November is always my month to reflect on the past season and decide what went right, what went wrong and what's next. I have always thought to myself that we can all strive to be better at what we do until we are the very, very best. Even then you may have room to improve. I created the plan for 2006 under the following guidelines: what do I need to do in order to become the fastest swimmer, biker and runner in the world. Obviously, it is a tall order to EVER be the fastest at all of these things. The important thing is to have the desire to be a lot better and desire is always more powerful than percieved talent or potential. So, over the past month I have started to think about what to improve, how much do I think I can improve over another season (so as to set my goals appropriately) and how am I going to go about making these improvements.
The Worlds in Hawaii this year were fantastic. When I completed that race I knew that my year had been planned correctly. I steadily improved from May to October, winning every race from August to October. That is exactly how the plan was written. When I look at my splits in Hawaii, I was fastest cyclist and top five for both the run and the swim. Good. To improve I could look to be top three, or top two, or the best for all three disciplines. That is what I would like to work towards. So my run and swim will need to improve without sacrificing cycling. Now I know how to set my process goals. My outcome goals next year are simple: defend both the Series and World Championships titles. Oh, and have a lot of fun doing it!
To that end, I have started working with some other athletes as well. Last year I found it very rewarding to participate not only in my own success but that of some other aspiring champions. I have a few spots available for coaching in 2007. I am accepting athletes for my coaching/mentoring program. If you are interested, you can contact me through the website. I apologize in advance if I can't accommodate everyone… I have a very hands on program so I need to handpick a small number of individuals to offer the best programs.
Thanks so much for reading. For the rest of the November transition period spend some time making your own goals. In December, start the process of achieving them.