Fall is officially here on the calendar in the Northeast. Many triathletes in the area have just completed or will be completing their last triathlon of the 2024 year. With that in mind, what is next? Do I go dormant? Do I continue to train as I did all season? There are many important questions to pose and even more personal responses/ideas to pass along.
Mental BREAK: Did you solely focus on one key race? Did this take the form of a part-time job? Wear you down? etc…IF that is the case, you need a “mental break” from structured workouts. You should continue to move as you wish with no focus on a watch, metrics or anything similar. Think about pulling out your hiking boots, your soccer cleats, your tennis racket, or any other “fun” activities that may have taken a back seat to triathlon. Let your body dictate how much you can handle/want to handle. Let your mind/your level of enthusiasm dictate what that “looks like”!
Change of focus/single activity focus: If you believe that you have a weakness or have had non-stop injuries in one event (the run), take the time to focus on that! Many triathletes shift to the run as the weather gets cooler and excitement rises with FALL run races. We would like to bring run frequency/durability to the forefront. With that in mind, if you have slogged long, slow miles all summer, shift your thinking…
Think about running more frequently with a true focus on form. If you are unclear on what form should be/look like, hire a coach. Or, get someone to film you to get immediate feedback (if you know what you are looking for). Pick apart your foot strike, your core engagement, your mechanics, etc…Once this is has been done, add in some “speed” focus. Learn to run faster in a mechanically sound way!
Let us know if we can help you with run focus/durability, triathlon training or anything else in the Endurance Domain. We have shared a great post below by fellow coach Patrick McCrann of Endurance NAtion.
Coach Mickey
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