Like most time-starved athletes, it’s the time of year when you reflect on the season and look forward to a well-deserved break. While the winter months offer a welcome shift of focus to other areas of life, your commitment to longer-term goals and your performance journey looms large. The threat of losing momentum in your athletic performance conflicts with the need to disconnect.  Today IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon lays out a few strategies for developing your winter action plan, to help you find the mental relief you seek while setting up a strong performance for next year. Matt shares his 5 non-negotiable basics that every athlete or fitness enthusiast can do this winter to stay on pace for an optimal long-term outcome. Retain Structure and Amplify Focus on Life (24:07) "A training structure is actually the very framework that allows organization. And that becomes really important because having some structure in your life is the very key that unlocks effectiveness in work, in giving time to family and friends." Commit to Strength (36:19) "If you do strength and conditioning appropriately, you should experience improved motor patterns. So better synchronization, better coordination. In other words, you get to be more athletic, that's really good. We get to improve our posture, our stability, and our balance. So, therefore, better athletic awareness, a better platform to go and launch into any type of endurance activity that we might do." Go Play (42:57) "Beyond the framework of specificity that we have, there is capacity to add play into this...activities that can foster mental rejuvenation, freshness, but at the same time cross-pollinate to an effective training outcome." Evolve Your Fueling and Eating Habits (50:13) "It is the time when training stress is lower, that you really have mental capacity to apply the lessons...and then when training ramps up, you've got the habit creation, you've got the strategies, and you can parallel your nutritional demands with increasing demands of training. And that becomes a winning proposition." Lay Your Performance Foundation (51:26) "The truth is that if you want to make something really special happen for yourself, you need to go out and make it happen. There's no sugarcoating here. You do the work, you work your tail off within the lighter structure, with less hours and you will, as a non-negotiable, lay your performance foundation." This episode aims to help you turn your back on the sport this winter without turning your back on your overall performance journey. Episode Timestamps 00:00 - 05:37 - Welcome and Episode Introduction 05:44 - 10:49 - Matt's News-ings 10:50 - 100:29 - Meat and Potatoes - Episode 240: The Winter Action Plan - Five Non-Negotiables for Every Time-Starved Athlete Purple Patch Video Podcast and More The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit Episode 238: Off-Season (As You Know It) Is Dead - The Postseason Path to Race Readiness Purple Patch Blog - Three-Month Race Plans are Ancient History Free Live Webinar - Free Speed: Essential Strategies to Help You Align Trained Potential with Race-Day Performance Training Camp - 2023 Kona Triathlon Camp Purple Patch Coaching Consultation Purple Patch and Episode Resources This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20 Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program Join Bike Squad - Don’t just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching Learn more about Purple Patch Strength Programming Purple Patch Swim Analysis Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events Purple Patch Upco