It’s the end of the 2019 triathlon season for me, and I’m starting to shift focus towards winter training and next season, so now is a good time to look over this season.

This year saw a jump in race frequency and distance. Last season was four sprints, and one standard. This year has been three sprints, two standard, a middle distance and a standard distance duathlon. That’s a bit of a leap. This years goal was to go longer, and I think I’ve managed that. Standard now feels comfortable, and my middle distance race at Deva felt surprisingly comfortable. This was supported by quite a lot of training to be ready for it, and enough ground-work for that individual race.

Next season is a step up in distance to long, with a go at Ironman UK. To support that, I’m only planning on doing one other race before the Ironman next year - a half (which I’ve still to decide on). I’ve also got a little something fun planned for after.

For training, most of my pieces are in place. I live at the sub-25 minute mark over 5k on the flat, and I’ll quite happily hold > 30+ kph on flat courses (usually a bit faster). My swim is still poor. I am under no illusion how much work taking on a full Ironman will entail. I’ve been buliding up to it for a few years.

The next steps will be building up more endurance, distance and strength. Post-season starts now, then moving in to pre-season until we get through to around April time. At that point, we should be good for starting to ramp up race-specific training.

Things I want to do over out of season:

  • Spend more time on my swim. Not sure how, but this will get done.
  • Spend time on the bike outdoors. I got a shock to the system when I switched from indoor to outdoor this season, I don’t want that again.
  • Get the habits in place.

I worry about boredom. Racing I find is a good motivator, and seeing a small race in the near future is often a great way for me to push to a goal. A long distance objective is difficult. I’m looking at a bit of cross country racing over winter, and possibly a sportive to help with the focus, but once we’re into the new year I won’t be racing while I focus on the longer races. Periodization and a level of gamification will help with the motivation during that period. Club activies have been a big help this year, and I continue to see them having a significant impact in the new season.

Have a good autumn and winter folks.