Yeah, it's gonna happen.
Or: Why You Need to Plan for Your Next Big Setback
As we’ve talked about in previous posts, training is about doing the right thing for your body on any given day. Today, I want to talk about the choices we make—and the poor decisions we are prone to making—when we face setbacks and unexpected interruptions to our training.
One of the biggest mistakes athletes make when a setback hits is letting panic drive their choices. They see themselves as having failed, and try to limit the damage and or erase the setback. They train too much when they are sick or push through pain when they are hurt.
This is heavily on my mind right now because a few weeks ago I had a massive mountain bike crash. I pulverized my wrist, separated my AC joint, and walked away with a mild concussion.
Since it happened, people around me have pointed out that I seem to be handling it really well. My mental health is in a good place, and I am making smart, patient choices for my body and my brain. I haven’t been panicking or instantly asking, “How can I get back on the bike in three weeks?” or “How can I push this recovery to go faster?”
A huge part of the reason I am calm about this setback is that I’ve been anticipating it. I’ve been pushing my body and my skills on the bike really hard, and I knew a crash was coming. I knew I was going to get injured at some point. Having that expectation is exactly what kept me from making panicked, poor choices in the aftermath.
As a coach, this is a disconnect I see athletes struggle with constantly. With my own riding, I knew that because I was actively pushing the limits, it was only a matter of time before I found those limits. But athletes often fall into the trap of believing they can relentlessly push the boundaries of their schedule, their physiology, or their recovery without ever actually hitting them. This is a false expectation. They assume they can just keep pushing with zero friction, which leads them to view any inevitable setback as a total failure.
But the truth is, if you are training hard and pushing your body, you should expect to get sick. You should expect to get injured. You should expect to hit a wall of burnout at some point.
As I mentioned at the start, training is all about making the next best decision. You are infinitely more likely to make the right choice if you are operating from a prepared plan rather than reacting to a sudden disaster.
When you shift your mindset to expect these things, they stop being out-of-nowhere catastrophes and just become the next step in the process. You can even plan for them. Imagine having a “Setback Script” ready to go:
If I get injured: I already know which physical therapist and doctor I am going to call.
If I get sick: I know exactly how to loop in my GP and communicate with my partner so I get the rest I need.
If I burn out: I have a checklist of mental health practices, ways to decompress, and protocols to prioritize sleep.
Setbacks will happen. The faster we accept that—and plan for it—the less power they have to derail our training.
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Thanks Coach!!