End of the Season

Well, it's sad to say, but the 2011 triathlon season has come to an end for me. This is always a tough thing to swallow because I thrive on having goals and milestones to work towards.

But as of today there are no more races this season to add to my calendar. But there is always next season.

That said triathlon is a process and this is an excellent time to look back at the "what I'll do" and compare that against the "what I did", and evaluate this against the "what happened".

This season I focused on short course racing - super sprint, and sprint distance races. This was for two reasons (i) I was feeling burnt out from 5+ years of long distance racing - Iron and Half Iron, (ii) practically I knew that I could not commit the time required, and (iii) I felt that my long distance pacing [speed] had plateaued, and that I needed to inject more speed into my training and racing to let this carry over to long distance when I return to it.
 
I also decided that I would not follow a structured plan.  While structure is a positive, it can also become a negative if one does not make the workouts.  Instead I tried to do 5-6 workouts a week - at least 1 swim, 2-3 rides, and 1-2 runs.  And a strength workout.    These workouts would be shorter in distance and duration but higher in intensity.

With the fitness I had built over the past number of years I should be fine.


And during each workout I would focus on technique.

The results:


Swim
I was taking a maintenance approach to the swim, but it only hurt me in one race.  In the other races I was always towards the front of the pack, without blowing up.
Grade B+


Bike
The technique and strength work really helped with my bike.  I added about 2-3km/h in pace, without hurting my run.  Doing brick workouts also helped.
Grade A+


Run
Much more solid and strong.  Was able to hold pace and form.  Would still like to see a reduction in pace time but with more hard work it will come along. 
Grade B+


So what about outcomes?  These are always difficult to measure because of the many different factors at play - how you feel, weather, course, and competitors.  The best measure is how one executed, and on that measure I'd give myself an A grade.


The actual results were also good.  3rd, 1st, 4th and 7th place positions in my Age Group.

And finally I was injury free all season which is very important.  All in all a very good season.

So whenever your season ends take some time to evaluate.


Until next time, keep tri'n.