I agree with this advice except for one thing. In my experience, your statement about success,
"Talented athletes would get a taste of success and then bask in it so long that they lost focus on the amount of work that it took to get there. Complacency took over."
.. is often true for young male athletes.
For talented young female athletes, my observation is that a taste of success is internalized as pressure and expectations, and too often becomes paralyzing for them. And can also lead to destructive over-training, rather than complacency.
I always hold a wrap-up chat on the first training session back after competition: 'What did you learn?' It encourages more reflection than: win=good, loss=bad.
We praise effort and find positives in every performance, then go to work on the areas we think need improving. It's always moving forward, but celebrate the milestones along the journey.
I faced this problem after my DNF at the Mt. Taylor 50k in September. Then last month I got back into the game of long-distance trail running and logged 36 miles in a 24-hour event here in Las Cruces, NM. Please read my post about it here on my Substack if you get a chance. I consistently run about 130 miles per month. Next up is the Bandera 50k Jan. 10.
I agree with this advice except for one thing. In my experience, your statement about success,
"Talented athletes would get a taste of success and then bask in it so long that they lost focus on the amount of work that it took to get there. Complacency took over."
.. is often true for young male athletes.
For talented young female athletes, my observation is that a taste of success is internalized as pressure and expectations, and too often becomes paralyzing for them. And can also lead to destructive over-training, rather than complacency.
I'd concur with that generalisation, with some exceptions.
As always Steve . Good stuff!
I always hold a wrap-up chat on the first training session back after competition: 'What did you learn?' It encourages more reflection than: win=good, loss=bad.
We praise effort and find positives in every performance, then go to work on the areas we think need improving. It's always moving forward, but celebrate the milestones along the journey.
I faced this problem after my DNF at the Mt. Taylor 50k in September. Then last month I got back into the game of long-distance trail running and logged 36 miles in a 24-hour event here in Las Cruces, NM. Please read my post about it here on my Substack if you get a chance. I consistently run about 130 miles per month. Next up is the Bandera 50k Jan. 10.