Goal Setting for Success

Off-Season Goal Setting: Short-Term Wins = Long-Term Sucess

The off-season is the most under appreciated part of a triathlete’s yearly training cycle. It’s when you step back, assess where you are, and set realistic but exciting targets for where you want to go. Without clear goals, it’s easy to lose direction, especially once winter rolls in and training becomes more isolated. Goals too easy, you get bored. Goals too hard, you get discouraged.

Why Set Goals in the Off-Season?

In the October-December months, your race-specific fitness fades, but the off-season is where we can address weaknesses, establish sustainable daily habits, and build physically and mental durability. It’s important to understand that setting data driven goals provides:

  • CLEAR Direction

  • Motivation during colder months

  • A measurable way to track progress

  • Accountability when training gets quiet

Whether you’re chasing a podium or looking to level up year-over-year, measurable goals is key. When you base your progress off of feeling, you get inconsistent and insecure if progress is really happening.

Short-Term Goals: Win the NOW

Short-term goals are typically 4-12 weeks. They give you immediate structure when racing is far off and help you build toward your long-term vision.

Below are examples of worthwhile, actionable short-term goals.

1. Performance Benchmarks

These goals target pace, power, or swim thresholds.

Examples:

  • Test your running fitness with an 400m, 800m, or 1 Mile repeat tests. Use that to set a realistic short-term run goal (ex: dropping 5K pace by 10–15 seconds).

  • Bike: Track threshold watts (FTP) or 5min Max Power (Vo2 Max).

  • Swim: Measure CSS (critical swim speed) with a 200/400 or 1000 test.

These markers help determine where you stand — and give you concrete numbers to improve before race-specific training begins.

2. Training Volume Targets

A simple and effective way to build consistent momentum is by creating process-based goals:

  • Run: Hit 30 miles per week

  • Swim: Reach consistent weekly yardage

  • Bike: 8 hours per week

These goals reinforce consistency and durability without focusing on high intensity. They’re especially helpful when time or motivation fluctuates in winter.

Example from my own training this winter for my Spring IRONMAN:

“One of my goals is to consistently run 30 miles per week, and keep all my easy runs at 8:00 pace or slower to stay healthy.”

3. Training Style / Structure

Sometimes the goal isn’t just the volume — it’s how you approach training.

Examples:

  • Block periodization

  • Returning to technique work

  • Improving strength through weight training

Having structure gives you something predictable to anchor your weeks.

For example:

“One of my goals is a bi-weekly swim-strength workout where I swim a straight 1500 with buoy + paddles. I time this effort and aim to improve every two weeks to chart progress”

Another:

“I’m committed to 2× weekly strength sessions to stay durable and improve economy. I do these directly after my two hard bike workouts and aim to complete them under 30 minutes”

These aren’t glamorous, but gains come from doing the quiet work consistently.

4. Social & Environmental Goals

When winter hits, training can get lonely and motivation tends to dip. Setting social goals keeps it fun and accountable.

Ideas:

  • Find a local running group to meet 1–2× per week

  • Join indoor cycling group rides or online races (Zwift or TP Virtual)

When the racing scene environment fades, be intentional about building one.

Long-Term Goals: Build Toward Your Dream Outcomes

Long-term goals connect where you are today to where you want to be next summer. They drive the direction of your short-term focus.

1. Performance Metrics

Think of these as your goal performance standards:

  • CSS Swim Pace (1500 swim pace)

  • 20min Power and and/or 2 Hour Power

  • Desired 5K and/or HM pace

Even if the numbers seem far away, they help guide short-term decision making. For example, wanting to improve your FTP from 200 to 230 may determine that this winter you should emphasize Vo2 Max intensity rather than only Z2 and Z3 intervals.

2. Race-Specific Performance

Define what you want to achieve at your goal race:

  • “I want to swim X pace, bike X mph/ at X W/kg, and run X per mile.”

  • “I want to podium or finish in the top 3 in my age group.”

This gives you a framework to reverse-engineer your future training.

