Coach Tip Tuesday: Self-Coached Athlete Mistakes: Avoiding Specificity

Posted On:
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Updated On:
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Stream On:
Apple PodcastsSpotifyBuzzsproutiHeart RadioiHeart RadioPocketCasts
Green sand (held by the great Coach Chris Palmquist!) is a good example of zooming in on specificity; when you look closely, you see how the little details help to make up the beautiful whole.

My goal as a coach is to help all athletes - those who hire me, and yes, even those who don’t.  I want each and every person who wants to be involved in endurance sports to do so in a healthful and joyful way so they can continue being active for as many years as they’d like to be.  For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about common mistakes made when athletes are coaching themselves; this week, we’re going continue the conversation by discussing how self-coached athletes will often make the mistake of avoiding specificity.  

Specificity Always Matters

Over the years, I’ve written several times about how specificity matters.  In truth, it matters much more than most people want to acknowledge.  Athletes don’t want to admit how significant and important specificity is because it often means that they will need to lean into behaviors and activities that are not their favorite.  All of this means that - left to their own devices - many athletes will (consciously or unconsciously) avoid specificity.

This all-too-easy trap that self-coached athletes fall into is often a three-part issue:

  1. They may not truly know or understand exactly what specificity is going to serve them best enroute to the goal that they have selected.
  2. They have trouble seeing how a seemingly “little” choice today snowballs into something really important over the course of a training cycle and/or when race day comes.
  3. Even if they do have an idea about what they should be doing when it comes to specificity, they don’t have anyone (such as a coach) holding them accountable and challenging them when they make choices that deviate away from what will serve them best.

Plan Training with the Mind, Not the Heart

Furthermore, athletes will often seek feelings, rather than function.  For instance, many athletes will often say something along the lines of, “I feel like I get a better workout” or “I like the way [insert thing here] feels” when defending a training choice they made.  This generally (correctly) signals to me that the athlete wants to feel something specific, even if it means sacrificing a valuable skill or training opportunity in order to attain that feeling.

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a massively big fan of Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), and that I recommend that all athletes at least include it in their training, if not base their training completely off of it.  So, it may seem contradictory that I’m advising athletes not to select workouts based on feelings.  However, what I’m talking about in this post as it pertains to specificity is separate from RPE; the feelings that athletes are seeking when they say something like “I feel like I get a better workout” is often purely emotional, not necessarily based on their physical body.  Most often, athletes are seeking to feel the exertion of the workout; specifically, they are seeking to feel like they worked hard during a workout.

The simple and hard truth is this: Not every workout is going to be - or should be - a workout that feels physically challenging.  Sometimes (many times!) things that are mentally challenging (while perhaps feeling physically easier than a “hard workout” as defined by the typical definition) are what athletes need most in training.  This could manifest in a lot of different ways; here are some common examples:

The Bottom Line

There are so, so many elements that make up a solid training plan. While all of those elements and details can feel overwhelming at times, the truth is that specificity matters. If you are self-coached, don’t pretend this isn’t true and don’t fall into the all-too-common trap of doing what feels best instead of what really is best. Take a hard look at all of the things that can help you be successful, and incorporate those specifics into your daily training. Your future self will thank you.

Previous post

There is no previous post
Back to all posts

Next post

There is no next post
Back to all posts

Why Winter & Off-Season Training is Vital for Endurance Athletes - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

What to Modify in Training When Things Change or Don’t Unfold as Expected - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Why Multitasking is a Myth…Especially When it Comes to Workouts - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Why Endurance Athletes Should Strength Train Year-Round - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Rescue Me 5K

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Cold Turkey Run

Required "current" page

What Does Nothing New on Race Day Actually Mean? - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Nevada Day Classic

Required "current" page

Confidence Comes From Surviving Doing The Scary Thing - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: World Triathlon Age-Group Championships Málaga, Brooktondale Easy as Pie 5K, & Topsfield Fall Foliage Classic Road Race 

Required "current" page

Is Exercise as Good as Medicine? - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Army Ten-Miler & XTERRA WETSUITS Mission Bay Triathlon

Required "current" page

Why Switching Up Goals Can be a Positive Thing - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

What to Ask Instead of “Can I Accomplish This Goal?” - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Waterman’s Triathlon & The Bear Chase

Required "current" page

How Do Long Runs & Long Rides Work & Benefit Endurance Athletes? - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

How Masters Endurance Athletes Show Us How We Can All Thrive in Endurance Sports and in Life - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: IRONMAN 70.3 Cozumel & IRONMAN 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: USA Triathlon Olympic Distance National Championship

Required "current" page

Being Hard on Yourself?  Try This Instead. - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Littlefoot Triathlon & Erie Marathon

Required "current" page

How Doing Something New Can Help You Achieve Your Endurance Sports Goals - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Why It’s Important to Look for Lessons Even When Race Day Goes Well - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Why Disappointment on Race Day Leads to Greater Success - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

