The End of The Summer Season
By the end of September most of us will have stopped racing for the year. So, how did it go? Spend some time and analyse the past season. Use your Training Diaries and be brutally honest with yourself. This will help you to plan next year's Targets and Training.
Here are a few points to consider:
1. Did you meet your Targets?
2. If not, why not? (Were they realistic?)
3. If you met your Targets, then were they sufficiently challenging?
4. Did you keep to your training plan? If not, did this have any effect on your performance and development?
5. Did you improve your Weaknesses? If not, what changes do you need in your training to achieve this?
6. Make a list of your Strengths and Weaknesses and analyse the components they consist of and then why.
7. If you can identify any Training that was a major component in your Strengths, then make sure you repeat this in next year's plan.
8. Did you train? Or just ride your bike! Remember each training ride should be aimed at achieving your goals. It's no use riding your bike at 18 mph all the time if you need to ride at 25 mph when you race.
9. Now is the time to think about your Goals for next year, and remember you can have Sub Goals to use as stepping stones to your main Goals.
10. If you have had a hard season and this may consist of not only racing but also many months of hard long miles, you should consider having 4 to 6 weeks of easy riding to let your body and mind repair and recoup, so you start your next campaign fresh. So don't stop riding, but lower the intensity and time, and above all enjoy riding the bike.
11. Lastly, did you keep a Training Diary? If not, then now is the time to start. The minimum items to record are Time & Intensity.
Dave Lambourne
Club Coach