Benchmark Against Competition

Research:

  • What are the top 3 athletes in your AG doing?

  • What splits did they hit last year?

  • How close are you?

Then ask:

“What % improvement do I need to get there?”

If you need a 5–7% Bike FTP increase to bridge the gap, now you know the off-season must include structured bike development. If you already bike within 2-3 minutes, focus more on running this winter to bring that gap.

3. Limiter Identification

All long-term performance comes down to identifying your biggest areas of improvement.

Ask:

  • Where am I weakest?

  • How do i continue to train and enjoy this sport?

  • What’s holding me back the most?

  • What are the most efficient gains I can make?

Maybe:

  • Your bike power is strong, but you’re losing time in open-water swim confidence.

  • Will joining a group improve my long term enjoyment?

  • Your 5K pace is great, but durability is low and you fade late in the run.

  • You’re aerobically strong but lack mobility, resulting in injury cycles.

Your long-term goals should directly reflect how you’ll attack these limiters with intention.

Bringing It All Together

Your off-season training shouldn’t be random. Pair short-term wins with long-term vision.

Short-Term builds the foundation of a great racing season.

  • Weekly volume targets

  • Technique & strength focus

  • Social structure

  • Clear testing & benchmarking every 4-8 weeks

Long-Term Goals provides the foundation of whats to come

  • Define performance goals

  • Break down GOAL race-day paces

  • Identify limiters and reverse-engineer

If you align your day-to-day choices with your future ambitions, you’ll build the most important thing an athlete can have which is momentum.

Now is the time to lay your groundwork.
Set your goals. Chase them consistently.
Next season starts today.





If you are interested in coaching for triathlon, cycling, and or running. Take a look at our coaching packages. Even if you don’t live in Madison, we coach athletes all over the nation! Click HERE for more information!

How to Become a Better Cyclist

Becoming a stronger cyclist is one of the best ways to achieve a faster overall time and a better run off the bike.

Because cycling makes up such a large portion of a triathlon, it’s important to focus on developing your cycling fitness.

There are many factors that make a cyclist successful, but here are three of the most important:

  1. VO₂ Max
    This is your “ceiling”—the highest power you can sustain for about five minutes. Few of my athletes actually get this tested in a lab, and your Garmin estimate isn’t always accurate or usable for training. I usually test VO₂ max with a five-minute all-out effort. The average power from that test is your “Power at VO₂ Max.”

  2. FTP (Functional Threshold Power)
    FTP is the highest power you can sustain for 40–60 minutes. It’s a critical number for becoming a strong cyclist. The athletes at the front of triathlons usually have the highest FTP relative to body weight. Ideally, your FTP is about 80–85% of your five-minute power. (EX: 330 watt 5 Minute Max Power= 264 FTP)

  3. Bike Fit
    To produce great watts, you need to be positioned well on your bike. A saddle that’s too high, too low, or too far back can all reduce power. Think about a gym squat: if your hips are too far forward or behind your heels, you won’t recruit your muscles effectively—the same principle applies to cycling.

Improving VO₂ Max and FTP

There are many ways to train these systems, but one of the most effective methods is a 4–8 week cycling block.

Here’s how it works:

  • Volume: Double your current weekly cycling hours. For example, if you normally ride five hours per week, increase to ten hours.

  • Intensity: Limit yourself to one hard interval session per week to avoid excessive fatigue.

  • Balance: Reduce your swimming and running during this block to prioritize cycling.

  • Structure:

    • Ride five days per week:

      • 3 rides at ~50% FTP (easy)

      • 1 ride at Zone 2 (70–75% FTP)

      • 1 threshold session (90–105% FTP)

    • Plan two 4-week blocks: three weeks at high volume, followed by one recovery week.

Fueling is crucial. If you burn 600 kcal on a ride, aim to replenish those calories afterward.

Real-Life Example

One athlete I coach wanted to boost his cycling in preparation for cyclocross this Fall. We designed a plan focused on volume rather than high-intensity VO₂ max work, knowing that the extra hours would naturally improve both VO₂ max and FTP.

