Joe Freil - Seasonal Summary

I think Joe Friel is the greatest. He is the author of "The Triathlon Training Bible". He also writes a blog, and his posts are very interesting for a results-motivated triathlete. I saved this blog post which asks you to summarize your season in order to prepare for the next. I think it is a good exercise to answer the questions. The post is below...

Seasonal Summary

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 05:32 PM PDT

Success in sport is just like success in any other aspect of your life. One of the requirements is careful planning. Deciding where you want to go in the future begins with knowing where you have been in the past. Recognizing trends and evaluating what you’ve been doing are both important steps on the path to racing better next year. This process can be accomplished in several ways. Talking with your coach or a trusted training partner is probably the best way. But lacking such people in your sporting life you can still accomplish the same end by answering some key questions. Here are some I often use. Your answers can lead in many different directions. Ultimately, the reason for such an exercise is to give you more focus when it comes to training and racing. It may even help you to decide why it is you devote so much of your life to training.

Here are five questions to answer at the end of your race season and before starting to prepare for the coming season:

1. What was the high point of your season? Why does this stand out for you? Was it what you thought it would be at the start of the season?

2. What was your greatest disappointment? Why did this happen? Is there anything you could have done to have avoided it?

3. Looking back, do you think you trained as wisely and as hard as you could have trained?

4. What is the one thing you most need to work on for next season in order to perform better?

5. What would you most like to accomplish next season? Is it a good stretch and yet within your reach if you do things right?