1) Yes.

2) Shame

I'm MOP and I:
1) have two times: obtainable and probable
2) bummed if I miss obtainable, like shit if I miss probable

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Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

I do not have time goals but rather look back at the splits and ask myself if I performed to the best of my abilities. Conditions can be a hge factor in time so for that reason I have always used this method. Head winds, or tail winds can inflate or deflate an ego as can currents in the water.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

Absolutely,
I usually have 3 Goal times
1) Perfect Day- Good weather-Good Nutrition/No Cramping-No Flats or Mechanical- Great execution and affirmation that my training/taper was on the money.Ecstatic if I beat an earlier race time or my predicted time.
2) Good Day- Overcome 1 or more of the above shortcomings or obstacles but still put together a solid race and run the marathon and will be satisfied.
3) Bad Day, - Finish but not near or how I wanted to, whether its cramping,mechanical, weather related or not properly trained or tapered. Will leave me disappointed. Some of that is under my control but some is not. Either way I wouldn't be happy.

Only for races that I've done before and have something to compare to. Even then, weather conditions will mess with the results.

Otherwise, it's basically a shot in the dark and not worth getting all worked up about.

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"Good genes are not a requirement, just the obsession to beat ones brains out daily"...the Griz

I always race with a goal time in mind. I have always raced the clock as much as I race others and it's a good measure of progress. I am competitive with myself, and a clock keeps that competitive drive there.

If I do not reach that goal, I look at all the outside factors and might "time adjust" to see where I might have been - example being the 97 degree heat in Chattanooga this year. If I suck in a race, I use it for motivation towards the next one. The day I start to get discouraged by bad race times is a day I worry about my longevity in the sport.

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New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com

1. yes
2. I can always find an excuse

Jokes aside, it depends on the reason. I'm pretty good at setting goals that are too fast, and I don't realise it until I race. Or, maybe it's weather; maybe I made a pacing mistake. So maybe "I take it as a learning experience unless I truly am at fault" (e.g., not tapering)

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

1. Yes.
2. Disappointed.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

1. Yes. But, my level of confidence in how realistic that time is will depend on how well prepared I am and how well I know the course/conditions.
2. Depends. If I beat my target time I'm typically satisfied. If I don't, it depends on why. If the conditions were worse than I'd allowed for (e.g. windy on the cycle) or if I had an injury or I didn't know the course and it was tougher than I thought, then I may still be pleased with my performance. But I'm not overly generous to myself! They have to be legitimate reasons. There's no point making excuses to yourself, you know that's what you're doing and it won't make you feel better. On the other hand, maybe I expected a harder course or worse conditions than I encountered. In that case the opposite applies and I have finished faster than my target time on some events and still been disappointed because under the circumstances I thought I could have done better.

As long as I plan and execute to the best of my ability I'm happy with the result. The target time is just that, a target. Once I race the event, I know if that target was too easy or if it was unrealistic. Not much point holding yourself to account for an error in your goal setting.

My IM this summer was only slightly slower than my target time but I was very disappointed because, in retrospect, I know I put the effort in and some silly errors in taper and execution cost me a lot of time in the race. I really should have beaten my target with time to spare.

1. I have an expected finishing time
2. Normally tired but emotionally I feel fine, all I can do is all I can do.

1. Yes.
2. I used to feel crappy.

I've moved to process goals. Instead of arbitrary times I aim for other goals. They can be time related, but they're usually around execution. Keeping certain watts (or HR) on the bike, running could be time/km goals, or negative splits, or even perceived exertion.

On longer training runs lately I've been thinking that arbitrary time goals are good to keep you motivated during a race, but there's so much that can go wrong that you have no control over. My first HIM was in a very strong headwind for the first 2/3 of the bike (which was a point to point race). It ended up costing me my time goal as I overcooked the bike to remain on "target" for time. As a result, I've moved on.

If I had ignored the arbitrary time goal in my HIM and focused on execution I would have been faster overall. Process goals are good for training, too. It's like "achievements" when you're playing on an Xbox, lots of smaller goals that are challenging but achievable with some that can push you to the edge of your comfort/ability.

I always have goal(s) in mind based on several factors:
fitness level, weather, course, equipment, nutrition, other racers....the list could go on

1) I generally set an A, B and C goal for a race, as others have somewhat said. A is things couldn't have gone more perfect and C is pretty much the shit hitting the fan.