By week seven, we saw an 8% increase in five-minute power and a 6.5% gain in FTP—despite already training hard for over five years as a triathlete.

For athletes with several years of consistent training, fitness gains require more deliberate effort. Focused blocks like this can accelerate progress and give you fresh motivation for the season ahead.

If you are interested in coaching for triathlon, cycling, and or running. Take a look at our coaching packages. Even if you don’t live in Madison, we coach athletes all over the nation! Click HERE for more information!

OFF Season Training

Off Season is an interesting time of year for triathletes.


You just finished your big race of the year. You are tired, unmotivated, and the last thing you want to do is ride your bike. We get it, we’ve been there!



How much time should you fully take off after your big race? That depends, it varies from 0 weeks to 4 weeks. You often times see people get into their “post race blues” and most of this comes from the reduction of dopamine that you commonly get from your training and the positive stress from your goal event. When you go too long without training, you fall into this state. Training 30 minutes every other day after your big event is not a bad thing to do, it can actually help you mentally. Plus, taking too long off of training can make it even harder to get back into the swing again because your fitness feels “too far removed”. 


If you finished your event and are completely burned out, that is for a different conversation. 


My goal with athletes is to live by a 10%, 10%, 80% Rule. This means that they reduce volume and intensity significantly in two of the three sports, while the third you are 80% committed to. It’s not perfect but you understand the concept. 

How do you structure what the 80% will be?

  1. Your weakest of the three disciplines

  2. What will make you better the following year

  3. What currently excites you the most

  4. What you don’t want to do, but know you should

By default, most athletes will select running as the sport they want to focus on in the Fall. They select a variety of 5k to Half Marathon races and they “become a runner”. They increase their running frequency per week while reducing the swim and bike. Be ok not training to increase fitness in those two sports. This is the time to work on drills and improving swim technique while you’re not too tired.

To set up your goals for these events, you go back and look at your historical running data the past two years and aim to improve these times by 2-5%. 


This is also a great time to get back into the gym 2x a week to compliment your run training. We know through scientific research that strength training and plyometrics directly supports and improves your running. 

This is what we call a run block. You put in 2-3 months of training, dedicated to one sport, aiming to see a large boost of fitness. 

This block of training can then be transferred into the following season. Even though your running volume will reduce as your swimming and biking ramps back up, it is still supported by the increase in swim and bike training. This is the beauty of triathlon training.

If you are someone who wants to improve their running, this Fall is the time to do that. 

If you’re interested in joining our Fall Run Club, check it out here!

If you’re interested in a FREE Coaching Consultation where we will talk through your goals and how to set up your training this off season, for Madison and Remote (non Madison based), reach out here!

Did you know that our head coach Cindi coached at the London Olympics? Coach Jess is an IRONMAN Wisconsin Age Group Champion! Coach Steve guided the 2019 IRONMAN Wisconsin Overall Age Group Female Champion? Check out our awesome coaches here!

 

I'm Not Improving, Part 2

You are not trying hard enough, plain and simple. You want to see improvement, but you are scared of the effort it will take. You are afraid of committing to a process that may not pay off. 

The first step required is that you need to know your baseline fitness. This is critical for your development. Unfortunately, the first step is avoided because you don’t want to “see how slow I am.” The truth hurts but is also motivating. The downfall of avoiding these baseline tests is that you are left guessing. Even worse is believing that you hold the same fitness all year long. 

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When you are continually guessing, you have no way of measuring improvement, or your “improvement” goes in imaginary waves. The second option, you over guess your fitness and you end up injured. The third option, you continually undertrain and never see improvement.

Every athlete I’ve been fortunate to coach has wanted to improve. 

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If you are an athlete who has a habit of saying, “I feel like I’m not improving,” you need something measurable. Going off of a feeling isn’t measurable, its inconsistent and not reliable. You need concrete numbers that you can measure so you can SEE your improvement. 

What does this process look like?

