2014 Texas was as epic and challenging as an Ironman® should be. While it wasn’t super hot, the heat and wind were both factors that created conditions to test athletes of all ability levels. You can read the full Texas recap from Coach Patrick here. Now that Texas is in the books, it’s time to start focusing on the rest of your season. If you are like any mild-mannered triathlete, now that it’s two weeks after race day you are about to go insane. No workouts longer than an hour is like punishment to you. Your co-workers / spouses / friends now know you officially have a problem when you are working out…after an Ironman…because you want to. But there’s more to this game than just working out. There’s training to be fit, and then there’s training to improve. Inside Endurance Nation we spend a great deal of time helping age group triathletes reach their peak potential by making sense of the big-picture element of their training. We call it the Triathlon Season RoadMap™ and it’s our approach to stacking races, training events and your general training to help you maximize your fitness on a schedule that fits your life.

Taking A Mental Break

There’s recovery and then there’s RECOVERY. You will want to be active, but you need to be aware of the downstream cost of getting back too work too soon. Your body will let you know if it isn’t ready for the work of training by putting you to sleep in the middle of your day or making you eat everything in sight after a 30-minute easy run. But your brain is another story. All it remembers is the endorphins of the finish line, and very little of the cost associated with all of the training and hard work you did to get there. In other words — your tiny lizard brain wants to workout and race. But you can’t…not yet. You need four weeks where you stay active, but you don’t have any goals. Workouts where you aren’t pushing yourself mentally, but you are letting the workouts come to you. But don’t worry, Endurance Nation is here to help.

Click here to access the Endurance Nation Post-Ironman® Transition Page

Our guide for successfully transitioning from your Ironman® to the rest of your triathlon season

Setting Late Season Goals

Since IM Texas is an early season race, you have the chance to put together a second half of your year. In many ways your reward for slogging through those tough Winter / Spring months of training is the chance to effectively put two seasons into one. From a scheduling standpoint it’s best if you can aim later in the year such as September or October. This will give you enough time to recover before you begin building again. Anything sooner will have to be a shorter distance (think Olympic) or lighter expectations (have a good day at a Half Iron vs trying to set a personal best). Given the enormity of Ironman® Texas, the conservative bet is on a late season Half Iron. This gives you two quality build up periods (and races!) to build some fitness between earning race day experience. Along the way you can also schedule in any epic cycling adventures you want; these are great ways to build your fitness year-round without putting your body in a state of excessive fatigue or in danger.

Click here to access the Endurance Nation Post-Ironman® Transition Page

Our guide for successfully transitioning from your Ironman® to the rest of your triathlon season