What the h*ll is he talking about? This season is not even over. Ironman Hawaii hasn’t even been raced yet. How can it be next season already?
If you are not thinking about which races to do, some of them will be sold out by the time you get around to it. Have a favorite race? Odds are others love that race as well. The smart racer is checking websites now, looking at when registration starts and making a note of it.
If you are thinking about switching coaches or finding a coach for the first time now is the time to start that process. I know coaches that have their rosters filled up for next year already. Gone are the days where you could just fill out an online form, pay your cash and get coached. Gone are the days where you interviewed the potential coaches and selected the one you thought was the best. The better to best coaches in the business will now interview you. If you meet their criteria, then you two can work together. There are so many bad coaches out there that the good coaches can turn away business. The good coaches are in demand, many have waiting lists. If you are thinking new coach, start acting.
This is the time to start thinking about how to make a big jump in one of the sports that you need to race a triathlon. Now is the time to figure out where you are weak compared to your competition. Most people favor their strength in the off season. If you like to run you tend to run a good bit. If you don’t like to swim you tend to find excuses not to swim. Those who are serious about doing well next season would be smart to focus elsewhere besides their favorite event. It’s ok to run or bike less and swim more if you are routinely getting your clock cleaned on the swim. It’s ok to have less frequency in one sport or two sports in order to favor your weakest link. It’s ok to take a few days off completely. It’s not ok to skip out completely on one sport hoping to make it up later. When later rolls around the racing season will probably have started.
Proper planning now coupled with the appropriate following action, will give you the best shot at success next year. That time is NOW!
WHAT? When do I get to sleep in and rest? 🙂