Swim Example: 

Every 4th week you complete the same swim set of 10x100 R:20, and the goal is to swim the best possible average across all 10. The 1st time you do this set you average 1:50s. After the swim set you evaluate your pacing and effort. Did you start too easy or hard? Was I consistent or did I slow down?

In 4 weeks you do the EXACT same swim set, 10x100 R:20 and you aim to average a faster pace across all ten and correct any pacing/technical errors you made the first time you attempted this set. If you try again and average 1:47s, you are getting faster. If you average 1:50s again, you need to adjust your training in a certain way. 

Run Example:

This depends on the type of athlete and what you are looking to achieve. If you are very good at short distance events, I will challenge you to do 3x1 Mile best average R:3. If you are someone who loves the long run, I challenge you to do 12x400m R:1. 

The same idea applies for the swimming example, every four weeks you attempt the same workout looking to get faster with consistent execution.

The benefit of doing workouts like this are:

  1. You and your coach get to see your improvement. If there isn’t an improvement, then you evaluate your training or mindset and make tweaks to make yourself better.

  2. You will race better. These sessions are considered “Test Sessions,” and you should be slightly nervous before you start them. Its good to put pressure on yourself because it’s the same pressure you will have on race morning. Practice how you will race. Don’t always live in your comfort zone, and growth doesn’t live there. Complaining, plateaus, and burnout does.

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What is the appropriate amount of improvement every year? This will depend on the training age of the athlete. A newer athlete in a specific discipline will improve in larger chunks than someone who has been training in a specific discipline for ten years. Regardless, the improvement rate is between 2-5% every year. Again, this will vary for different levels of athletes. 

I’m talking about this because I often hear athletes say, “I was expecting more”. Many times athlete's expectations are unrealistic or they are comparing their-self to a different, more capable athlete. This is too common and is the road to constant dissatisfaction. How many of us have started the season excited to tackle our new, big, exciting goals? Then two months in feeling like they want to quit and are unhappy? This is common because you have realized your goals are not achievable and you become unmotivated. 

If your current threshold run pace is 8:00 per mile, in a year from now I would like to see you at a 7:40-45 per mile at threshold pace. This is realistic; anything better is a bonus. However, thinking you will improve from 8:00 pace to 7:00 pace will lead to injury and constant frustration.

I started this article saying you are not improving because you are scared of the commitment needed to improve. This uncertainty is caused by not having correct paces, goals, and expectations. When you have these, you develop a clear path of where you are, where you want to be, and how long it will take. When you have all of these, you are ready to commit. 

If you are interested in coaching, send us a message! We have coaching for every level of athlete!

https://www.madisonmultisport.com/contact

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I'm Not Improving, Part 1

This is so frustrating. 

I'm putting all of this work in with no return. 

Is this worth it. 

Maybe endurance sports aren't for me. 

I could be doing more with my time. 

I'm so slow.

Everyone is faster than me. 


These are the words I hear too often as a coach. I see them typed on social media, I listen to them whispered to friends, and I see it in athletes' eyes and body language. As someone who spends their day investing in others, listening to other people's stories, it is hard to witness such discouragement. Endurance sports can be enjoyable with the right mindset. Endurance events are an accumulation activity and what you put in, you will get a return. However, you need to be in the right mindset to reap these rewards. 

I was coaching an open water swim class this morning and this topic came to mind. The three main reasons people don't improve boil down to 1) Measuring 2) Effort 3) Expectation; and today I will focus on the foundation point, measuring your fitness.

  1. Measuring

In my experience the people who are discouraged continuously don't measure their training, so they have no clue how fast or slow they are going. They measure their effort off of other people which undoubtedly leads to dissatisfaction. Hot tip, there will always be someone faster than you, so this isn't a consistent measuring point. Using others as motivation is also a short term fix. You are ultimately out there for yourself. 

We coach six swim sessions a week that have ranging abilities. I was working with an athlete who stopped mid-workout to express dissatisfaction in how little they felt were improving. My heart sank as this is a horrible feeling as a coach. I asked, "how fast was your last 100 repeat?" The athlete responded, "I don't know." I took a moment and replied, "How do you know you are not improving if you don't know your speeds?" and the athlete responded, "Well, this person has been swimming faster than me."

