Planning your Season

by Pat Fitzgerald

At this time of year you should all be looking forward to the summer season, whether that be track and field or road events. To get the most enjoyment from our sport we all need to set some realistic targets. For example, for some of our senior athletes it could be achieving International selection; for our younger members it might be getting selected for the English Schools, or for the beginner it might just be running a lap of the Scrubs. Whatever your standard: SET YOURSELF A TARGET!

To achieve that target you need to have a timetable for training and racing. One without the other is no good. If you are aiming for international selection for example, you need to know the dates of the meetings and what the selection criteria is. Obvious? Yes. But it is not unheard of for athletes to be in great shape at the right time, but not selected. This is more likely to happen at club level or schools level when athletes do not know when entries for races close or when or what qualifying times need to be achieved. KNOW WHEN YOUR RACES TAKE PLACE.

It is important to arrange your training around your races, so be sure to spend a little time planning, possibly with your coach. If you plan you will avoid making the type of mistake I hear of so often, where athletes increase not reduce their training just before a major event. SPEND TIME PLANNING YOUR TRAINING.

The season's plan should be yours, not your coaches', not your Mum's, just Yours. You must believe that it is possible for you to achieve your target, you must want to achieve it and you must be prepared to do what is necessary to achieve it. ITS UP TO YOU.

Pre-season is a dangerous time for getting injured because some make a too drastic change from winter to summer training. Be cautious; be patient and listen to your coach.

Make sure that your team managers are aware of your competition programmes as early as possible; it makes their job easier if they know who is available and it increases the chance of them being able to accommodate your competition requirements.

Have a good season and let's all try and achieve our personal targets.