How Much Does it Cost to Train for an IRONMAN 70.3? - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Coeur Outdoor Divas Sprint Triathlon & Peasantman Steel Distance Triathlon

Required "current" page

How Much Does it Cost to Train for an IRONMAN? - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Max Performance Sharon Triathlon

Required "current" page

How Much Does it Cost to Train for a Half Marathon? - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: 174th Attack Wing Runway 5K

Required "current" page

Athelte Race Recap: IRONMAN 70.3 Maine & Donner Lake Triathlon

Required "current" page

How Much Does it Cost to Train for a Marathon? - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Tri Boulder, IRONMAN Lake Placid, & IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio

Required "current" page

Are You on Track to Reach Your Goals?  The Value of a Mid-Season Athletic Performance Review

Required "current" page

Why You Shouldn't Wear a Wetsuit in Triathlons and Open Water Swimming

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: The Best Way to Avoid Injury

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Freedom 4th Eagle Firecracker Run

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: A Longer Goal Isn't a Better Goal

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Relay for Life of Southeastern Connecticut, Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon, & Cohasset Triathlon

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Why Race Execution Matters

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: The Best Thing for Beginner Endurance Athletes to Do

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: IRONMAN 70.3 Western Massachusetts & IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: How to Train and Perform Well in the Heat

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Bass Lake Yosemite Triathlon, Silver Serpent Multisport Festival, & Rock Hall Triathlons

Required "current" page

The Three Best Things Endurance Athletes Can Do for Training and Performance - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Using All of Your Senses in Workouts

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Are Morning or Evening Workouts Better?‍

Required "current" page

How to Train for a Sprint Triathlon

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: You Don’t Always Need to Do The Hardest or The Most

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Greenland Trail Race & Upstate Orthopedics Mountain Goat Run‍

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: How to Handle The Transition From Indoor to Outdoor Training

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: XTERRA New Jersey

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: What if You Fly?

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Carson Canyons Super-K Trail Runs & Delaware Half Marathon

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: The Case for Walking

Required "current" page

How to Handle Training When You Get Sick

Required "current" page

The Dangers of Social Media for Endurance Athletes

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Coastal Delaware Running Festival 9K & Zoo Run Run

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Seek Out Awe & Enchantment

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Smithfield Sprint Triathlon & Run as One 4M

Required "current" page

Negative Splits are Positive Things - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Multisport Transitions Explained

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Alpha Win Ocala

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Don't Pull Up on Your Bicycle Pedals

Required "current" page

Pace & Effort are NOT the Same Thing - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Demystifying Foam Rolling

Required "current" page

What Stretching Actually Is - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Cycling Cadence Matters

Required "current" page

How to Properly Conduct a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) Test - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Lake Effect Quarter Marathon

Required "current" page

Face the Discomfort Dragon - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Love Can Be Cold

Required "current" page

Live to Climb Another Day - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Is AI Coaching & Sports Training Software Actually Intelligent?

Required "current" page

Strength Training as a Backbone - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Town of Celebration Half Marathon

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Resolute Runner 5K

Required "current" page

My Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2023

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: How Do You Answer “What’s Next?”

Required "current" page

My Top 8 Fiction Books of 2023

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: The Next Big Thing

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: What is Preventing You from Reaching Your Goals?

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: What Does It Mean to Set a Goal?

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: It’s A Wonderful Run & Run with Rudolph

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: 2023 Thanksgiving Day Races

Required "current" page

You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: EOD Warrior Dash

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Exercise is Not a Punishment for What You Ate

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Include Buffers in Your Training

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Lights on the Lake 5K

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Pause Before Assessing

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Cold Turkey Run & The Burn Run

Required "current" page

Set Authentic Goals - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: What Can Be Measured Isn’t What is Most Important

Required "current" page

Coach Tip Tuesday: Don’t Complain About the Wind.  Embrace It.

Required "current" page

Avoid Doubling Up to Make Up

Required "current" page

What to Consider When Purchasing a New Bicycle - Coach Tip Tuesday

Required "current" page

Athlete Race Recap: Foxy’s Fall Century, Spooktacular Stroll 5K, & Eastwood 5-Mile Run

Required "current" page

About

Coach Laura Henry

Laura Henry is a Syracuse, NY-based coach who is a USA Triathlon Level II Long Course and Level II Paratriathlon Certified Coach, USA Cycling Level 2 Certified Coach, VFS Certified Bike Fitter, and has successfully completed NASM's Certified Personal Trainer course. Coach Laura is passionate about helping athletes of all ability levels reach their goals and has coached many athletes to success.

She can be reached at laura@fullcircleendurance.com.

Read Biography

Check out our other
recent Blog Posts

Start Your

Coaching Today

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Start Your

Coaching Today

Have a question or ready to get your TRAINING started?

Fill out our Contact Form to the right and we will get back to you shortly!

Check - Elements Webflow Library - BRIX Templates

Thank you

Thanks for reaching out. We will get back to you soon.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.