Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Training load and recovery audit
Before changing anything, write down what a normal fortnight actually looks like: sessions, hours, hard efforts, sleep, and the work and family load around them. Most athletes who feel stuck are not short of training but short of the recovery their current load demands, and an honest two-week picture shows which one is missing.
First tasks
- List every session from the last 14 days with duration and effort label
- Add your average sleep per night for the same fortnight
- Count your full rest days and genuinely easy days separately
- Write one sentence on where recovery is falling short
Personal fatigue warning signs list
Everyone has early tells before fatigue turns into a flat month: heavy legs on the stairs, a short temper, a raised morning pulse, waking at 3 am, dreading sessions you normally enjoy. Writing your own five or six signs from past bad patches gives you something specific to watch instead of a vague sense of being tired.
First tasks
- Recall the last two times training went flat and what came before
- Write five or six warning signs you could actually observe
- Ask a partner or training mate what they notice when you are run down
- Copy the finished list into the front of your training log
Choosing your morning readiness markers
Keep the readiness check under two minutes, because you will be doing it half asleep. Picking three to five markers, such as hours slept, a 1 to 5 soreness score, mood, and resting heart rate if you wear a device, gives a daily snapshot simple enough to keep for months rather than a fortnight.
First tasks
- Pick three to five readiness markers you can score in seconds
- Write a short 1 to 5 scale for each subjective marker
- Fix the time and place for the check each morning
- Trial the check for seven mornings and drop any marker you skipped
