It’s that time of year: You’re dreaming big and planning out your season. But how do you make sure not to get ahead of yourself? How do you get to that start line healthy—and to the finish line happy?

Here’s how to set goals, build a tri season, and create new habits in the new year.

Pick the Right Targets and Goals — For You

When you’re thinking about what you want to do or achieve this year, you might consider the weather and course profiles of your target races, your strengths and weaknesses, the timing and location of races—but most importantly you should think about “what lights a fire in you,” said coach Marilyn Chychota.

You have to ultimately “pick a race season that excites you,” she said, because when it comes down to it, those goals are what will get you out the door when it’s cold or dark and what will keep you motivated.

Once you know what’s going to keep you going and excites you (i.e. ‘I want to qualify for the USA Triathlon Olympic and Sprint-Distance National Championships’ or ‘I want to podium at an IRONMAN 70.3 race’ or ‘I want to try my first gravel triathlon’), both Chychota and coach Mike Ricci suggest considering several factors when selecting your specific races for those goals.

“If you’re really trying to qualify for something, it should line up with your abilities,” said Ricci.

That means thinking about what your strengths and weaknesses are. Are you a strong swimmer? Then you probably don’t want an “easy” downriver swim. Are you great in heat and humidity? Then aim for those locations.

It also means being realistic and considering where you live and what your schedule looks like. Are you based in Minneapolis all winter? Then a hot April race in the southern hemisphere probably isn’t going to be ideal for your acclimation. Never been to elevation before? Then maybe don’t pick a target race at altitude for your first time. Getting married in September? Probably don’t aim for a goal race the same weekend. (But, hey, you do you.)

And then, since we’re Type A triathletes, it’s important to work backwards: What do you need to do or change in order to get to that goal? What other short-term goals can you set along the way?

“The first thing we do is we look at weaknesses,” said Ricci.

He gets his athletes in the gym to assess physical weaknesses, has them work through drills, and even does a baseline blood test just to check up on health markers. Both he and Chychota have their athletes do an evaluation of their past season and consider what went well, what hasn’t gone as well, what are their limiters, and what do they need as a person, moving forward, to do the things they want to do?

This is where it’s key to think about your overall values and motivations. Sure, qualifying for a world championship is nice, but isn’t your real goal to try your hardest, have the best race you can, and get better?

If family is an important value to you, then it’s probably worth incorporating your kids or spouse into some workouts even if that workout is slower, or planning a weekly family activity around triathlon—otherwise, your goals will always be in tension with your values and motivations.

Research actually shows that the most effective goals “for both performance and psychological outcomes, are process goals and performance goals,” said Dr. Matthew Schweickle, a professor in psychology at the University of Wollongong.

Process goals: These are goals that focus on the execution of skills or behaviors (i.e. maintaining a certain heart rate or using a form cue when swimming).

Performance goals: These are goals that are the end product of your specific performance and aren’t dependent on others (i.e. hitting a certain time at a race or certain numbers in a workout).

What’s not as effective? Outcome goals: It’s actually not entirely in your control whether you beat another athlete or not.

So even if you want to qualify for the world championships, it’s more productive to focus on your process and your individual performance — and to set both long-term goals and short-term goals along the way.

Interestingly, said Schweickle, when it comes to sports, both specific and non-specific goals can work in different cases — and goals don’t have to be obviously attainable (in fact, sometimes very difficult goals are motivating).

In an athletic sense, non-specific goals are more often associated with flow states (i.e. those open-ended ‘seeing how well I can do’ types of races) and specific goals are more often associated with clutch states (i.e. higher pressure, effortful performances).

Both states can be optimal for performance, but they have different effects on the athlete. Just something to keep in mind as you work toward that outcome!

How to plan your best season yet

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