Great questions Brian! First off, congratulations on the season you had. You made the most of it, and while it wasn’t regular in any means, you came out with exponential growth and conditioning.
As far as next steps, first off, be sure you do your Dumpster Fire Triathlon to cap off your season. What is next really depends on you and future goals. My recommendation is to take a week or two fully off. This is so you can recharge both physically and mentally. This brief break will also allow your body to realize the gains you have made this season.
Next I would consider what your short term and longer terms goals are. You mentioned stepping up to the Half Ironman distance. Perfect identification of a longer term goal. Thus, what do you feel are your weaker areas that you could work on between now and then? Usually athletes enjoy taking the fall for running. It’s a great time to sign up for a race or two and use it to build endurance or work on better pacing (not going out too fast, etc). While there are a couple of in person races happening (mostly trail), there are virtual races that you could use for these purposes if you are willing. Also, if you know your running mechanics are not optimal, now is a perfect time to keep refining your biomechanics. If you don’t do it now, you will likely need to do it when races start up again. Then athletes brush over them because of the big race looming only to have their season derailed due to injury. Perfect time to focus on it now!
In addition, the biggest step up from the Olympic distance to the Half Ironman distance is the bike. You are going from 25 miles to 56 miles, which is a significant jump. Thus a short term goal would be to take some of these beautiful fall weekends to continue to progressively build up your long ride endurance.
We know that swimming is going to be an ongoing issue for many over these next few months. Thankfully the jump from the Oly distance to the HIM distance is minimal (if you had been swimming for the weeks/months before pools closed.
Finally, there is never a better time than now to focus on strength training. We know strength training, particularly glut and core focused) should be done year round. However if there are others areas you would like to focus or you need to resolve an injury, now is the time to focus on it.
Hopefully this gives you some good guidance. Figure out what your short term and long term goals are and what you need to do to fulfill them including addressing weaker or less efficient areas. This will keep you active and keep things rewarding and enjoyable. Next season, you will be thankful for it.
Great questions Brian! Now enjoy some well deserved R&R!
