Maintaining focus

[Michael Maddox]

I just got back on the bike, after a month and a half of SERIOUS focus issues with my training. I started training with a coach in April, working up to some form of racing shape, with my first goal the 2017 State Time Trials (Florida) next April. For the first few months, the weight just dropped off me and my fitness increased a quick--but sustainable--rate.

Then, July happened.

I found myself willing to put in weekly time on the trainer, completing two VO2 Max ladders a week, plus an hour of FTP work, but getting out for several hours a day on the weekend...BLECH. I had NO desire to get out there and do it. My training took a back seat to other goals that seemed more interesting and more immediate.

Today, I talked myself into an hour and a half out on the road, and I rode pretty well. I'm still pretty strong, but I could certainly see some losses in my heart fitness...rates were up and nothing was exactly GREAT. Still, it felt good to get back out there, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's ride. I hope I can chalk this up as a lesson and get back on the wagon to keep my goals attainable.

I'm 47 years old, and I have ALWAYS been this way. To quote my late father (25 years ago), "You train TOO MUCH to be an amateur, and TOO LITTLE to be a pro." He was right. I tend to be myopic about goals when they're in sight, but lose track of things when other goals wander into view. It took me 20 years to complete my mathematics degree, because software development seemed much more lucrative and immediate. I could be a MUCH better pianist and trombonist if I didn't keep wandering away to other instruments that interest me. You might consider me a autodidact and polymath if I didn't tell you that my abilities are simply MILES wide and about a quarter-inch deep.

Despite it being a core part of my personality, this wandering frustrates me. What do you do to maintain your consistency and focus? How do you keep it fun?

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by Michael Maddox

Despite it being a core part of my personality, this wandering frustrates me. What do you do to maintain your consistency and focus? How do you keep it fun?

I can relate, both on the training regimen, and on the 'wandering and lack of focused attention' in other areas where I 'could have become very good' at some thing, but dropped it. So, I can't answer you question because I haven't licked it myself. Looking back at my life, I've always wondered if I didn't always have some kind of ADD thing or something, although anytime I've ever mentioned it to someone (even an occasional counselor/therapist), they've always looked at me like I was nuts (how ironic...).

I'm not the most self-motivated guy on the bike, and I rely on friends and small group rides to get me out the door. I've gotten quite decent on clawhammer banjo, fiddle, and pedal steel guitar, but have always moved onto other things just when I was coming along pretty well. I've got some great, vintage, collectable instruments and amps, and I've always joked that "Ive got the best ch!tz in the hands of a useless incompetent!".

So, I get it. Don't have any answers you, but you're not alone!

[Tickdoc]

Originally Posted by Michael Maddox

Despite it being a core part of my personality, this wandering frustrates me. What do you do to maintain your consistency and focus? How do you keep it fun?

I wish I knew. Since I have no desire to ever race, I just try to get out as much as I can. Solo when I can, and then my group has a group text thread for impromptu rides that really helps. I mean, we have a standing weekly ride, but those are about to end with the shorter days.

I also tend to get a little lazy as my interests change from riding to hunting this time a year.

Never done the coach thing. I hate trainers.

Have you tried watching Rapha videos? Those are great motivators

[tuscanyswe]

You mention you have a coach but do you also have friends at the same or similar level as yourself that you can train with?

For me training can never be about drills alone, it has to be about good company and perhaps also someone who i want to impress or beat other than myself or a record. In the long run fun is what keeps me going. If its not fun then whats the point? I usually have more fun when im not by myself..

[dustyrider]

For me goals have always lead to my success. Be realistic. Write them down. Look at them daily. Don't comprise one goal for another.

How is bike riding not fun for you? Or maybe why?
I just can't imagine bike riding not being fun.

[carpediemracing]

For me structured training almost killed my passion for bike racing. Once I got over the fact that I wouldn't be a pro I relaxed a bit and simply enjoyed racing. I got to that make/break point probably 3 years into my racing life, 31 seasons ago.

http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...freshness.html

[shovelhd]

If you have a coach, and choose to do what you want, then that is the problem. It's about commitment. Nothing more.

[regularguy412]

I hear ya.

I don't race ,,,,,,, anymore. But I still like to hit the start of the season (March, for me) with some decent fitness and 'around' 1,500 miles in my legs. Then July and August show up. Down here in the 'Say-outh', it's both hot AND humid. Routinely, even the evening temps/heat indices at say,,, 6:00 pm are around 100+ degrees. If you ride then, as I usually have to during the week, you just drip. You really can't manage your body temp. Power output becomes limited because a lot of your body's effort is going into just trying to cool itself. I certainly tests one's stick-tuitive-ness.

When the weather's hot, I just try to make it thru. Now it's late September and I'm just now getting my 'fitness' back. Heat indices are finally now below the century mark. It's still plenty humid, but at least it's not a suffer-fest just going out for a 30 miler.

Mike in AR

[Zoodles]

Take smaller bites, focus on the goals in 4 and 8 week blocks.

Your coach should have your path, a progressive series of steps, laid out for you to April and beyond. Base, build, peak with regular testing in which you can see your development.

Sounds like you need a talk with the coach first though,

[ripvanrando]

I think April 2017 State TT was too far into the future by itself as a goal. Some achievable, concrete intermediate goals can help. For me a long term goal with some smaller goals in the middle help. If you find yourself losing focus, what was the target? Your eyes have to be onto something specific like I'm going to place top 5 in Crit xyz or I'm going to break 23 minutes on 10 mile TT by November 3rd or as qualitative as I'm going to ride one century a month for a year.

Is it possible that being coached was simply not fun?

