Newsletter - January, 2004 Welcome to the Wes Hobson Performance Newsletter! Sponsored by Clifbar and Cervelo In This Issue:

 

This WHP Issue Concentrates On the Mental Aspect In Life and Sport.
Included in this issue:

SETTING GOALS:

It is January and it may seem cliché, but if you don't have any goals, whether athletic, family or work, it would benefit you to create some. For more on goal setting, go to http://www.weshobsonperformance.com/articles/mental/settinggoals.html

FEAR OF SUCCESS:

Question:

Dear Wes,
I think one of the reasons I don't achieve my full potential at triathlon racing is because I am afraid of failure to myself. In reflecting back to major races, I have been injured before every one of them! I am beginning to believe that I am, to some degree, afraid of success and thus injure myself so that I don't go into a race 100%, thus giving it my all and having to top it during the next race. Does that make sense? I want to go into a race 100%!!!! Do you have an opinion on this?

Opinion:

Ahhh, Fear of Success. For me, I want to achieve my best. Yes, I may fail and I have failed in the past, but oh those successes sure are fun to have around as well. Take a simple approach of being successful.

1. You may never know what success is (racing, work) unless you "go for it."
2. Why not try to achieve success? Who would you be letting down if you don't achieve success? Most likely just yourself. However, would you really be letting your self down if YOU know YOU tried and YOU know YOU gave it your best and YOU know YOU still gained from what YOU may determine as a failure? We can be too hard on ourselves. Turn your attitude/mantra around and say only those that fear failure will never know success.
3. Don't be on your deathbed saying, "I wish I could have tried to achieve more even though I might have failed."
4. ***** However, don't let achieving your goals affect other aspects of your life negatively. You need to find a balance as well.

TRIATHLON TRAINING PROGRAMS - Just $5 Per Week!

Do you need some motivation to get you started for next season? I have created a 16 WEEK PREP and BASE PHASE training program to help you lay the foundation for your triathlon race season. The program is designed for you that I believe, and others who have used it, help you achieve triathlon success. This program can be used by triathletes of all abilities and who compete in short or long distance triathlons. The program only costs $5 per week ($80 total). You can purchase this and other triathlon/duathlon programs www.trainingbible.com/whp. A % of sales goes to the Active Awareness Charity Fund.

"Wes' triathlon training programs helped motivate me to get out the door. Every workout had a purpose and I felt like I didn't have to second guess if my training was going in the right direction. The program is inexpensive and effective.

Thanks Wes for offering these training programs."
Gerald from Texas.

CREATING CHALLENGES:

Peak performance is often achieved when an athlete is faced with a challenge roughly equal to their skills. When faced with a challenge greater than their skills, they became frustrated. When faced with a challenge below their skill level, they are often bored. Make a goal that is hard to achieve, but within your reach. Although base training is necessary by doing a lot of volume, it can create a sense of boredom for the athlete. This attitude may aid in an athlete getting into bad habits by only "going through the motions." By having challenges within a high volume day, you can stay sharper and avoid boredom. A few ideas are to:

1. Exactly repeat split times across many intervals in swimming. This challenge consists of self awareness and pacing.
2. If you have a cycling computer that has a cadence monitor, guess what your cadence is before looking at the computer. Again self awareness and technique evaluation.
3. When on a long run, estimate how long it will take you to get to a certain landmark. Again pacing as well as distance approximation.

Take a minute to visualize doing a technique perfectly before doing it. Try to feel the technique before doing it. If you can't "feel" it, then why? I have found that having an athlete taking a little bit of extra time before doing the technique drill, the quicker that person learns the technique. If you can quietly focus, you can achieve a greater success more quickly.

Las Vegas Fantasy Triathlon Camp Filling Up!

The third annual Las Vegas Fantasy camp at the Venetian Resort and Casino is March 11-14, 2004. The camp is already more than half full:

Boulder Triathlon Camps:
If you can't make it to Las Vegas, then be sure to register for one of the three camps at the "triathlon Mecca," Boulder, Colorado.

For more details, again go to www.weshobsonperformance.com/camps

LONG RUNS:

During base training, training for a marathon or training for an Ironman, long runs can be very beneficial for future performance. Instead of having an athlete do 3 hour runs or longer, I will have them run up to 2.5 hours if preparing for a marathon or an IM. For those athletes that will take longer than 3.5 hours to run a marathon in an IM, then I will have them do double runs with the most running time in one day being 2:15 and then 1:00. I require that the athlete not do the second run for at least three hours after the first run is complete. This allows the athlete to eat and recover. He then does the second run feeling fairly fresh where the body is fatigued still from the first run, but not so much that his form falls apart. This also prevents him from getting injured with bad form. In addition, the recovery from "shorter" long runs is much more rapid than doing a 3 hour or longer straight long run.

The only time I have an athlete run longer than 2:30 at any one time is if they MENTALLY feel like they need to run long in order to prepare mentally for an IM or marathon. If the mental aspect is not a concern, I don't have someone run longer than 2:30 even if they might do a 5 hour marathon in an IM. During training, the recovery period of a 3 hour + run, effects the workout performances of the other disciplines and possible injury may not be worth the possible advantages of a long run.

Even with long double runs, you still need to allow the athlete time to recover from the run. The next day is an easy bike and possibly an easy run or swim. Again, this varies depending on the time of year.

Coming up as 8 of my athletes prepare for the Las Vegas Marathon, Jan. 25, I will be having seven of them running 6-8 hours a week with only one bike and two swims. This is in addition to weights for many. They seem to be handling the workload well as the intensity is down for most of the workouts AND they aren't doing much with the other two disciplines this time of year. Most of these athletes have families and work 40+ hours a week.

For more on long running, go to http://www.weshobsonperformance.com/articles/run/long.htm.

Newsletter Forwarding:

Readers are encouraged to forward this newsletter to friends, family members and other triathletes. If you've been forwarded this newsletter and would like to subscribe (for free), complete the easy online subscription form at www.weshobsonperformance.com.

About Wes:

Wes Hobson has competed in over 220 triathlons, from sprint- to Ironman-distance. He garnered 35 first places, 60 top-three finishes and 96 top-five finishes during his 12-year professional career that also included being selected "Triathlete of the Year" by the USOC. Wes co-authored Swim, Bike, Run, and created three triathlon and cycling related films. Wes coaches multisport athletes, single-sport athletes and puts on the Wes Hobson Performance Triathlon Camps. He can be reached at wes@weshobsonperformance.com. To purchase any of his films or book, visit www.weshobsonperformance.com.

 

Contact: Wes Hobson

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