As a coach, I'm often asked this time of year after the dust settles, “Now what?”  I often turn it around and ask my athletes the same question as the first step in developing an Annual Training Plan (ATP).  What I've found to be the best start is to distance the athlete a few weeks from their last BIG race of the year then broach the subject.  This gives you a more deliberate response then the emotional one the day after a late-season grueling race.  BEWARE...most type-A triathletes are gonna go into workout withdrawals and start aimlessly wandering around the track or doing the back float in the pool!  Where is my TrainingPeaks workout IV drip??!! 

There are many critical questions needed to be answered in the developing of an Annual Training Plan.
- Goals: Did you achieve your previous goals?  What went right?  What went wrong? Injuries? Motivation (or lack of)?  Weaknesses needed addressed?
- Future Goals and Training Objectives: What do we do the same? Differently? What training do we need to
work on? Where do you see yourself in 1, 3 or 5 years?
- Races: What types of races are you looking for that would get more bang for your buck?  Are you good at hilly courses?  Better keep it flat?  Sea-level? Are you in need of that illusive podium spot?  Need a championship race for your resume? Keep it short this year?  Best Kona qualifier? Have a favorite race you love doing by your mother-in-law’s house to save cost? 

Once you get these questions answered and put in pencil the dates of the races, then it’s time to
prioritize and build the plan.  TrainingPeaks makes this step unbelievably easy with the ATP wizard ™.   Start/end dates, number of annual hours, and race dates are the basic parameters needed.  I will save the types of periodization and Annual Training Plans debate for another blog, however the TrainingPeaks ATP wizard ™ builds a 7-day cycle plan that is the typical Prep, Base, Build, Peak, Recover ATP.  Once I build the plan with my athlete, I go over the plan with the athlete and we look it over and see if there were any things we left out (vacations, career changes, school) that could alter how we proceed with the year.

Remember to take a good look at the training blocks and adjust according to what type of athlete you are coaching.  Not every athlete should be prescribed the same ATP, but it makes a great baseline.  Also, once you start developing a plan, don’t forget test sets in each discipline to adjust your training accordingly from the data the test set gives you.  Also add extra training blocks for your athlete's weakness and don't forget to include core strength and conditioning!

Happy planning! 

Submission by Coach Frost:

Recently, I was blessed to have a terrific race of my own at the 2013 Ironman Canada triathlon in Whistler, British Columbia. It was a race that I entered with the belief that it was my last reasonable opportunity to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona. With an augmented number  of Kona slots available, Whistler represented a golden opportunity for many 
other aspiring triathletes besides myself. That increased competition, a challenging new course, a beautiful alpine setting and perfect weather made this race a special event to remember. Ultimately, I was privileged to finish fast enough to earn one of those precious Kona slots.
  
Because many of MP Multisport’s athletes are focusing on shorter races, I’d like to share with them, and you, some of the tips and lessons from my KQ endeavor that apply to any triathlon race. I grant you that 
there are triathlons, and then there is the Ironman which is a completely different physical challenge. (Do not confuse the two…Ironmans compared to shorter triathlons are more like distance cousins rather than brothers and sisters.) But I learned some things that are essential to success across the full spectrum from sprint races to ultra-distance races, and I’ll mention a few that take on some enhanced importance when the race is very long.
  
I received many compliments about my fast cycling split at Whistler, a course that has three major climbs. It also, consequently, has three major descents, and I had emphasized to myself to not waste FREE  SPEED. Five hours is a long time to work on a bicycle, and the more you can let downslopes and tailwinds to some of that work for you, the more energy you’ll have preserved for later in the race. While climbing, your opponents may pass you with only a couple MPH of excess speed. But if you can descend at 40 MPH while they do 30 MPH, or you can handle speed better through curves and corners, that’s smart use of all available free speed. 
  
I believe that it is also important to have a SIMPLE PLAN that you can execute efficiently. It may not seem that would work in ITU-style racing where race dynamics and your opponents’ actions can present a seemingly infinite spectrum of contingencies for which you “must” have backup plans in your mind. But regardless of the distance, it’s difficult to chew gum and drive a bicycle at the same time…or in other words, it’s hard enough for your mind to “stay in the present” to monitor how you are doing physiologically while also thinking about form (i.e. body position, bike steering, swim strokes) and then concentrating on a race plan. Keeping the race plan simple frees your mind to focus on execution and effort.
  
Related to the first two concepts is the commandment of DON’T GIVE YOUR ENERGY AWAY. In other words, you can only control you.  Don’t let other people or circumstances, or things outside of your control, take 
away your energy. At the ultra-distance, you clearly get from Point A to Point B at your own steady pace. For me, I was in my personal cave for 10 hours at Whistler…a private and lonely world where the noise of cheers, the ages stenciled on the left calf, and the people I passed or who passed me were of no concern. 
  
Similarly, before the race surround yourself with positive energy and stay away from things and people that will suck energy away from you. There was an acquaintance from my hometown also racing in Whistler…a 
person who I’ve known for years and is, basically, a good person. However, he’s a person that will talk and talk and talk, and usually it’s unnecessary nitpicking. It’s conversation that I generally find irritating though I will tolerate it back at home in order to maintain a friendly association. But two days before a huge race, I didn’t need the irritation from him to suck out the positive energy I was getting from my encouraging friends and from the atmosphere of Whistler. I stopped meeting with him and let his phone calls go straight to voicemail. Ignoring this person then (we reconnected after the race) while absorbing all the good texts, emails and tweets from friends was one of the best decisions that I made race week, and choosing otherwise could have likely thwarted my KQ quest.
 
Obviously there are many more common tips that are good for any triathlon (e.g. use lots of BodyGlide, think about your transitions beforehand, etc.).  However, claiming Free Speed, having a Simple Plan, and Not  Giving Away Energy are essential facets to getting a Kona slot as well as getting a high step on any podium.