Here lies the problem with group training, its a constant measure of your rank, which feels like a measurement of your worth even though it’s not. I am swimming the slowest which doesn't feel good, which must mean I'm not improving. A reoccurring observation is that athletes know their running pace but don't know their swimming pace. This is a reason people don't like swimming.

As a coach I know my athlete's swim paces. I time intervals of each athlete throughout practice and thankfully I happened to time this person's last interval. I reminded the athlete that when they first started, they were swimming at 2:00 pace for 100 repeats and this previous 100 was a 1:50. There was a moment of silence as this information was sinking in. The athlete was improving all along but never realized it. I stood next to this athlete the rest of the practice providing splits for the main set. The motivation for the remainder of the swim was something we never saw before; the athlete only got faster the rest of the class! The only difference was being more engaged in the process of swimming. 

This concept is not rocket science, but you need to know your ability. You are waking up every day to better yourself, and the only way to receive productive feedback is by measuring yourself. If you are an athlete, you should be doing tests in the swim, bike, and run throughout the year. It is imperative for long term success. 

Coach Steve

If you are interested in coaching, click on the link HERE 

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How My IRONMAN Training Has Changed

When I first started with triathlon my primary goal was making the distance, not to “race it”. I talk to my athletes about being able to see the finish instead of swarming yourself with the “how can i complete the swim” mentality. This is very normal with newer athletes because each discipline is daunting and no matter what i say, they simply have to experience the race and distance to feel more confident. Especially for people making the jump to the longer distances. When I did my first Ironman in 2010, even though I had already qualified for multiple 70.3 world championships the distance of the Ironman intimated me to where many of my swims, bikes, and runs were all at or above my desired race pace. I did this to prove to myself that I could accomplish the distance. I was literally searching for confidence every weekend! 


When I trained like this I would determine the outcome of my season through EVERY SINGLE session months in advance of my Ironman. If the session went well I was confident. If my session sucked, I was instantly regretting everything i’ve done and rethinking a new plan. So dramatic! If i was ever hurt I was already on WebMD diagnosing I had a stress fracture. I was an emotional roller coaster!

I’ve heard this phrase “endurance training is alot of general conditioning with a tad of specificity” and I really enjoy it because its how I coach and how i view my own training from a physical and emotional stand point. I never get too emotionally high or too low. If you are too far on the specificity side than you are dialed in too often and that creates injury, burn out, and emotional swings. This isn’t healthy. YES, you should compare and track your sessions but not every week. I find that people go full specificity mode when training starts to get feel good. They get motivated, they’re seeing improvement, then they blast it all of the time, every session! Then they quickly find themselves tired, exhausted, and needing a break. They forgot what type of training got them to this great shape. Think about it…

What training in a more general sense brings is greater enjoyment, more fluctuation of training intensity, longevity with athletes, and fewer burnout. Training in a general sense allows you to just go out and ride! No structured intervals, just ride! This is why in key long rides I commonly split sessions between specificity focus versus kilojoule focus. When its specificity focus it may be something like, 3x30’ @ IM/70.3 Power and when its KJ focus it may be, “get your KJ budget in however you want” and many times people enjoy this approach because you can either go short and hard or long and easy. General training does NOT mean training with no plan, structure and make it up as you go. That’s just an excuse to be lazy. Don’t switch your focus every month off of what you read or whats being spewed by the Youtube experts. Being general means have greater long term approach and higher fluctuation in the intensity you’re training at. Find a coach who doesn’t flip flop like a pancake. The ones that hold steady but are flexible to your situation are the best coaches.