2) I always learn from races and move forward. I generally have high expectations and feel that over the past seven seasons I've only had two or three races where I looked back and couldn't have done more. It's rare when things go perfect and you cross the finish line somewhat unbelieving that you accomplished what you did. So, there is a lot to learn and grow from to fine things in the future.

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

So the reason I ask is that I was at a tri conference where Lionel Sanders touched on this. He says he went into Arizona with no time goal at all and he believes (as did other speakers) that setting time goals sets yourself for feeling badly about yourself. All it takes is missing that time goal by even a second and your mind knows you didn't accomplish your goal. Whereas Lionel said just to race and whatever happens, happens.
By the way, he attributes his beating of the world record completely (aside from him having to race the course himself) to his fiancee Erin. He indicated that he was done by Mile 23.
If you ever get a chance to hear this guy talk, he is AWESOME. Best talk I have been to hands down. He talks like a normal human and explains things quite nicely.
M~

+1

I've hit my Perfect Day goal exactly once. I've raced enough to know what I'm capable of given my training, the course and conditions. I generally try and have an idea simply as a "thank you" to my wife and kids so that they know when to expect me coming through. No sense in them standing there watching every person come by for 12 hours wondering if it's going to be me.

I do agree about the "setting yourself up for disappointment" though. At IMNC with the adjusted course I was hoping for 9:00 and wound up 9:06. That's 6 minutes out of 540, roughly 1%. If I grade myself pass / fail it's a fail, otherwise it's a 99%. It's all about perspective.

1. Not really, general idea but have gotten over shooting for specific times as course and weather dictates
2. N/A

1. No, never.
2. N/A.

I race the competition and don't really care about times.

1. I always have a goal time*. I base my goal time on research I have done on the race. I look at times of previous years and compare to people that I have raced or can find other times for them, and I also take in to account my current fitness.

2. Post-race I analyze my time in the context of the speed of the race as a whole. I compare to other athletes and markers that I can find to really gauge how I did. Usually, I can pin point a mistake in prep, pacing, or nutrition during the race to account for slower times than I feel should have. Although this past fall I had my first race where I just didn't have any legs and I was disappointed with my time, but I still felt that I pushed as hard as my body allowed on that day.

*My experiences deal primarily with Olympic distance and shorter so I race on PE and at a high effort. I am sure I might tinker with my goal times when moving up in distance.

1. I always have a "fastest possible goal time" and a realistic goal time
2. I always want to beat my realistic time, unless something weird happens (flat, etc) but really, really want to be close to fastest goal time

Not so much a time goal because conditions can change and course variations can be large, but i do have performance goals based on what i do in training. I have a power goal i want to hold on the bike and i want to feel like i ran well of the bike while hitting that power goal.

1)two time goals: main goal and stretch goal (a time goal that would be breakthrough for me)
2)maybe a little let down, but more inquisitive than anything (where could I have made up time, what factors may be impacting...water choppier than expected, more wind, hillier, hotter than expected, colder than expected, wet conditions on a technical course).

In the end, if I remember that getting out and racing is a privilege, then I won't be disappointed missing a time goal. For me, racing is a privilege, not a right.

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Tad

It took awhile, but I finally discovered that its not the destination that's important, but rather the journey.

We appreciate that Lionel still supports his roots and our series. In fact he was telling me that one of the races that inspired him to turn pro was our local race in Binbrook, Ontario (near Hamilton). He told me that making up the gap on the bike and run respectively, after being behind on the swim to local pro Wolfgang Guembel and Cody Beals, he was inspired to enter Muskoka 70.3. It is nice to know that local races and series like ours can contribute to the develop of great athletes. Here's Lionel just two weeks ago at the MultiSport Canada awards day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHPpydT_GYs

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John Salt, Founder - MultiSport Canada
Canada's Largest Triathlon Series and Barrelman Niagara Falls
http://www.multisportcanada.com / http://www.niagarafallstriathlon.com
"Discipline Is What You Do When No One Is Watching You"

Thanks for the link! I enjoyed the interview.

1. Goals are focused on execution
2. If I fail to meet expectations usually get mad and go into problem solving mode. To me, every failure is an opportunity to learn

I have an A,B and C goals for overall Tri finish. However, I also have a discipline specific goal. If I have bad swim and bike it doesn't ruin my day because I have goal for the run. Consider a goalfor each discipline.

Train On