Outcome Goals are what most athletes naturally focus on: breaking 5 hours in a 70.3, qualifying for Boston or Kona, running a sub-40 10K, or placing on the AG or overall podium. These goals give you direction and excitement, and are easily understood by others.
But.... they’re also influenced by variables you can’t control: weather, course conditions, other athletes, travel stress, illness, mechanical issues, or any number of variables.
When everything goes right, outcome goals feel amazing. When something goes wrong, they can feel discouraging, even if your preparation was strong.
Process Goals shift the focus to what you can control. They are the daily and weekly actions that steadily build fitness, durability, and confidence.
Think: hitting your scheduled training sessions, fueling workouts properly, staying consistent with sleep, executing pacing correctly, strength training regularly, and managing recovery.
When these behaviors become habits, they compound over time, and that’s what ultimately creates the fitness and resilience required to hit big race-day outcomes.
In simple terms: process goals build the athlete who can achieve the outcome goal. You don’t magically race faster on race day — you earn it through hundreds of small, boring, disciplined decisions stacked together. When your process is strong, outcomes often take care of themselves.
Here’s a roadmap to put this into practice:
1. Start with the outcome goal.
Be clear about what you’re aiming for. Examples:
- Finish a half Ironman under 5:00
- Run a sub-1:35 half marathon
- Improve bike FTP by 20 watts
- Place top 5 in your age group
- Qualify for a race (World Champs, NYC Marathon, etc.)
2. Identify the performance drivers.
Ask yourself: What actually needs to improve for this goal to happen?
- Consistency of workouts
- Power-to-weight ratio
- Run durability
- Nutrition execution
- Pacing discipline
- Recovery quality
3. Convert those into concrete process goals.
Make them specific, measurable, and controllable:
✔️ Complete 90% of scheduled weekly training sessions for 12-16 weeks
✔️ Fuel every workout over 75 minutes with 60–90g carbs/hour
✔️ Strength train twice per week consistently
✔️ Sleep 7–8 hours at least 5 nights per week
✔️ Execute long runs and rides strictly in prescribed zones
✔️ Practice race fueling during long sessions
4. Track and review weekly.
Instead of asking “Am I faster yet?” ask:
- Did I execute my training consistently?
- Did I fuel and recover properly?
- Did I stay disciplined with pacing and intensity?
- Where did I slip — and how can I adjust next week?
Here’s what this looks like in real life:
Example 1 – Triathlete chasing a Kona slot
Outcome goal: Top 2 AG at Ironman.
Process goals:
- Average 14–18 training hours weekly for 4-5 months
- Hit nutrition targets in every long session
- Maintain body weight within race range
- Strength train twice weekly to stay injury-free
- Execute all aerobic sessions strictly easy
Example 2 – Runner targeting a PR marathon
Outcome goal: Sub-3:15 marathon.
Process goals:
- Run 5–6 days per week consistently
- Keep easy runs truly easy
- Incorporate speed work and strides
- Complete one quality long run progression weekly
- Mobility work 10-15 minutes daily
- Practice race fueling every long run
Example 3 – Cyclist building power
Outcome goal: +25W FTP.
Process goals:
- Complete 2-3 structured interval sessions weekly
- Fuel hard sessions aggressively
- Maintain cadence and power discipline
- Prioritize recovery days instead of pushing junk miles
