I've got a couple of athletes in their 20s who, having been out of athletics for a few years, are now looking to start again. Both were high standard junior runners.
If they start again,they are faced with the decision of when to start racing.
If they start racing early, their performances, particularly on the track, will be well below their previous standard. Should they delay racing until they are at an acceptable standard to themselves and gauge their performance with time trials?
As their coach, would you "get them back on the horse" early and use races as training exercises, safe in the knowledge that they and you know where they are in training?
Or would you avoid races until they are at a higher standard?
tb