Winter Training and Motivation: Athlete Focus
The temperature is cold, and the days are shorter. Struggling to maintain the motivation for training or orienteering regularly? You're not alone. Getting yourself out on cold dark mornings and evenings takes a lot more motivation than it might do in July.
Pick up some tips and see what makes up a typical training week for some of our top elite athletes this winter with our elite athlete focus feature series.
Athlete's club:
HALO (Humberside and Lincolnshire Orienteers),
ShUOC (Sheffield University Orienteering Club)
Athlete's age: 25
Individual: 17th World Orienteering Championships Sprint Final 2015 (second ever international race)
Team: GOLD, Mixed Sprint Relay, World University Championships 2016 (with Kris Jones, Peter Hodkinson and Megan Carter-Davies).
A hard week for me will look something like this:
Total: 80km, 6.5hours running, 2hours strength & conditioning, 45-60mins stretching daily
Monday | Easy run (40-50mins, 8-10km @ 5min/km) | 45mins strength |
Tuesday | Track session (e.g. 5 x 1200m, 90s rest & 4 x 100m strides) | |
Wednesday | Easy run (40-50mins, 8-10km @ 5min/km) | 45mins strength |
Thursday | Tempo run (e.g. 25mins @ 3:50m/km) | |
Friday | Easy run (25-30mins, 5-6km) OR rest | 30mins core/mobility |
Saturday | Park run/cross country race | |
Sunday | Long run (70-90mins, 12-18km @ 5min/km) |
An easier week might take the following shape:
Total: 65km, 5.5hours running, 2hours strength & conditioning, 45-60mins stretching daily
Monday | Easy run (30-40mins, 6-8km @ 5min/km) | 45mins strength |
Tuesday | Track session (e.g. 4 x 1600m, 90s rest & 4 x 100m strides) | |
Wednesday | Easy run (40-50mins, 8-10km @ 5min/km) | 45mins strength |
Thursday | Easy run (50-60mins, 10-12km @ 5min/km) | |
Friday | REST | 30mins core/mobility |
Saturday | Park run/cross country race | |
Sunday | Long run (60-80mins, 10-16km @ 5min/km) |
Over the winter I focus more on physical training but still complete some form of sprint training weekly.
Some examples of my sprint training over the winter are:
Or when the weather is particularly un-inviting:
"Most people focus on the wrong thing: They focus on the result, not the process. The process is the sacrifice; it's all the hard parts--the sweat, the pain, the tears, the losses. You make the sacrifices anyway. You learn to enjoy them, or at least embrace them. In the end, it is the sacrifices that must fulfil you."
Rona Rousey, MMA Fighter
Thank you, Charlotte. British Orienteering and members would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the very best with your training throughout the rest of the year.
Elite Athlete Winter Training Series of Interviews
More information - here.