For a lot of triathletes their racing season is coming to an end. This is going to be the fourth part of the year (after base building, speedwork and the taper to the big race). It where the plans for next year are made and strategies for a richer experience (i.e. how to get faster!) are created. Here are a few thoughts on how to do all of this.

Celebrate. Take a few weeks to relish what you did in your year of triathlon. This is the most important part of winding down from the previous season, and is essential to do before you launch into planning next year's. Take time to bask in the level of fitness that you achieved. You are part of a small select group on the planet that even attempts to do something as challenging and amazing as a triathlon.

Celebrate all that you did this past year in your training and racing. Honor the successes that you accomplished as well as the tough times when maybe things did not go as planned. Remember, the only bad race is one where you don't learn something from it.

Reflect. Look back as a tool to go forward, but wait a few weeks or a month after your last race before you do indeed really start to plan next season. The tendency is to immediately decide the where, when and how of 2011. But give yourself just a little distance from your final race before you do that. The picture will look quite different once you have given yourself some space from that final event. Planning too soon can often lead to trying to make up for something from this year instead of figuring out how to have the best experience next year. Even if you are coming off an amazing season with the high of a PR in your final race, that enthusiasm can cloud the importance of the essentials what the essentials in your training were that got you there. So bask in that glory, but wait a few beats before you plan out how to gain your next moment in the sun.

Analyze. Take a close hard look at what your strengths were this past year and also what you feel needs improvement. If you are looking at the same things that need improving that you were looking at the year before and the year before that, this is a big call to make some significant adjustments to your preparation, likely ones that you have avoided because either you just don't know what they are going to be or because they are the tough things for you to change. If it is not knowing what those improvements will be, consult someone with the experience to flush some new ideas out. If you know what the changes should be but are avoiding making them, its time to have a heart to heart with yourself. Are the changes possible because of lifestyle restrictions? If so, then its time to make them. Whatever they are make those changes in your approach one day at a time, but make them. Implement those changes over and over and over, giving them time to work on your fitness or your mindset and focus until those tough changes become part of your new routine. Then watch the results!

Implement. At some point it will be time to stop with the planning and start with the training. Make sure this point of rededication comes after you have charged back up your batteries. Wait until you have given enough back to your support crew that they are also now happy to see you head out the door for a long ride. Have your races planned out as best as possible before you take your first step in training for 2011. Knowing where you will be going is the best way to focus your energies and allocate them wisely throughout the year to come.

Best of luck to those who still have racing. If you need help planning 2011 free to email and we will help.
Mark