Also, with a more general approach you don’t experience as much fatigue build up from all of the long hard demanding sessions. These are the “look at me sessions” you do to look good on social media. I was as guilty as anyone for doing these sessions. I remember doing a session that was 100 miles at IM watts followed by 13 miles running at desired IM run pace (6:45s). You know where that got me? On the couch for a week. The big sessions don’t create the fitness, the weekly consistency does. Those sessions may feed the lack of confidence, but they increase the physical, emotional, and hormonal damage. Also, these sessions create the greatest fatigue which is the reason athletes underperform on race day. Too many hard long training days, too frequent, too close to the race. You enter the race so deeply fatigue you have nothing on race day. Commonly you see people firing on all cylinders during this phase but miss time the stress dosage and show on race day mentally and physically fried wondering why they couldn’t reproduce the magic on race day. I get it though, you’re fit and ready and want to show it… but don’t show it every weekend in training, save a little. The big training days are OK, just not every week.

Now that I no longer have the fear of completing the distance, I’m more cautious during training intervals and my pacing. That doesn’t mean I don’t train hard, I certainly do at times. It just means I don’t go above my prescribed ranges to prove anything. I also go way easier on my easy and endurance training sessions. This approach seems to work as I never get down after a bad session, I don’t take it personally, I just role with the training to build consistency. When you finally get over the “make every session count” mentality, you open up a sense of relaxation and freedom.


My take aways:

  1. Not every long ride is a chance to prove yourself

  2. Going slightly easier will help you in the long run

  3. If you are always going hard, you really aren’t training hard enough

  4. Have a beer, wine, cheeseburger every once in awhile. 

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Coach Steve

Another Step Forward

Another Step Forward

Since returning from our Arizona Training Camp my training has been going very well. I’ve been putting in 600-800 TSS weeks, 4-5x weekly swims, 4-5x weekly bikes, and 2-3x weekly runs, and 2x strength sessions at Functional Integrated Training. 

First thing you may notice is that i’m not running much. At first I had a hard time with this but ultimately it came down to reality, need, and time of season, and absorption. Outside of the final build to a big race, you rarely you aim to have perfect balance in all 3 sports. Why not? Unless you are very balanced in all 3, you should be focusing on improving one area which means you need to lower another. Commonly swim and run fitness don’t work well together. If you are running alot your swimming will take a dive. It’s hard to go through this compromise but I need to get better and this is the time.

My areas of weakness have always been the swim and bike and I commonly run well off the bike to my fitness level. With all eyes on TTT and Ironman Wisconsin which are both 140.3 miles, the swimming and cycling need the priority, especially the swimming. I believe I can muscle my way through a 70.3 with very limited swim training but the Ironman has been a different story and my constant struggle of endless 3:30-3:40 marathons When I should be at 3:20. The goal with the heavy swim block is to build the durability and pure conditioning so I can arrive to the run having spent much less energy as well as have a stronger 2nd half of the bike. I would estimate between the 3 weekly runs I am averaging 25-30 miles per week. Quality Hill and Threshold workout, Quality Long Run, Easy run. 

Second observation is swim frequency. I can’t tell you the last time i’ve swam 4-5x a week for an extended period. This didn’t take any convincing as I knew I needed to. Doing this was critical for accomplishing my long term goals. No one cares about how fast you swim and bike if you can’t run off it. Early in the block I sent some video to Coach C and we noticed some areas of improvement with my breathing and stabilization. Every stroke I took afterwards was focused on fixing these issues, thats alot of drill work! This past Monday we did the CSS 400/200 swim test. I did this test later last year and set two personal bests of 5:08 and 2:29! The morning of the test I was anxious to the point of shortness of breathe and slight shaking, I WAS NERVOUS! Through my nerves I convinced myself that my body was fatigued, my arms hurt, that this test wasn’t going to go well. Self Sabotage at it’s best! In the warm up I rehearsed the mental cues I was going to execute in the test, keep it simple, focus. 1,2,3, Breathe and Reach were the things I was telling myself. In the counting of 1,2,3 were focused on exhaling and the 4 was my breath. I have a habit of holding my breathe when going fast.  

