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Making the Most of the Off Season...

Saturday, 07 November 2015 00:10

By Tony Zamora (usatriathlon.org)

As we enter fall, the competitive racing season is coming to an end for many age-group triathletes with the exception of a few late season races. The offseason can be a scary thing for a competitive triathlete who’s use to keeping a tight training and racing schedule. Going into the offseason with a plan will not only help you refresh and recharge from a busy racing schedule, but it will help you come out stronger and healthier for next year’s season.

Here are a few tips to get you through this fall and winter.

1. Take a break!
It’s OK, seriously. Really, take a few days off, maybe even a full week. Step away from the training, take the time to go through and tune up your bike, wash your running shoes or go try out some new ones. This is the hardest step for most athletes I coach, yet the most beneficial and the one I get most high-fives for after it’s all done....

2. Reflect on your season.
The first thing I do with every client after the season ends is to take inventory of how it went emotionally. We look at athlete satisfaction with their coach and season, where the athlete is mentally, how much motivation they have for training, and how satisfied they were with their training and racing this season.

Take a few minutes to go back over any race reports or training notes, especially after hard seasons. These will tell you a lot of what went well and what could have gone better over the course of the season. READ MORE