sensible goals

[GLC1968]

Can your goal be measured in ways other than speed?

Like having a goal of completing a certain organized ride in your area (maybe one that happens to be longer than you've ever gone before)?

Or perhaps a certain number of rides per week consistently...or like Sue suggested, miles per week?

Or, to make it more impressive sounding - say you have 16 weeks in the semester...if you plan on riding (on average) 4 times per week, that would be a total of 64 rides. You could say your goal is to ride 65 times before the end of the semester and then you could do a count-down to keep track. Then you could translate that into miles...say an average ride for you is 10 miles...you could shoot for 10x65 or 650 miles before the semester is out! That sounds REALLY impressive and yet it's do able (if you use your own averages, of course).

[crazycanuck]

Pssst-happy birthday Tuckervill!

[Kedwards]

Pick a goal that is measurable, specific, reasonable, and moderately challenging. But, just as importantly, pick a goal that resonates with your personal ambitions. Do you want to get faster? Put more miles in? Build endurance? Be more consistent?

Some examples of possible goals

1. You could train for one ride of a particular distance, it could be a solo ride or a scheduled/organized ride. A full or metric century could be an example, but pick whatever distance suits your personal ambitions.

2. If you want to get faster, you could aim to get a certain speed in a "time trial" of a certain distance. If you know what your current personal best is on a particular 15-mile, 25 mile, or whatever, course, you could aim to increase your speed by a certain amount. Perhaps 1 or 2 miles per hour increase might be realistic if you plan to add some speed work to your training and really up your intensity.

3. If you want to increase time on the bike, you could aim for ride a certain number of miles over the course of the semester. For example, you could try to get 500 or 1000 miles on the bike (or whatever distance seems suitable to you).

4. A take-off on the above would be to set a weekly mileage goal that focuses on consistency rather than overall mileage. For example, your goal could be to complete 75, 100, or 150 miles per week, each week over the semester.

[Tuckervill]

Or, to make it more impressive sounding - say you have 16 weeks in the semester...if you plan on riding (on average) 4 times per week, that would be a total of 64 rides. You could say your goal is to ride 65 times before the end of the semester and then you could do a count-down to keep track. Then you could translate that into miles...say an average ride for you is 10 miles...you could shoot for 10x65 or 650 miles before the semester is out! That sounds REALLY impressive and yet it's do able (if you use your own averages, of course).

Yeah, see, this is why I asked here. This is the kind of thinking that wasn't occurring for me.

All have been good ideas, and Geonz, thanks for the info on the 25 miles. I hadn't thought of it that way, either. I did a 25 mile ride in October, but I have no idea how long it took. I believe it was less than 2.5 miles, for sure.

I really won't be able to ride regularly until about the first of March (hopefully), so I will have to allow for that, too.

Thanks!
Karen

[Tuckervill]

Oh, and thanks for the birthday wishes!!!

Now I'm going out to catch a glimpse of the McNaught Comet.

Karen

[LBTC]

Are you able to count time at all activities instead of just cycling goals?

If so, you could have an increasing scale of how much time you'll put into cardio and include your time in the gym before cycling season; based on your own current schedule now, say 90 minutes a week during the start month; but 3 hours a week by the end of the semester....

There are sooooo many ways to cut it, have fun! And, as someone else said, make sure you always compare you to you and nobody else!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Tuckervill]

Yeah, good ideas.

I don't know how it's going to go, yet. Find out Saturday at the orientation.

It will be interesting because "Coach", we think, is the same guy we hired to help our son with his batting. And while at the last lesson, as my son and hubby arrived at his home, he decided to set fire to some brush in his yard. It got away from him and burned down a telephone pole! My son was only 9 at the time and remembers it very vividly. It will be funny to see if this is the same guy. lol.

Karen