Eat. Train. Laugh.: There is no Off-Season...

We (at Tri Alliance) had our first Team Meeting last night. We always have several team meetings every year at different phases of the season. We are just getting into the swing of training (after recovery month) and we let the team know what is happening and how to be your best come race season.

A few things to note, we don't like to call the next few months of training the Off Season as it suggests that we don't do much of the training. We like to refer it as the Winter Training season.

We need to remember the following:

Having just come off your last race a few months ago and you have now recovered, your body is not performing at its peak so do not despair if a 5km run feels like shit.
Learn to train slow in order to race fast - this is all about bringing all you need to do down to the basics.

Swimming - drills, rotations, sculling
Biking - single legs, pedal stroke position, saddle position
Running - drills, posture, how your feet land
S&C - working on your glutes, core, balance

Don't stray away from the program - if you need to change things around due to work/life commitments, speak to the coaches so you will get a balanced week of training rather than second guessing what sessions to do.
Stay Consistent - it is the key to everything.
Eat/Fuel Well - once the sessions get longer, learn what your body can and can't handle (then adjust)
Sleep - get as much rest as possible. I personally find that if I prepare as much as possible during the weekend, I am able to go to sleep early during the week.
You are training to race, not race to train.

I wasn't able to joining to long course guys when we broke out into the respective groups as I was coach for the beginners group. We went through some of the key points with the squad who are beginners and emphasised that as long as they stick to the program, make themselves accountable (share your goals with family and friends) and be consistent, they will do fantastic during race season.

My advice to beginners is choose your races wisely, don't do every race on the calendar. Quality over quantity. What is your aim for the season? Ask as many questions as possible.

For me, I will have a few weeks left of transition period before we go into the full training calendar (which includes Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning sessions). Need to work on my strength and endurance in cycling so I can get through the Gran Fondo well and to work on my running so I can speed things up a tad rather than just plod my way through the course.

I haven't had time to update on my side project yet as I still need to get the details down. Pretty much what I am doing is hand-making some cycling wares. At the moment, its cycling caps and musettes (not that popular in the triathlon world) but huge in cycling.