End of Season….what next??

First of all, a huge congratulations to all the tripurbeck and goalspecific athletes who have reached their goals this season! We have gold medalists Sharon, top age grouper Derek, who will be racing in the worlds and European sprint championships next year, then there are the ironman achievers, James, Mark, Chris, and Mandy (Chris and Mark squeezing in two in one year, which has also been their first year of triathlon training!! – Rather impressive! – (I also have to mention Tripurbeck Simon as well, who impressed us all with his Wimbleball 70.3 followed by Weymouth full challenge efforts!!! very commendable), Liz who has worked her way up from Sprint to Olympic, and now Half ironman, and Clare, who has raced her first triathlon EVER…and loved it!!! so, as the season comes to the end, its time to reflect, acknowledge your achievements and be proud of them, then think about your next goals. Also, and this is really important, its time to give yourself a rest from structured consistent training! Take 2 weeks of relaxing, go for a game of tennis, badminton, dust off the windsurfer, but give yourself a break from powering up the pool, time trialling around the country lanes, and running your familiar roads with your garmin attached to your wrist. No doubt, you all have plans ( I know I have plans for some of you! ) of how you can go faster, get stronger and go further in 2015, and to achieve that, you need to let your body recover. Then come mid winter, when your are soaked to your skin, struggling against gale force winds, remember the 2 weeks you put your feet up, had that extra piece of chocolate and glass of wine, when you were letting your body to recover, and it will make it seem worth it (well almost!).