Annette Edmondson is a two-time track world champion and Olympic medallist who is focusing on road racing with the Wiggle High5 team in 2017. Her success has been built around hours and hours of training, both in the velodrome and out on her machine in all weather. So she knows exactly how vital it is to focus on what you are trying to achieve both in the short-term and also into the future.
Here, Adelaide-born Edmondson gives her expert opinion on how you can get the best from each and every session on the bike…
1 Be organised
“That means having a programme. The absolute best option would be to have a coach, or someone else that can put something together for you. It gives you a base to follow and you have a plan. Within that plan you need to know what the goals are that you are trying to achieve.
“For example, for me in the road season there are eight months of racing and you simply can’t go well at every event. So you have to circle which races you want to target and really build towards those.
“You build your training block around that and then schedule some recovery time before going for your next goal.”
2 Stick to the plan
“You have to be motivated – so you can stick to that plan. If you don’t do all the small things, then you are not going to be able to build those steps to the bigger target.
“An example of the small things might include watching your diet and making sure you are eating the right foods. Or keeping an eye on your recovery – because that can often be as important as your training.
“A key thing is to stop and look back from where you’ve come. A lot of the time it can be hard to even realise how much you’ve progressed because you don’t pause to look back. If you do that, it can actually give you more motivation to go forward.”
3 Enjoy it
“It’s also important to have passion and enjoy it. You are not going to progress if you don’t enjoy it, so try to make it fun.
“It’s great to have a good environment around you, such as a good coach or some good training partners to keep you motivated and sticking to the plan.
“Obviously some sessions won’t be so much fun, but at the end of the day if you come home and you’re satisfied you’ve given it your all, maybe that’s the fun part.”