I’ve written about setting SMART goals before, specifically for training. And I’m sure a lot of you have already or are currently setting athletic goals for the year or made your annual training plan.

I’m on the fence about setting athletic goals this season because last year and the year before that, were unexpected, and I had goals for them. Both years I planned on racing the Leadville 100. I had my plan set. I had my goal. And then in 202, it got canceled (like everything else) and in 2021, I finally gave up trying to ignore my health issues and had to drop out of the race.

With there being pre-registration only for the local races, I didn’t want to take the chance of signing up early only to feel like shit on race day. And hey, maybe that was the wrong way to go about it. Maybe I set myself up to feel like shit. On the other hand, I wanted to save the $60 to put toward another doctor’s co-pay.

So, last year I focused on my health and ride bikes for the sake of riding them when I felt good. Novel concept, I know.

This year, I’m a little less dizzy than last, but I’m no closer to resolving my migraine and fatigue. I realized caffeine was causing my dizziness, most notably, caffeine from coffee, energy drinks, and pre-workout mixes. Everything I used to put the fatigue at bay so I could perform. 

It’s not like I was drinking entire pots of coffee or downing Bangs like they were water. I had a cup of coffee in the morning and pre-workout before my training session in the afternoon. But I’m not a doctor. I don’t know why my doesn’t like caffeine anymore (honestly, the doctors couldn’t tell me either). 

Now, I try to drink matcha or black tea for some energy, for their caffeine, but it really doesn’t make much difference. I’m still tired and I still have to force myself through a hard workout or simply choose to do Zone 2.

I’ve also realized my migraine is exacerbated after a hard workout. So, imagine having a headache going into a workout and then feeling shittier afterward. It makes it challenging to race—or want to.

So, if you’re dealing with chronic pain, chronic illness, or a disease that makes training that much more difficult, it might be time to adjust (or readjust) your athletic training plan. Maybe even ditch it altogether. It’s up to you.

I plan on training as if I’m going to race this year, but with a big caveat: my health and figuring out how to properly manage Migraine comes first. I’m assuming that managing Migraine is probably a lot like managing other chronic pain and illness and disease. There are things that make it worse and there are things that help. I’ve yet to find either out so that’s a big goal of mine this year. Find the triggers.

See, we all have our own little pain threshold buckets. As soon as they fill up with triggers, that’s when we get a pain response. Finding out how to either minimize triggers or raise my pain threshold si the goal this year, because I’ve learned that migraine is a neurological disease and there’s no cure for it—only ways to manage it.

Knowing this, and putting my neurological health first, means my racing isn’t going to be top-notch, and I’ll have to accept it. I’ll have to accept the fact that there will be days I feel okay enough to race and other days where I’ll have to go and cheer on my team. And truth be told, I hate that that’s my only option. I can’t be all the things I want to be right now.

I spoke to a Registered Dietitian the other day to see how I can keep up my protein intake while avoiding high histamine and high tyramine foods (possible migraine triggers) as a vegetarian so I can build muscle, recover properly, and perform on the bike. I told her I’m a vegetarian and I think gluten may be a trigger for me too. 

Overwhelmed after my spiel, she took a few seconds to respond and said, “Why don’t you take this one step at a time?” Meaning, I can’t worry about my protein intake while on this elimination diet. She said I had to do an all-or-nothing approach because that will show results faster and obviously clearer. 

She asked if I was training now because of the winter and I laughed because she clearly was out of her element. Granted, we both were.

Settings goals for racing and chronic pain may contradict the other, but it could also give you something to focus on that isn’t your condition. 

Outside of determining my triggers and raising my pain threshold, I want to do more creative pursuits like writing and posting weekly to my blog again, writing more poetry, painting, drawing, and learning the ukulele. Those are all things that help distract me from pain while also not exacerbating it. 

What are things that distract you from pain (mental, emotional, physical) that you can incorporate into your everyday life? 

For me, instead of focusing on what I can’t do, I’d rather focus on what I’m still able to do right now and maybe that’ll help you too.

At the beginning of each year, I try to review the previous one and set intentions for the next. I used to make hard goals, like riding 10,000 miles for the year, but these days I’m feeling a little stuck and less excited about intentions and even more so about hard goals because the past 2 years have been so unpredictable and unsettling.

For so many years, I’ve worked against my body, ignoring what it wants and needs. This year, my intention is to take care of it, not always “hardening the fuck up,” but instead, listening and caring and healing.

If you want to reflect on last year and set intentions for this one, here’s my ebook. It’s free to download and it is a great way to be mindful about what you are and aren’t doing to make your life better for you.

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