Analyzing the Last Season to
Have a Better Next Season
by Cherie Gruenfeld

The holidays are fast approaching which means one thing: Last season is "in the books" and next season is about to take over your life. Because of the popularity of our sport, you've probably already had to commit to your big races next year, so you know the task ahead of you. While you're enjoying your down-time (You are enjoying your down-time, aren't you?), spend a little of it reviewing your last season, taking from it what you can to make the next one even better.

In analyzing your past performances, approach it from a positive perspective. You may have had a Dream Season or you may have fallen a little short of a few goals. In the former case, you'll want to continue what made you successful and make changes or additions to your training while not tampering with the proven success factors. In the latter case, don't spend precious time beating yourself up. Some things that happen on the race course can be explained and some simply cannot. Focus on those you understand and let the others go.

Whether you're analyzing a great season and working to improve from there (After all, the competitors you whomped all season are not going to let that happen again) or you're needing to make some changes that will improve your chances of accomplishing next season's goals, here are some things to think about:

If you use the same recipe, you get the same bread
Make some changes to your training and evaluate the results. This may take some experimenting, but you've got the time if you're planning now.

For example: You might want to start including drills in each of your swim sessions. You'll also get great benefit by replacing one of your run days with a drill session, where you train your body with better running technique.

If what you're doing isn't working, do something else
For example: If you got sick during your Ironman race, start experimenting with your nutrition. If you ran out of steam at mile 18 of the run, include more focused long run training including a couple of longer transition runs (bricks). If you were so nervous on race morning that you threw up before you got to the start line, race more. If you got to the start line beat up and burned out, race less. If you found that you did the training all season but it was not really focused or enjoyable, look at your priorities. Maybe this isn't the right time in your life for such goals.

"More" is not the same as "better"
Coming off a season where you missed a target, the temptation is to punish yourself by piling on the miles, which quickly become nothing but junk miles. Quality over quantity is a proven success factor in our business. Make sure every workout has a purpose and be commited to that before you step out the door to start the session.

Be honest with yourself about your goals
Did you win all your races, but never leave your local area and play with the "big boys"? It's great fun being the big fish in a little pond and if your goal is to be the local hero, then that's a great thing to do. But if your goals are on a larger scale, you need to get out and test yourself. Don't be intimidated.  Enter some big races and see what happens. On the other hand, if you find you're exclusively racing big, high-profile races, take the pressure off once in awhile and race locally. You'll probably go home with hardware and have fun with the hometown crowd.

In a past life I was in the business world where we used the term "Conscious Competent" to describe a person who was good at what he/she did and understood why. The advantage of being a Conscious Competent is that you're not only an outstanding performer, but, since you understand why, you can use that which you know makes you good to get even better. An added benefit is that you can teach others to be good as well – a skill you may or may not choose to use with your closest competitors.

I've always believed that athletes ought to strive to be  Conscious Competents, using what they understand about themselves to be the very best they can be.

Good luck next season!

Additional Coach Articles:

Carlyn's "Am I still a Triathlete? A Pregnant Woman’s Perspective"  
Ian's "The True Value of Group Training"
Konrad's "The Value of PreSeason Focus"
Mike's "Good Runners Are Made in the PreSeason"