when it comes to setting your goals for next season.

2. Race experience

· How did your season flow? Did you start the season fresh and end feeling burned out? Did you feel like you could have done more this year than you showed in races? Do you feel you could have raced more or less?
· How was your energy surrounding racing? Did you notice a difference in your level of relaxation and excitement at minor versus major events?
· How did you generally feel at the end of races? Happy and satisfied or disappointed and down?

3. Priorities

After you have made a list of areas where you can improve you can begin to set goals. Before defining your goals, some important questions need to be asked:
· How committed am I to improving this aspect of my triathlon? Athletes have to take ownership of goals for them to become reality.
· Do these goals actually fit within my life priorities? If you want to shave 15 minutes off your 3.8k swim, will you want to or be able to go to the pool two to three more times each week?

4. Setting Goals

Using the "list for possible improvements" that you have devised from your season analysis, plus the knowledge of your commitment and priorities, you can now start to write down your 2005 goals. Things to keep in mind when writing your goals:

· Start with performance versus outcome goals. Performance goals are based mainly on tasks that you have as much control over a possible, such as training schedules, racing relaxed and focussed or faster than you did last year. For example, winning a race (or prizes, or money) is an outcome goal. While you may be completely capable of winning on any particular day, you cannot control the fact that someone faster than you may win. If you achieved the time goals you set for yourself and come 25th, you still come out a winner!

· Make your goals realistic and measurable and achievable. Improving times for a set distance, improving bike handling skills and getting a handle on pre-race stress are all measurable goals that you will be able to analyze after the fact. Winning your age group in your first year at Hawaii, while a great dream goal, is not necessarily realistic or achievable. Being "happy" is hard to measure, so try to be specific.

5. Achieving your goals

Your goals are written down, and you really feel committed to achieving them next season. Now you need to assess what you have to do in order to get there or else it's just words on paper. This is where the road map comes in. On the way to the big goals you take a path and set smaller milestones. As you reach these smaller milestones you will be able to assess whether you are still on the right track to reaching your goals and can have small triumphs along the way that keep you motivated.

The other benefit to setting short-term goals is that sometimes they alert you to when your original goals have changed. Occasionally, athlete's come to a realization that they are no longer committed to the goals they set as they find that short-term goals are neither exciting nor realistic. This allows you to adjust your goals and re-direct your energies before going too far down the wrong path.

One thing to consider when listing the steps you need to take to achieving your goals are the resources you have available.

· Do you have the skills necessary to improve your swimming, biking to running on your own?
· Do you need a coach, should you attend a triathlon camp, join a local club or get some reference books?
· Support (financially and from friends and significant others), travel, equipment are other resources to consider.

So, when should you start thinking about 2005? While most of us are always thinking about how we can be better athletes, a great time to start thinking about your 2005 goals is after your last race and once you have started your active rest for the season. It is important to feel relaxed and a bit removed from the current season to be able to objectively assess your performances and dreams.

When setting your goals for 2005, be in tune with your own sport intelligence. Understand what sort of planning, information and behavior has worked for you in the past and improve on that. Commit yourself to making changes and improvements in key areas for progress and develop a sense of expertise in your sport that will bring confidence and success.

Lucy Smith is a coach, athlete and mother. She is a 16-time Canadian Champion runner and duathlete and world Duathlon Silver Medallist.

Lance Watson is a two-time Olympic coach and coach of Ironman champions. He works with motivated athletes of all abilities and experience levels. Lance can be reached at Coach@WatsonLifeSport.com or www.LanceWatson.com.

Lance and Lucy can be reached at Coach@WatsonLifeSport.com; or www.lancewatson.com.