Off-season thoughts

I find myself become more of a student of the sport then a participant of the sport, specifically during the late fall times. Many athletes take a complete break from triathlon during their off-season, and while I stray from structured training, I find myself unable to completely disconnect with the triathlon world. I'm always reading, researching, and thinking about what lies ahead, never becoming satisfied with what I've accomplished in the past. I think to become a better athlete, one must always look to improve. High performing athletes such as Tiger Woods (okay not a great "character" example, but good athletic example) have always said their goals are to become better each year. Tiger has undergone I think three different swing changes throughout his career, and these changes, for the most part, occurred during times when he was dominating the golf world. I enjoyed some great success this season, reaching some pretty high goals that I had set way back in late 2008, but while it was nice to experience those, I spent a significant amount of time looking for ways to be faster next season. That includes working on my swim form, which I'll overhaul this winter, and strengthening my running, particularly running economy.

For triathletes, I believe it is necessary to take a physical break from the daily training routine. Back in mid-October, post Kona, I was reading a blog post from Joe Friel that said he recommended athletes take 2-6 weeks after their last A priority race of the season as "unstructured" training time, for rest and rejuvenation. For the first time in my short triathlon career, I took the full 6 weeks of an "off-season." I was not confined to the couch, I ran a few times, took advantage of some mild late fall weather, but if I did not feel like exercising, I didn't. Now, after 6 weeks of rest and rejuvenation, I'm both physically and mentally recharged, and ready to work on my goals for 2010.

However, during my 6 week stay on the voluntary unable to train list, I used the "extra" time I had to start developing my interests in coaching. I'll be giving a FREE talk at Dick Pond Athletics in Carpentersville on Dec. 9th at 7 p.m. The topic will be how to improve your running, all abilities will be welcome both runners and triathletes alike! So, if you're in the area, come by and join us. I think the race schedule will be finalized next week!! Also, some cool stuff happening down the line. Later!

SJI