Four reasons training “just to finish” is a bad idea

It’s not uncommon for one to hear people say that they “just want to finish” their race whether it’s a triathlon, marathon, or even a 5 km.  If someone is working with a coach, training to “just finish” is a waste of money and here’s why:

1)   A good coach should be able to estimate your times based on training to give you three reasonable time goals:

a.      worst case scenario time

b.     most likely achievable time

c.      best case scenario time

Now these times certainly won’t be exact but a reasonable range should be expected +/- 10%. 

2)   “Just finishing” removes accountability for everyone involved.  It removes accountability for the coach because they don’t have to make any real effort to train you to your full potential and as long as you finish…they’ve done their job. It removes accountability from the athlete.  If there isn’t a time goal, you can skip training if you feel like it because just finishing is enough. Why do a hard workout if you don’t really have to?

3)   Even if you are trying to just beat the time cap at an Ironman or marathon, you KNOW what that time is.  To beat the time cap at an Ironman, you could set the goals of a 2h swim, 8h bike, and a 7h marathon.  You are STILL setting time goals. IF those are your goals then you can structure your training plan accordingly.  When you have that discussion with your coach, you should frame it in such a way that they prepare you for a 7h marathon, for example. 

4)   If you have an honest discussion about a time goal, you will quickly realize that you can do more than “just finish” and still enjoy the race and training along the way.

Now is the time of year to think about next season and where you need to make improvements to accomplish those time goals!