"The Tree" or "The Forest?"

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The title is something that Kurt constantly reminds me of and is something that I am always pushing on my athletes. Let me explain.



"The Trees" are specific workouts, intervals, HR's, watts, sets and small details.



"The Forest" is the big picture and what could be called your fitness.



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If you look at a forest from above, will you notice if a tree is missing? I don't think so. The same could be said for missing a workout for the sake of recovery, family, or anything else. It is NOT going to make or break your fitness. Now if you don't take that day off and get injured, all of sudden you are missing 30 or 40 trees/workouts....THIS makes a difference.



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Another point that could be made here relates to the details of your training. Does it really matter if you are running at 144 or 145bpm or 7:30 or 7:32 per mile? What about riding a loop at 167 or 169 watts? Should you pay attention to things like this?



While it is important to watch for trends through your training and it is important to train to appropriate zones, don't get too hung up on the details...especially HR's. The important thing is for you to get out there day in and day out, stay healthy and work hard (enjoying it, of course)...your fitness is just the reward of all your hard work.



So next time people start debating over 2watts or 3bpm, know that they are just talking about the trees.

Comments

Sue said…
Pondering thoughts...Peter raced this last week in Boise and finished 5th in his age group...I am in my recovering period now..
7:06 PM
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