200 yards into the test the fatigue level was pretty high and there was a moment where I said, “hey, you are ok, focus” and I kept drilling it while focusing on my cues to silence my lactate gremlins. The final 100 I was still holding it together. I finished the 400 and saw 5:05, a new personal best at 1:16 average! The 200 went off and around 75 to go my legs were going numb, it was crazy! I stayed focused on my technique and cues and nailed another personal best of 2:26, boom!

My goal of swimming under 1 hour at IMWI is becoming more real. Now, I need to build up the endurance to have the conditioning to handle 4k of open water swimming. The speed is there.

Thank you for reaching and keep training and believing!

Onwards and Upwards.

Coach Steve

2019 New Years Resolutions

New Years Resolutions


There are two types of people on this subject, you are either making resolutions or you’re not. I don’t think I have ever made New Years Resolutions before. Since starting this blog, posting my workouts on Strava, communicating my goals to the World Wide Web, I have found that it has provided a higher level of accountability. Some people have no problem being accountable to themselves, however, I need accountability. The more accountability I share with people the more focused I remain on the tasks at hand. 

  1. Be more present. When its work time, I work. When its family time, the phone is away. Being an endurance coach its easy to get sucked into this “on call 24/7 availability”. I am getting better at not working as much on the weekends so I can have more family time. Plus…social media can suck the life out of you. It can provide levels of pressure to be someone you’re not. It can also provide constant uncertainty in what you are doing. You can lose yourself and your personal beliefs through it, all for someone to “like” your crap. No wonder depression rates have increased. You be you, not someone else. It can also diminish your focus from whats most important (family, friends, dog, work). I do believe social media can provide good and there are many people who provide positive messages. Lauren Fleshman comes to mind because she is a powerful individual who shares her highs and lows. She’s real. She gets it.

  2. Take Risks. I have so many goals I want to accomplish that I never accomplish any of them. I get side tracked, confused, unfulfilled because i’m half assing so many things. This year I am going to focus on 1-2 projects and do them to the best of my ability. I have acouple long term projects that I would love to accomplish that i’ve always been afraid to tackle. I am starting to talk to the right people, making the correct phone calls to make it happen. 

  3. Be ok with training less. 10 years ago I was fulfilled with how many hours I trained a week. I lived to grow this number. Now I don’t even look at it. I am more fulfilled with being a good husband and father compared to how much time I am spending away from them. I don’t train in the middle of the day. I only train in the morning or at night when my daughter is sleeping. If I train 6 hours or 12 hours a week I am still the same person I was the week before, it doesn't define my dedication or commitment to my goals. What will define me is if I am still married after Ironman Wisconsin. I have big goals, I want to do very well this September. However, what if i don’t reach my goals? What if i go slower than 2016? Oh well! But that’s not the point, what is? Keeping a healthy life balance. Keeping a happy family. Keeping a tired dog are more important than a number or an overall time. 

  4. Stop picking at my hair. It’s a nervous habit, i get it. It’s also making me go bald and I hate it. Not enough Rogaine or men’s voodoo hair products will regrow the hair i continue to pick out. 

If you ever want to take a look at what the training schedule or a Time Crunched Athlete who is trying to Kona Qualify looks like….here it is!

Coach Steve

Anatomy of a NEW Personal Best at Madison Half Marathon

I was so fed up with never seeing improvement. After years of all talk and no action, it was time to act. I was getting tired of myself. Time to change things up and commit. It paid off again at the Madison Half Marathon. 

Sub 1:23 is possible!

Sub 1:23 is possible!


I cannot tell you the last time I set a Personal Best in running. I think the last time was in 2010 at a 4th of July road 5k when I was training for Ironman Wisconsin. That would mean I went 8 years without any improvement. For 8 years I blamed everyone and everything but myself for my poor results. When you don’t see improvement you start to second guess what you’re doing. I would estimate that my drive to improve really tanked around 2012. In 2012, I moved from Arizona back to Wisconsin. I was starting up a new business. I wasn’t improving in athletics. I lost all life balance. However, I continued to do an Ironman each year only to get slower and that was my biggest mistake. The need to just DO an Ironman because its routine won’t make you a better athlete, it made me worse. It killed my motivation.  

