About this time of year, most endurance athletes’ "seasons" (in the northern hemisphere anyway) are wrapped up.  I said most cyclocross and indoor track racers!  Road and MTB seasons are over, fall marathons are done, the last Ironman competitions are completed.  Most athletes are rested or resting and planning for next year, looking at what they’re going to conquer and how they’re going to adapt their training to tackle their new goals.

For years I have told anyone who will listen (and some that don't) that developing an approach to training is a little like picking a religion or investment strategy.  There is no one single right answer.  There are many alternatives with different advocates and detractors, but at their core, there are common threads amongst them, but an approach that works for one individual might not sit well with another.

So what’s the right answer?  Well as you’ll end up hearing me say a lot, it depends.  The key to success in selecting or developing a training strategy (leaving the religion and financial advice analogies on the side of the road at this point – you’re on your own on those fronts!) is to figure out an approach that works for each person and their particular situation, monitoring and adjusting accordingly as you go.  Sounds simple, but it is often the biggest stumbling block for many athletes.

It means considering an athlete's strengths, weaknesses, limiters, inherent ability, goals, time and life situation, and crafting a personal training strategy that takes all of those things into account.  While it’s possible for well-read, experienced, self-coached athletes to do this, it’s also very easy to go wrong, as even the most self-aware individual will often rationalize a poor approach if they feel strongly enough about it.  In addition, it's all too easy to be swayed by teammates or training partners.  There’s a fine line between the positive motivation one can gain from being part of a group, and the stupidity that can come from peer pressure.  Athletes may also abandon a solid approach by jumping on board with the latest training article they read and convince themselves to do something that maybe isn't right for them given their situation.

The classic example of this is figuring out when and how much volume and intensity to incorporate into a training program.  After a break, most athletes are fired up, they are rested, have been reading about all the latest training techniques, and are eager to apply them all right away.  Everyone is hungry to get out there and throw down.  This often leads to folks going too hard, too long, too early and too often given when their target events are, how much of a "break" they have taken, and how much general preparation they have done in their off season.  The right "answer" to this common example again depends on the individual and their situation.

If you’ve struggled with your overall season strategy in the past, consider enlisting some help this year to give your approach an objective once over and help get you focused on achieving your goals this season.  Obviously a coach would be ideal, but if that is not in the cards for you, as a self-coached athlete one of your more knowledgeable and objective friends can likely help out.  But be choosy.  Don’t just pick someone you like (the one sprinting for every town sign in December is probably not a good choice) pick someone you trust.  Better yet, pick someone other people trust.  Someone you see people going to to get advice themselves.  There’s probably something there...

Given today is Veteran’s Day, I thought I would post up some links to a few organizations that support current military members' and veterans' participation in endurance sports.   As popular as endurance sports are amongst military members, I am surprised when I run into military members or veterans who were unaware of these program's existence.  Heck, I admit, a couple of these I didn't even know about until about a year ago, so figured I would help get the word out a bit.   I was fortunate to discover info about Armed Forces Sports in particular early in my own career and was also fortunate to be in roles that allowed me to compete, train and act as an ambassador to the US in international competition.   Please pass this on if you know someone who may be interested in any of these programs.

Thanks to all that have served, are serving or will be serving!

The cycling arm of Armed Forces Sports.  The key mission of Armed Forces Cycling is to contribute to worldwide cooperative security initiatives by representing the U.S. Armed Forces in worldwide cycling events under the International Military Sports Council (CISM) motto of “Friendship Through Sport”.

 The US Military Endurance Sports Program (formerly US Military Cycling) is a privately funded 501c3 non-profit organization supporting recreational and competitive cycling, triathlon, and adaptive cycling activities for current and Veteran members of the United States Armed Forces.  The team receives no financial assistance from the Department of Defense and aids athletes solely through the support of sponsors and donors.

Team Red White and Blue.  Team RWB is transforming the way that America supports its veterans as they transition from service member to civilian.   Team RWB creates communities of veterans, their families, and American citizens that enjoy authentic interaction through physical and social activities.

To support wounded veterans and their families through cycling rehabilitation programs and competitive cycling events with a central focus on mentoring, training and logistical support. Team 4Mil’s capstone annual event is the Race Across America in which an individual or a team of wounded veterans is entered and represents the year-long effort to Keep the Warrior Spirit Alive.

This past weekend marked the official kickoff of Otterhaus Performance Coaching (and there was much rejoicing).  For someone who has worked for the government via the military for the past 20 years (which was a great experience by the way), the startup has been liberating but has also taken some getting used to. 

While you are ultimately paid to think and make decisions as a military officer, you don’t realize how many constraints, guidelines and obstacles are in place that you have to work with, through or around to get your job done.  While I enjoyed my time in the Coast Guard, with any large bureaucracy many times you invest huge energy into a righteous effort, only to realize it’s not going anywhere.  Doing my own thing, it’s refreshing to see “more power going directly to the pedals” with more direct results from your labor and less red tape and overhead to deal with.  In addition, it’s been rewarding to learn about all aspects of setting up a business for real instead of just hypothetical widget making that you go through during undergrad or MBA classes, there is nothing like just jumping in and doing it and getting your hands dirty on all aspects of the business.  Not to mention the benefits of setting your own hours and priorities and to focus on something you have a lot of passion for. 

On the flip side, it also takes a lot more discipline and focus to ensure you don’t piddle the day away vice working on applying for your business license, learning the finer details of tax law and getting even smarter on new training approaches and Training Peaks (the occasional break is allowed though, I mean I have to ride, plus the occasional video game and guitar jam session refreshes you…).  With the discipline of a rigid schedule and work day gone, it’s easy to let time wander if you aren’t careful but I have gotten a grip on it.

Anyway, let’s get around to the point.  After being at first resistant, I decided to start a blog, open a Twitter account and launch a Facebook page to go along with the business launch.  Oooooo, you and everyone else on the planet, you say, yeah I know.   I have been an admittedly late adopter to all things social media, after that whole Beta and HD DVD things I guess have been cautious. 

In the past year as I was thinking through potentially starting a business and what I wanted to do with it, I could finally start envisioning uses of all of the above.  I think the light really turned on when I travelled to Belgium as the Team Director for the Armed Forces Cycling Team for their trip to the World Military Championships.  Just a few years ago when I went to Europe as a rider, I pretty much kissed my wife goodbye and told her what happened when I got back 2 weeks later.   With social media I could keep friends and family of the team up to date on what was going on with ease as it happened (except when driving the team car of course).  If the content is of interest to the target audience, it can be a wonderful thing.

So on to the blog, I have seen many started with the best intentions and then abandoned after only a handful of posts.  Or ones that are too long and read like a daily diary that are probably of little interest to a broad audience.   My intent is to try to avoid these pitfalls by focusing on short bits of endurance coaching and racing related info, on roughly a weekly basis with notices on updates going to both Twitter and Facebook.  Think tips, observations or lessons that I found useful and I hope may help other athletes.   I also reserve the right to attempt humor on occasion, as many will confirm, I am not a comedian but, I sure try, and when I travel I usually do stay at a Holiday Inn Express, so you never know, I might get you to laugh.

If you are interested, sign up for the RSS feed or follow us on Twitter @otterhauscoach or like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/otterhaus.performance.coaching

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!  I promise future posts will be more coaching and racing focused.