How to Reflect on Your Race Season: Key Questions to Ask
Before we look forward, we must look back.
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Now that the race season has officially come to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the year.
Although you might be tempted to look ahead and set exciting new goals, it’s important to first look back…
By taking time to reflect on your performance, celebrate progress, and learn from challenges, it can provide valuable insights to set you up for an even stronger season ahead.
What follows is a 5-step guide with questions about training, racing, mindset, and goals.
This guide isn’t just for triathletes. Athletes of all sports can use this guide as a way to reflect and set their intentions for the new year.
But before we get started, I have an exciting announcement…
For members of the Triple Threat Life Club, our monthly Zoom chat is this Saturday, Dec. 28th at 5 pm EST. Our guest will be professional triathlete Matthew Marquardt!
In 2024, Matthew was 2nd at IRONMAN Lake Placid, 3rd at 70.3 Mont-Tremblant, and 3rd at IRONMAN Texas, finishing 4th overall in the IRONMAN Pro Series. It’s quite remarkable considering he did his first 70.3 in 2021 and turned pro in 2023.
But the coolest thing about Matthew is that he’s one of the most successful working triathletes in the pro field. At the age of 27, he balances triathlon with being a medical student at The Ohio State University. He’s also a researcher at The James Cancer Center, which is the title logo on his white and red kit. He also donates a portion of his prize money to cancer research.
And he loves Legos, so he’s a pretty cool guy.
Stay tuned for Thursday’s newsletter for the Zoom link, and mark your calendars for Saturday, Dec. 28th at 5 pm EST. These monthly meeting are a benefit for members of the Triple Threat Life Club, so join today.
How to do a Post-Race Season Assessment
A post-race season assessment includes an honest reflection of your performance, progress, and mindset during the year. If you have a coach, you’ve probably done something like this before. But especially if you’re self-coached this is a great way to organize your thoughts and prepare for next season.
I would encourage writing your answers on a piece of paper or in a Word document. The act of physically writing out the answers helps to clearly define our thoughts and provides a record we can look back on for years to come.
Step 1: Celebrate the wins
What went well this season?
What moments made you proud or excited, both in training and racing?
What are some specific improvements you made this year?
Did you hit any personal bests or achieve goals?
What was your highlight moment of the year?
Step 2: Identify challenges
What are some areas where you see room for improvement?
Did you encounter any obstacles or setbacks?
How would you rate your ability to adapt and be flexible when life gets in the way of training? (scale of 1-10)
How would you rate your ability to be mentally tough and push past challenges during a race? (scale of 1-10)
Do you recognize yourself falling into any bad mental habits? (Perfectionism, overthinking, comparison to other athletes, negative self-talk, ect.)
Step 3: Performance evaluation
What type of training sessions did you enjoy the most?
How well did you do completing your prescribed workouts? (Estimate a percentage.)
How do you feel about your performance at races?
Assess your race day execution with a focus on each of these areas: pre-race planning, taper, pacing, nutrition, and mindset. (scale of 1-10)
Do you think your performance reflected your current level of fitness and the effort you put into training?
Step 4: Mental and emotional check-in
How did you feel while training? (Use adjectives)
How well did your training schedule align with your work/life schedule?
How did you feel while racing? (Use adjectives)
How would you rate your triathlon/life balance? (scale of 1-10)
Were there times you felt overly stressed or burned out?
How did you stay motivated throughout the season?
Step 5: Setting future goals
What things did you do well that you want to continue next year?
What things do you want to eliminate or change?
Did you meet the goals you set for yourself this season?
What do you enjoy most about triathlon?
What motivates you to continue training and racing?
What are some short term goals you have for next season?
What are some long term goals you have for the next 2-3 years?
By taking some time to reflect on the progress you’ve made, celebrate your wins, and highlight areas for growth, you will already have a head start on next season.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be talking about how to set better goals and the ABC’s of planning a race season, so subscribe to the free newsletter to stay in the loop.
News & Notes
Tis the season for Christmas attire! Matt is working at the clinic today. Check out his awesome ugly Christmas sweater with Santa crossing the finish line. (He even has a fanny pack with cookies.) Santa, not Matt of course. Although that’s a great idea… Shout out to all the medical professionals who are working over Christmas and spending time away from their own families to care for others. Not to be outdone, check out my “Merry and Bright” swimsuit for this week’s swim session!
Triple Threat Life Club members: We’re talking to professional triathlete, Matthew Marquardt, this Saturday at 5 pm EST! Look for the Zoom meeting link in Thursday’s newsletter.
It’s been cold here in Florida! 37 degrees felt a bit too cold for road riding, so we went for a gravel ride on Saturday and did a trail run on Sunday. Off-season is a great time to go off-road! We also joined friends for a Christmas light run, which is always a lot of fun.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! Matt and I plan to celebrate this Christmas Eve going to church and making homemade pasta for dinner. The plan is pappardelle with pancetta and peas. (Wish us luck).
I found the evaluation really mind-blowing. I plan to incorporate it into my training and apply its principles to other aspects of my life. These questions are very comprehensive