Since my recent declaration to stop being all talk I have set two personal bests. One in swimming and one in running. I’ve made myself accountable to coaches, friends, and the internet… and it’s working. Instead of hiding my goals and fears, i’m letting everyone in on them.

In the final 3 miles, a low point for me.

In the final 3 miles, a low point for me.


Coming into the Madison Half Marathon I was training really well and times were showing a PR was possible. The days before the race I started to get nervous and my body got weird tightness and aches which is common pre race stress. When your body knows you are about to punish it, it wants to protect itself. 

In 2017, I ran 1:24:15 with an average of 6:26 pace

In 2018, my goal was to break 1:24


Race Morning 

5:00: Wake up, 2 cups of coffee, 4 pancakes, lots of syrup, 1 fruit smoothie

5:50: 20’ Easy Bike on indoor trainer at 60-70% of FTP

6:30: Arrive at race site having consumed a 400c bottle of carbohydrates

6:40: 10’ Easy run, visualize, breathing, relax, don’t freak out

6:50: Last Portopotty visit

6:55: Check in gear bar

7:00: Try and get near the front, only to start near the 2:00 Half Marathon Starters 

7:10: Race starts. I am no where close to the front “Dont panic, this could be a good thing”

———

Mile 1: “This isnt a good thing, i’m upset, i’m weaving through everyone, i’m wasting energy. My race is over.”

Mile 2: “Ok, i’m done pouting. Focus on your execution goals”

Mile 3: “Ok, this is the long false flat section. Why is my HR so high? Crap, i’m running 6:05s. Slow down its too fast”

Mile 5: “I’m still running 6:05s, this isnt going to end well”

Mile 6: 36:55 (6:10avg)… I’m going to PR today. Holy crap!

Mile 8: “I’m dying. This hill is huge”

Mile 8.5: “This bluff is so stupid. I should just walk. I feel terrible. Everyone is passing me”

Mle 9: “You need to do this for Cindi and Lucy. They have supported you through this”

Mile 10: “My legs feel like bricks”

Mile 10.5: “Dude, stop whining. You’re whining. You can PR today. Toughen up and get it done”

Mile 11: “Oh, there’s Cindi and Lucy. Hey Lucy! She sees me. She smiling and waving, yay!”

Mile 11.1: “I’ve got new energy, bring it on”

Mile 11.2: “Shit another hill, where’d my energy go. This wind sucks”

Mile 12: “Come on! Relax, stay smooth. relax. Keep your rhythm. 1 Mile to go”

Mile: 12.5: “Another hill! Are you flipping kidding me. I’m barely running up this thing”

Mile 12.8: “There’s no way I can PR, i’m dying. There’s nothing left”

Mile: 13: “Holy crap, I can break 1:23. I can still to PR. Effing Push it!”

Mile 13.1: New Personal Best Half Marathon 1:22:58…Boom!

———

I’ve been wondering what has been the secret sauce to my new streak of Personal Bests and i’ve come to a conclusion. 1) Get Married 2) Have a kid 3) start a blog and tell the world your shortcomings and goals. 4) Work with a coach who provides accountability

In Maple Bluff. The hilliest part of the race!

In Maple Bluff. The hilliest part of the race!


But seriously, before Cindi and Lucy I was a free bird with no direction or hurry. I got lazy because I had too much flexibility on my hands to train. In fact, it was so much flexibility I never trained. Now that I am the busiest i’ve ever been I’m the most productive. Now, I make everything count and there is no messing around with training. Every session and race that I do I am grateful for. The pressure to deliver is higher and I like that. This is why I respect Jackie Hering so much, she is a mother of 2, Professional Triathlete, Race Director, Ironman freaking Champion, and she is piecing it together like the rest of us. 

Seeing Cindi and Lucy!

Seeing Cindi and Lucy!


I am beyond happy with how everything is going. On my original goal sheet I needed to get my Half Marathon to 1:22 and ive done it. My swim speed is ALMOST to my original goals. GOAL SHEETS WORK!