06 Jan 4 ways to boost your performance in 2020 by balancing real life with triathlon.

By Rebeccah Wassner, Pro Triathlete and Mother of 3

Embrace the local races because this might be where you may achieve your best performances. You’ll be able to focus your energy on the race, rather than the logistical stress of travel. In addition, the boost from being cheered on by family and friends and the local tri community is huge. Plus, there’s no motivation to dig deep like earning local bragging rights.

Work with the seasons, not against them. Plan your races so that you don’t have to worry about training during the holidays. If you live in a place that is frozen in winter, use these months for maintenance training or skill building. It’s the perfect time to get hungry to train when the weather becomes nice. The goal is be fresh and ready to go when the weather is more inviting.

Go short, even if you are going long. Not all races have to be long triathlons. Mix things with sprint distance tris, 5k road races, bike time trials, etc. These races allow you to experience pure racing and to replace holding watts or paces with the pure grit of fighting to the finish line. Short races hurt, but are fun and create an opportunity to practice racing skills without putting the stress on your body.

Make your coaching work for you. Find a coach who understands your lifestyle outside of triathlon and who is willing to build a training program around it. Training programs should not be a cause for stress! Build a training program that embraces what you are easily able to do while minimizing the things that cause stress. For example, if you live really close to a pool, build your aerobic base by swimming more. If getting to a pool is hard for you, swim less and build dry land swim training into your program. There isn’t one set training program that works for everyone, so be willing to embrace something that is built specifically for you.