Winter training can start off feeling very exciting:

• a time to enjoy a little less structure whilst putting in the aerobic base training
• a chance to really make progress on technique in the pool
• to improve the quirk in our run technique that we are sure is linked to a physical niggle
• a time to really get the benefits of lifting heavy in the gym, because there is the time to recover from this hard effort

And then…

Then the cold weather, the darkness, and the various pressures associated with Christmas and the end of the year can start to make the workouts difficult to get excited about. It seems to get harder and harder to fit them in, and once you have started to miss one workout, it does not seem such a big deal to miss the next one.

So what to do?

Consistency is everything at this time of year – far more than intensity.

So ‘negotiate a deal’ with yourself using B J Fogg’s Tiny Habits approach:

1. Set the trigger of when you will do it – this could be a time, or as soon as you finish work or drop the children at school etc. At that time, put your kit on (which is even easier if it is all laid out and ready to go).
2. Make it so small that it is so tiny that it is not a big deal. This is where laps can be great. Tell yourself that you will do the warm-up and one lap, and that if it is really a bad day, you will stop it there. Experience suggests that once you do the first lap, then you are very likely to complete the workout (it’s like his example of committing to floss one tooth – it feels easy and once you are there, you may as well do the rest!)
3. Give yourself a meaningful reward. This may feel like toddler motivation, but it turns out that our brains never grow out of it! So telling ourselves that we will soak in a warm bath afterwards or will have a cup of hot chocolate, or even an out-loud ‘well done’ all motivate us. The only catch is that we have to tell ourselves that we will do it – and really do it as well!

Measurement is still very valuable

Whilst some of the benefit of winter training is that it is a little less taxing mentally in terms of the specificity of the workouts, most of us are still motivated by tracking.

Here are some approaches that work for different athletes. Which one(s) will you pick?

• Visible tracking of overall training – a chart of the ‘bricks in the wall’ on the bathroom mirror, the fridge or another location that you look at multiple times in the day is a great reminder of the strength and resilience that you are building in your training ‘wall’.
• Progression across workouts – especially in the gym, tracking the progress on the weights and reps across each session. But also in the pool: average strokes per length can be an easy efficiency measure with a couple of lengths at the end of each workout.
• Progression on a benchmark workout – for running a 5km or 10km time trial on a standard route every 4-6 weeks can be a very useful mark of progression. On the bike a standard hill climb or course on Zwift/Rouvy or outside can be an excellent marker. But of course, do be fair to yourself – you are only going to progress if the training is developing and creating adaptation on that aspect of progression.

Winter racing can be a lot of fun!

For many people, cross-country running and cyclo-cross racing in the winter can be some of the most fun of the year. These demand strength, ability to push above anaerobic threshold for key sections, and good decision-making on foot/wheel placement. Cyclo-cross is also a brilliant way to develop bike-handling skills, including flying mounts!

Plus of course, there are also plenty of winter events in running and cycling.

Some simple reminders

Almost all of us have that memory of school cross-country being completely miserable. There are a couple of key lessons from this:

1. Wear the right clothing. In the right kit, you can be warm and enjoy the event! It is also worth investing in the right footwear, shoes and socks that can cope with the demands of the event, as well as ensuring that you can feel your toes! I personally love waterproof socks for cross-country.
2. Warm up properly. This all takes longer in the cold – so take an extra warm-up layer and allow some extra time. Make sure that you do ramp your heart-rate all the way up to the level that you will be for the race or workout (and usually this will make you properly warm), and do make sure that you mobilise the joints and activate the muscles that you will be using, as well as reminding them of the correct movement patterns that you will use in the race or workout.
3. Plan for nutrition needs. The demands of a very cold race will mean that you burn more calories than across the same distance in the summer, so have the nutrition for the event and recovery that takes account of this. I have seen runners almost pass-out on the finish-line of cold half-marathons from not taking this in to account (they bounce back once some fast sugars get back into their system!)
4. Have a complete change of dry, warm clothing (including hat & gloves) for afterwards. The good news is that cross-country and cyclo-cross events are almost always less than an hour. However, the peak effort means that you are very damp and cool down very quickly unless you get into dry clothing fast. Dry-robes are increasingly common clothing at winter running and cycling events for exactly this reason.

And of course, in amongst all of this – there is the opportunity to choose the events that you want to do next year, and to start all of the planning for those too.

Good luck with staying motivated for winter training – it truly is the bedrock for next season. So just keep putting the bricks into your training wall!