Getting Better at Spotting Training Problems

Hello ,,

Training metrics can tell us a lot, but they don't always show the whole picture. The first signs of potential problems often show up in subtle changes to daily patterns - sometimes, well before they appear in training data.

Understanding Your Normal Patterns

One of the most useful things you can do is develop a good sense of your "normal." How do you usually feel day to day, week to week, after a typical training week or after a rest day? What's your usual energy level through the day? How does your regular routine flow?

When you know your normal patterns well, changes become much easier to spot. For instance, finding it unusually hard to get out of bed, disturbed sleep, taking longer to warm up, or taking longer to feel recovered, often means something's shifting - even if your training numbers look fine.

Trackers like Whoop and Garmin can be some help here but we find that for structured and systematic training the recommendations aren't very helpful. It is better to use the numbers as a guide and make your own judgement.

What We Track

We keep it simple and track three areas daily: training response, work/life balance, and general wellbeing. A quick note at the end of each day is usually enough to spot patterns developing. The key is being honest with yourself about how things really feel, not how you think they should feel.

We use a basic traffic light system - green when things feel normal, yellow when something seems off, and red when there's clearly a problem. Looking back over these notes weekly often reveals patterns we missed in the moment.

If you'd like to try this approach, you can download the simple spreadsheet we use for tracking

Making Small Changes Early

When you notice patterns shifting, small adjustments often work better than big changes. Maybe it's slightly shorter sessions for a week, or shifting a hard session to a different day when you're consistently feeling tired on Thursdays. The specific change matters less than making it early, before small issues become real problems.

Remember - training should generally feel sustainable. If it doesn't, that's useful information, not a failure. The goal is noticing these signals early enough to make small corrections.

When You Need More Support

Sometimes patterns can be hard to interpret, especially when dealing with persistent fatigue or complex life stresses. If you're finding it challenging to maintain consistent training or struggling to get back on track after setbacks, we can help. Our coaching approach specializes in helping athletes navigate these more complex scenarios while building sustainable training patterns.

This Week's Training and Recovery Tips

The most common pattern we see in endurance athletes is the frustrating cycle of fitness quickly gained and lost. This often happens not because of training plans being wrong, but because life stressors affect our ability to train consistently.

Some practical ways to maintain better consistency:

• Build recovery time into your weekly routine, not just when you feel you need it
• Watch your sleep patterns - changes often show up before training feels harder
• Notice when work stress is high and adjust training intensity accordingly
• Keep a simple note of how you feel after regular sessions - patterns here often tell you more than training data

Want to dig deeper into tracking these patterns? Check out our latest blog article: 

Maximise Running and Cycling Fitness by Managing Fatigue

or the YouTube video about using small, consistent gains to build lasting fitness, and download our tracking spreadsheet.

Want to discuss your specific challenges? Book a consultation to explore how we can help you develop sustainable training patterns that work for your life.

If you have any questions or we can help you with anything at all, please get in touch by replying to this email. 

We would love to hear from you and it would be wonderful if we can help you in some way.

Irrespective of how you use our services we hope you find them useful and please  share with anyone you think will find this interesting by forwarding the email or sharing this link.

Keep moving forward,

John and Clare