Although the heart of the racing season is approaching, it still seems quite far off.  It is these weeks in March and April that truly set you up for the summer.  It is also during these weeks, since you did a better job through the winter, that you can propel ahead of where you were last year – or in years prior. But too often, despite the days getting longer and the weather gradually turning, athletes often lose their perspective and motivation for the season that lies just ahead.

I receive daily workout updates and emails from athletes that either missed workouts, couldn’t stay motivated, have too much going on, or are even a little burnt out from pushing themselves mentally too early in the season.  Where once the athlete was filled with inspiration and pumped (!) to train for the next season, there is now lack of perspective regarding improvement, the doubt on how to get it all done, even frustration with the training plan.  The common theme in all these emails & updates is the difficulty to sustain motivation.

Somehow, when the event is right around the corner, life doesn’t get in the way, schedules clear up and the excuses fade from the training logs.  The athlete is filled with inspiration and focused to execute each session effectively.  Yet it is those events, the ‘A’ races, which end up also being the problem.  As we try to remain focused on the big event, our season highlight, we end up feeling overwhelmed. The amount of work between now and then is so large that it leaves us paralyzed.

Consistent, daily motivation & inspiration isn’t about the final result though.  True motivation, the kind that replenishes itself daily, lies in that simple concept I repeat so often: progression.  Of course your long-term goals are important, and they act like a North Star as you navigate through a season of competing and training, but the daily jolt you need comes in the form of progression.

Be a little better, just a tiny bit, than yesterday:

If you can focus on just one thing (in life actually…), it is being a bit better today, than yesterday.  When you get on your bike today, lace up the running shoes, or dive into the pool today, don’t think about your ‘A’ race.  Think about how you will be just a bit better than yesterday.  That’s all.  If you achieve this, you are not only a better athlete, but also one step closer to your goals for the ‘A’ race.  But the beauty in focusing only on being a better YOU, not a better athlete, faster, stronger etc., is that it simplifies the daily fun & motivation into it being just about you.  Just being a better you than yesterday.  You warmed up better, your prepped better for the workout, you fueled better, you hydrated better, you focused on recovery better, you were more engaged during the workout, you understood the workout better, you filled out your log better for your coach (!?) etc.  All and any of these things make you a better athlete than yesterday.  Not always a new personal best in the pool, highest avg. wattage or best running pace…but instead a better YOU.

Why?  Small, easily digestible improvements work so well.  Being better than yesterday allows for many little improvements to be made and allowing yourself to be successful.  How you are going to drop the avg. pace on your run by x:xx seems daunting, but being a second here or there faster than yesterday is doable.  This will help you move forward with positive momentum vs. the overwhelming feeling of how far you still need to go.  Better than yesterday…

Better than yesterday also allows you to focus on the process, it forces you to be in the present.  It requires you to pay attention in your workouts: “what am I doing now, today, that is better than yesterday?”  You never want to miss the opportunity, even if oh so small, to do things better.  Being a process-oriented athlete will inevitably create an environment for you to be an even better athlete.  In many ways, you are now behaving and approaching your training like an elite athlete: being better than yesterday…that is often all they focus on.

Better than yesterday also peaks our curiosity (and therefore motivation).  Can I?  How will I be better than yesterday?  Think ahead and prepare for that improvement.  And repeat the next day…can I be better?  Yes!  Only a little bit, but I AM BETTER.  Repeat.

Be creative with your daily dose of improvement too.  Eat better, arrive earlier, practice the mental game for your workout, maybe push one set harder than ever before, try warming down.  Any and all of these things can help answer the simple question:  Am I better today than yesterday?