Moving Goals Post

Training is all about chasing goals. But then so is life. These can come in a variety of forms and this post takes a brief look at these and what they entail.

One aspect it highlights is that goals can shift and change with time. What can start as just a hobby can become an all consuming passion. And vice versa, it is easy to be a jack of all trades but being a master of one (let alone a few) takes focus and that requires discrimination. In my case for example I had a period from 2006 to 2010 when it was all about cycling. Then my wife and I did the walk of a lifetime so cycling played a second fiddle as it continued to do so while I took gaming to the limit and explored the world of WOW. 

When I returned to cycling around 2014 or so ish it was just to lose the weight I had gained, then I tried to reignite my time trialing but failed to really do so. But instead I discovered a new world, that of VR.  This allowed me to ride the climbs I love any time of the year in my own four walls. This in turn reignited the desire to improve and the self belief that I could do so despite getting "older".  Now I fully returned, my passion greater than ever. 

Here then is my take on types of goals along with brief reflections on how they relate to my here and now.

Fun

The simplest but also most essential. It is perfectly OK to ride a bike just for the sheer fun of it and nothing more. Ditto just about anything, be it doodling, gardening, cooking, taking a walk, whatever. 

My take: Fun is funny in that it is in the eye of the beholder.  What I have discovered is that for me the fun of cycling is the buzz of riding hard. It's probably the main reason I have become as good as I am. I just love smashing myself up, picking myself up and going again.

Benefit 

The other basic goal. For cycling the main benefit is that of fitness, along with the ability a bike gives you to just blow away the cobwebs and head off in any direction seeking pastures new or familiar. However ideally benefit will go hand in hand with fun. Doing something that one hates or even just doesn't particularly like just for a benefit, no matter how important, is unlikely to be something that one can sustain for a long time.

My take: The reason I started cycling. As a way to lose fat. Spurred on by boxed sets of 24 I managed this and only then started to find the fun side.

Completion 

This is the next rung upwards. Now the goal takes a definitive form. It may be to complete a 25 mile ride. Or to climb a mountain. Or finish an event. Whatever, the satisfaction lies in a job well done and accomplishing something. This is great, the only downside is that the first time is often the best time. Reaching the summit of a climb, when all around is new, is often the best experience. The second time round does not always quite elicit the same feelings

My take: This was the vital stepping stone. I started just wanting to be able to ride 25 miles and climb our local hills without getting off to push. 

Progression

The logical follow up to Completion, this is building on success and taking it a bit further. So after riding 25 miles going for 50 and then 100. Or after climbing one mountain aiming for two.

My take: To extremes. Looking back I can't believe that I decided to go from never having ridden a 100 miles to riding the Tour de France in a few months. But I did and it was the experience of a lifetime.  

The other massive take on this was the discovery of power and the MMP curve. I'll write about this shortly but ever since discovering these my whole focus has been about progression, progression, progression. 

Exploration 

Another follow up that may involve any of the above but trying a slightly different tack. So perhaps riding 25 miles off road. Or taking part in an Audax or a sportive. Or aiming to climb 100 different mountains. Or doing any of the above on a tandem.

My take: The tour of course but more interestingly has been that my quest for progression has led to me trying to be good at every type of road bike activity that exists, from short criterium racing to ultra long endurance events and everything between.

Speed – Another logical follow up to Completion, that can also go alongside Progression. Now the goal involves an element of competition. For Completion the main enemy is bad luck. Now it is the clock, though luck may still play a its part.

My take: This was my main goal 2008-2009 and it was very fulfilling chasing and beating time trial records and entering sportives going for the top standards. However after a while it began to pall. On my return I tried to focus on time trialing but it was never really something that I hugely enjoyed and I don't miss it much. 

Ranking – This marks a step change. All the previous goals are fundamentally intrinsic. It is just about doing it.. Ranking goals bring in an entirely new element, that of judging yourself against others. This can be a double edged sword, on the one hand competition brings out the best in many and its spur can drive one on to new heights. However on the other hand ultimate sucess is now in the hands of others for all but the very best of the best.

My take: I got into this 2008-2010 as well. It's fun for a while but really I much prefer beating my own PBs rather than some stranger. Still the spur of aiming to improve ranking can help motivation so from that end I continue to use this as a way to push myself. But I don't think I'll ever get massively into things like Zwift racing. It's just a good way to train and will remain so.

Being the best that one can be – A paradox. The terms can be set as one chooses, the essential point is that one feels one has done all one can possibly do.

In one sense this is the ultimate goal, it means performing to the very best of what one is capable of while taking account of limitations such as natural potential or resources.

However it may, indeed almost always does, require accepting compromise. One may simply never be able to be the best in the country, or town, or within a group of friends. Still being the best that one can be, however defined and whatever it actually means in terms of any of the goals above (though having fun at the same time is pretty essential to achieving this) is probably the best that one can aspire to.

My take: This is it for me. My overriding goal is to use a science based training approach to see how far i can progress in terms of increasing my power and/or resisting the supposed ravages of age.