[Ray]

Well, you can keep fighting your personality and see if you can breakthrough it into excellence at ONE thing. Which hasn't seemed to work for you thus far. Or you can treat it as a feature rather than a bug and just enjoy it. Lots of people are specialists - you're a generalist. The world needs both. I'm a generalist and love being one - I'm not amazingly great at anything but I've been pretty damn good at lots of things over the course of my life and I love the variety. My career was one that only a generalist could do well and I did well at it and it always felt like a great fit.

I live by the 80-20 rule - you get about 80% of the way towards being as good as you can get at something with about 20% of the effort, but to get that last 20% of the way towards finding your full potential is gonna take the other 80% of the time. I'm sure these percentages aren't precise (a scientist I used to work with first exposed me to the idea, which seems to have originated in business/economics - it's been applied in various ways), but I think the concept is right. I'd rather do five things pretty well and enjoy the variety rather than do one thing as well as I can possibly do it (which, who knows, may still not be that great).

There's no right answer, but there's a right answer for each of us and your personality seems to be telling you what yours is. But, hey, if you want to be really great at something, you're gonna have to find a way to motivate to put in the time...

Good luck figuring it out...

-Ray

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by Ray

Well, you can keep fighting your personality and see if you can breakthrough it into excellence at ONE thing. Which hasn't seemed to work for you thus far. Or you can treat it as a feature rather than a bug and just enjoy it. Lots of people are specialists - you're a generalist. The world needs both. I'm a generalist and love being one - I'm not amazingly great at anything but I've been pretty damn good at lots of things over the course of my life and I love the variety. My career was one that only a generalist could do well and I did well at it and it always felt like a great fit.

I live by the 80-20 rule - you get about 80% of the way towards being as good as you can get at something with about 20% of the effort, but to get that last 20% of the way towards finding your full potential is gonna take the other 80% of the time. I'm sure these percentages aren't precise (a scientist I used to work with first exposed me to the idea, which seems to have originated in business/economics - it's been applied in various ways), but I think the concept is right. I'd rather do five things pretty well and enjoy the variety rather than do one thing as well as I can possibly do it (which, who knows, may still not be that great).

There's no right answer, but there's a right answer for each of us and your personality seems to be telling you what yours is. But, hey, if you want to be really great at something, you're gonna have to find a way to motivate to put in the time...

Good luck figuring it out...

-Ray

Interesting perspective. Thanks!

[Joxster]

After the first week of July your coach should have addressed your problems with motivation and focus, whether you tell them or not it will show in your numbers. Get a new coach if you still want to race, if not then stop or you will end up hating bikes and riding them. Look at what made you lose focus and outside factors, there will be exterior issues that are in play and you might not be noticing them directly.

This happened to me:

I had been training well and my numbers were good for the first three months and I had some good results in the early season and this was pointing to a great June & July. Then in May my form dropped off, not much to begin with so it wasn't a worry I was still getting top 20's but I wasn't climbing or sprinting well and was off the pace. So I was told to rest for a week which I did but my form dropped right off, though my fitness was ok and nothing was pointing to illness or fatigue. We sat down with the DS, nutritionists, phsyio and coaches and was properly interrogated to the point that I thought I was being accused of lying on my training diary but the HR monitor and computer doesn't lie. Everything was covered, sleep patterns, what I was eating and drinking, how much time I spent standing up, sexual health and activity, my training partners were questioned as well, no stone was left unturned. Then one of the coaches said that I should get my teeth checked, I said that I had my usual check up with the team in January and they were good but he insisted. So I went along with it, the dentist poked and prodded and all looked ok but suggested that an x-ray be taken just to be on the safe side. A few hours latter I was in theater having nine teeth removed because the were crumbling from the inside due to a calcium deficiency. Two weeks later my form bounced back.

[parco]

I didn't like the person I became when I raced. I decided to put in a certain number of miles per week, peaking in August or September tapering off and then starting to build again in February or March. When I raced I didn't like to do anything that interrupted my training (like vacations with my family) and I realized that life is about more than riding a bike.

[fthefox]

Very interesting discussion.

I started racing as a Minime, then Cadet and Junior as a kid in France. These were the years when Richard Vivien became World champion in 87: http://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/09/...2224557812800/. He was our local hero. My dad used to race so he gaved me the virus and biking became my big passion as a teenager. Lemond and the white look pedals!!!

Lost interest in cycling as a yound adult. My dad was putting too much pressure on me. Got heavily into music, played local clubs for about 15 years. Lots a nice guitars and tube amps during these days. Music was the only thing that really mattered.

Settled down in Canada after a few other stops. Decided to get back in shape when I hit 30 as I was smoking quite a bit. You know the stereotype... Music, smoking and drinking go hand in hand! The only way for me to kick the habit was to compete again... Picked up triathlon and became locally competitive after a few years. Takes 7 years to become a good triathlete as an older wiser teammate told me once. He was right.

Anyway, started having health issues in my early 40's (UTIs...), fitness got really hampered which led to back issues and so on. Working towards regaining fitness now. I came to realize something: As an all or nothing type of guy, my competitive edge is not here anymore and that is great. I can show up for a cross race and a hammerfest ride, and if I deliver or not, I do not care. I just want to have fun, no matter the result. Is that maturity? ;-)

As some of you said it before, biking is a passion that gives balance to our lives, but it will never rule my life anymore. Family first. I am glad I finally reached this state of mine at 45. It is good to keep the ego in check. ;-)

Back to the first post, life is short and we might as well widen the experiences. But to each their own. What really matters is to be happy, as long as it is not at the expense of somebody else.

F