- At some point in the season,
it's likely that you're not gonna feel
like training, for whatever reason.
Whether you come up with an excuse for yourself,
your training partner, or your coach,
it doesn't really matter.
Deep down, you know it's an excuse
and that it probably could have been avoided.
So today, I'm gonna be covering the most commonly used
excuses for missing a training session
and more importantly, the tips on how to avoid them
occurring in the first place.
This has to be the most common excuse.
We choose to do three sports and most of us
juggle a job, then have the social
and or family commitments as well,
so of course we don't have enough time.
Having said that though, for some reason,
we choose to do a triathlon and we do manage
to fit the training in, so we know that it's possible.
Yes, I get that there are only 24 hours in a day
but being organised and having forward planning
will give you the best opportunities we have
to complete that training session.
And also, you need to be flexible.
So for example, if you have a long run
or a long, steady cycle,
think about being able to adapt that.
For example, if it is a long bike ride that you need to do,
how about changing to do it on the turban,
so you can make it shorter and more intense
and also, you don't need to waste time
cleaning your bike afterwards.
If you have a sport you're doing,
a fair amount of kit is required,
and whether you're going straight from training to work,
or out for coffee, the idea of carrying
your sweaty kit around or a soggy towel,
probably doesn't appeal.
You might well find that your local gym or work
will actually provide you with lockers,
where you can leave your kit,
and if you find yourself commuting,
either cycling or walking or running,
travel light on those days and the other days,
when maybe the weather's bad and you're going by
public transport, or driving in,
then you can take the rest of your kit with you.
And another alternative, just invest in a nice kit bag
that you don't mind carrying around with you
and it won't interfere with your plans.
Okay, this one gets me.
I still think that if it's darkness,
that means bedtime or at least a glass of wine,
if it's the evening or pressing a snooze button
if it's still dark in the morning.
But depending on where you live,
this could severely hamper your training,
especially if you have a long, dark winter
or if you live near the equator
then it could affect you all year round.
At the beginning of the day, getting up in the dark
really is one of the hardest things
but there are a few tips that you use to help you.
For example, you could set your alarm and leave it
on the other side of the room,
so you've at least had to get out of bed,
and you're halfway there.
And another thing that I have to do,
especially if I'm going swimming early in the morning,
is pack my bag the night before and then
at least I don't have to think,
just have to get up and leave.
Also, you could use one of those lights
that comes on gradually, so by the time your alarm goes off,
your room is nice and light and hopefully
that's gonna make it a little bit easier.
And then at the other end of the day,
it's advisable to try and go straight to training
from whatever you finished doing.
So whether that's going straight from work,
not coming home and sitting on the sofa
because then your session is far less likely to happen.
And that's the motivation side,
but then it's the practical side with training in the dark.
So if you are going to go running in the dark,
for example, plan your route where you know
there's gonna be streetlights or go to the gym.
Or if you are gonna run somewhere further afield
and you want to still have that adventure in your run,
invest in some good lights or a head torch
and always wear reflective brake clothing.
Let's admit it, if it's not on Strava,
that doesn't count.
Well that's what they say,
but it isn't actually entirely true.
Although I have had that sinking feeling
when I've forgotten to press Start on my watch,
or the batteries died midway through,
but the training effect is still exactly the same
on my body, it just means that I can't boast
about it on social media platforms.
Does this matter?
Some people might say yes, but fear not,
there are actually ways in which you can
damper the loss of your training session.
For example, if you've done your run or your ride
with a friend, you can just ask them to share it
and then it can actually come up on your feed
as though you've completed it with them.
Another option, if you've done the route previously,
you can just then find that and then download it
onto your Training Peaks for example
or you can even manually add it into certain programmes,
such as Training Peaks,
so your session will still turn green.
But if all of that is not enough,
it's probably a sign that you need a little bit
of a sports technology detox.
I dare you to try and go two days
without uploading any of your training.
We've all done it.
We've got home tired after training,
jumped straight in the shower, had some food,
watched television and gone to bed
and then not realised til the next morning
that you forgot to take your kit out, wash it and dry it.
Well, it's not very pleasant but realistically,
it's not actually gonna hurt you to wear that kit again,
although it might be a little offensive to your friends.
But if you do have to recycle your kit,
then you might need to do that training session
on your own or at least run or cycle downwind
of those your riding or running with,
and I must admit, at Running Club,
I have had to reposition myself in the group
from a few smelly T-shirts before now.
Doing anything when you're hungry is difficult
and it does depend on what level of hunger we're talking.
You need to work out whether it's just
the thought of going training instead of having
that nice, hot meal that you can smell when you get home
or if it is actually hunger.
And then, first of all, make sure you're
adequately hydrated because that can actually
disguise itself as hunger sometimes.
And if you are still hungry,
then just have a pre-training snack.
And I make sure I've always got some emergency snacks
in my bag if that does happen to me
so it doesn't get in the way of my next training session.
If you've done an intense session
or trained in a hot environment,
it's likely that your body temperature's gonna
take awhile to cool down.
And then add to that trying to get changed
in a hot, humid changing room,
especially if you're in a hurry,
it's gonna take even longer,
and that often results in that red-faced look
many of us experience.
Every time that you've time been swimming,
you might even have goggle rings or hat marks
to add to that, and that's not really
the type of look that you're gonna want
for your first work meeting of the day.
If you do have the option of a cold shower
for a few seconds, it's unpleasant at the time
but it will definitely help reduce your body temperature,
or even just splashing some cold water on your face
and make sure you allow yourself enough time
so you're not getting changed in a rush.
But if that still doesn't help,
then it could be worth investigating and getting
some face cooling cream or even
dabbling in a little bit of makeup.
I really could go on and you probably realise
that I'm really a little too good at these excuses
but I think that's enough for one day.
Hopefully, you don't find yourself using
any of these excuses but if you do,
you've at least got methods in which
to overcome them and make sure you get
that session completed cause trust me,
the feeling afterwards is definitely worth it.
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and if you do struggle with time being an issue
when it comes to your training,
we've made a video for strategies to deal with that,
just here and if you want to know how to avoid
junk miles when it comes to cycling,
you can check out this video here.