Training tips for the festive season

However, if you can stick to your training programme and use the festive season to get in some good base training, it will carry you through to next year’s season. Even though your tan might not look as good as someone who has been lying on the beach, it will be well worth all the sacrifices you made.

Here are some tips to help you get through the festivities.

Planning and goal setting

If you have had a long season, then take a few days break and use this time to do some planning and goal setting for 2015. When setting these goals, make sure you spread the bigger goals (bigger races) throughout the year, with some smaller goals (smaller races) in-between. This will keep you motivated and in racing shape.

When planning your training blocks, break them up into the different phases of endurance, strength, speed and interval training.

Don't forget to include some tapering-down time before your races. If you plan well and follow the programme, which should include all the different phases, you will get to the race prepared and not wondering if it will be a lucky or unlucky race day.

Looking after 'you'

This is the hot season, so besides the planning and training, you need to look after the machine you are going to need for these races - your body.

Hydrate well, put on enough sunblock on and eat and sleep well. If you do take part in the celebrations and end up going to bed in the ‘early’ hours of the morning, rather take the day off - just don’t make a habit of it ☺. You do not want to break down, you want to build up. Remember, you are building a strong, lean, mean, racing machine.

Make it fun

Sometimes it’s really difficult to train while everyone else is having a good time and spending their holiday swimming in the ocean, lying on the beach or site seeing. Again, remind yourself what you want to achieve and how badly you want to achieve it.

Anyway, just because you are training doesn’t mean that you can’t make it fun. So wherever you go on holiday, look for interesting cycling or running paths and take a break to fill up your bottles at the different farm stalls or quaint little shops en route. Another option is to find other crazy people who are also training and do it together. You might even end up making new and long-term friends.