Hi all –

As we enter the ‘darker months’ of training, I wanted to go over something.

Do not overlook the continuity of our training. Many of you have big goals in triathlon – whether to improve by a fair amount in time – or to qualify for a world championship. Keep in mind, as many of you have heard me say plenty of times before, in no other sport is there an off season where there are world championships as a focus. If you were to look at any amateur sport, at the elite level, there is no off time. Swimming, cycling, running – I don’t see too many swimmers taking 3 months off in order to make nationals – or olympic trials the next season. Cycling? 2 weeks after World Champs they have team training camps to reacquaint the riders and work on team building as well as base miles. Running? Sure – a few weeks of lighter running, but not 2-3 months ‘doing other things’. Bottom line – if you want to be Elite – there is no off season. No – don’t think qualifying for Kona, or Vegas, or Nationals, or anything is getting easier. But your goals remain the same…Curious as to how that will happen if in January you decide to add structure again.

So, what should we be doing at this time? Building our race plans for 2013. Reviewing what worked and what didn’t work in our training from 2012. Understanding what our strength in the sport are (can we utilize them better?) and identifying our blind spots or weaknesses (can they be improved in 2013?). With this, its a question of strength of our body: core? strength? flexibility? Are we setting it up better for the full rigors of the upcoming season? Will we start the heavier training healthy and injury free? And what is it sport specific I can do now to ensure that. All three sports have some great challenges that can be added at this time of year. Through all this though, we need to train. Imagine entering 2013 with a platform, a healthy & fit platform, to do the Coast Ride not only to GET in shape, but to absorb that and catapult you to a new level of fitness? Imagine starting your 2013 season as fit as you were 3 weeks out of your A race this past season? I received an email yesterday from an athletes: his goal from now until the race season begins is to start next season at the highest T1 (aerobic threshold) that he has ever had – at any point in the past season. Why? Because if the heavy training season begins, and he is already at his goal number – he knows the specific training will only help him start from an new – higher – fitter – stronger plateau. Or entering 2013 swimming faster than you do in the MIDDLE of your season. Or having the endurance to run 2-3 hrs on trails coming into 2013, so that the 1.5hr tempo run with some pacing instructions feels strong, controlled and ready to be absorbed..

What are your goal for ENTERING 2013…? If you have serious goals in this evolved sport, you need to train like the sport it now is: a fully grown amateur sport where the competition is only getting stronger and faster, where the elite results are only getting more competitive, and there is no longer an opportunity to participate at the world championship level unless you train like a world class elite athlete. Its really become THAT in THIS sport.

Let me know if you want me to help you determine some clear, measurable & achievable goals going INTO 2013 or FOR 2013.

Some quick hit items for this this weeks Word:

PowerBeams for sale. One of my athletes has a few indoor trainers available that measure power. Simpler than the Computrainer. Wireless. He has an indoor cycling studio, but the wireless was causing too much interference when you put 20 of them in a small room, so he had to sell most of them. They retail around $1200 (look em up if you like at cycleops.com – under trainers – he has em for about $625. Its what I use in my garage…

AutoPay options. Many of you are already using this, but for those of you whose cards are charged manually every month, PayPal has an auto pay function. You set it up on the specific day every month you would like to be charged and it saves you any fees that PayPal charges me for Merchant Credit Card fees. Let me know if you want to set up this option.

Also – lately as the groups have spread out a bit, let me know if you would like me to connect all the AIMP athletes doing a specific A race. It might be helpful in your training to know who is doing and you can plan better training weekends etc. For example: IM Los Cabos will have a few of us prepping together through the wet, cold, dark winter months. Including me (and five others so far…)

As an FYI for any of you, here are some AIMP Dates for 2013:::

Coast Ride: MLK Weekend, January 19-23 from SF to Santa Monica.

Tucson Spring training camp will again be Presidents Day weekend 2013, February 15-19.

April we’ll have another shorter Spring Training Camp down at Wildflower. Dates TBD (weather and logistics)

June. July and August will each have mini camps in Tahoe in prep for IM Lake Tahoe – these are short, 2.5 day mini camps training specifically for the Tahoe race but also good all around training in prep for Whistler IM Canada.

July I will also host another IM Louisville mini camp (in LOU) as well as the 5 day Brewery Tour in Norther California that we just previewed last month.

Late August I am planning another Coast Ride – for those of you racing into September, October and November.

Thanks and I’ll talk to you in November. Good luck to those racing IM FL and La Ruta this weekend, and especially those running NYC Marathon!