Adding race pace run sessions into your training program will help you to peak for your big race of the season.

The main aim of this type of workout is to give you the opportunity to get used to the feeling of racing within your training.  This will prepare you psychologically and physically to race at your best come the big day.

Without a good training base and without being part of a structured plan race pace sessions can increase the risk of injury and over-training.  Race pace running is hard on the body and therefore the body needs longer to recover.

These sessions are high intensity.  It is crucial that you are fresh going into them as running hard with tired legs is asking for an injury.  As an F4L Triathlon Coaching athlete your coach would build this sort of training into your program anyway as part of the your big picture.  Above all remember training is about being consistent, sustainable and balanced.

Ideally these sessions should be introduced 6 to 8 weeks prior to your target event.  If you are already toeing the line in races you should only be doing one of these sessions a week.  In the week leading into a race the last day you should consider doing a race-pace session is Tuesday and should be much reduced in length.

Below there are two off-the-shelf sessions to give you an idea of the sort of sessions you should be doing to help your run pace.  The distance and intensity of the sessions will vary depending on what distance you are competing at…  we have prepared example run and bike to run sessions for athletes competing in Sprint, Standard Distance and Ironman.

As the idea behind these sessions is to enable you to run your best off the bike in a triathlon,  you need to focus on two things:

1. Good run technique… run tall and look forward.  Stay up on your toes.
2. Get your pace judgement right.  Do not set off too fast, build into the run.  Make sure you complete all the intervals at the same pace.  You should be able to do all the repeats at the same speed but not be able to do another one.
3. Finally, teach your body to get through the ‘jelly legs’ phase.  You are never going to get rid of it, but you do get used to it!

Session 1 – Running intervals

This is aimed at teaching you to run efficiently and understand pace judgement.  It can be done on a time or distance basis.

Session 2 – BRICKS (Bike to run)

These teach your body to switch from cycling to running, and also enable you to settle into your run pace as quickly as possible.  The biking part of these sessions could be done on a turbo but may also be done on the road with some planning.

If you can manage to complete each of these sessions once a week leading into your ‘A’ race they will help you run consistently off the bike.  They will also enable you to run sustainably through the run leg, at a pace you can maintain without slowing much before the finish.

By Paul Jones

It is easy to be positive and confident when things are going smoothly, but it is another thing all together when things are not so good.  It is easy to become negative and let self-doubts and fears take control of your thoughts.  To be successful, endurance athletes need to learn to control their thoughts.

“Of all the body parts we train for this unforgiving pursuit of ours, none is more important than the head.” Chrissie Wellington

Triathlon is a hard sport physically and emotionally… Ironman is harder still.  Everyone will have difficult times whilst out on the course or during their training.  There will be moments when you fear you cannot make it to the finish and everything you have worked for, all those commitments you have made will be nothing.  You need to train for these occasions.  You need to prepare mentally, training the mind and conditioning your thought patterns to react in the right way to these mental challenges.

Training your mind, much as you train your body, to deal with doubts and fears that are certain to come…

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear” – Mark Twain

At the beginning of a race, how many of us feel really nervous, and yet we still push ourselves forward to toe the line… we master our fear, but the fear is still there.

We need to understand our fears and put them into perspective.  If we do not, we risk allowing them to steal our dreams.

I am not a Psychologist.  My ideas on the mental training are based on my personal experience as an athlete, a coach and an individual.

Often when a negative thought gets into your head it starts go round and round, building strength as it goes… soon it has control of your mind.  I often describe this as a Spiral Wishing Well… if you drop a coin into slot and it spirals round and round, gradually moving towards the middle where there is a hole… it looks like its getting faster (its not the circles getting smaller)… eventually it drops through the hole…

If you can ‘catch’ the negative thought whilst it is spinning around, you can control it… if it goes through the hole… in a nutshell, “Knacked!”

We have all been there… its cold, wet, windy… you are two hours into your four hour ride or you are doing 20x 100m in the pool off your threshold repeat time… it’s a bad day… and it feels like the body is saying I’ve had enough…

You have two choices, fight or flight.  You can give in to the thoughts or you can challenge yourself to work through them.  You want to build a pattern of challenging yourself and winning.

Here are my suggestions on how you can do this:

Breathe… take a breath and try to physically and mentally relax.  Concentrate on your breathing only for 6-10 breaths.

Now, hypothetically, step back from the issue and look at it objectively.

Take the ride scenario… yes its cold, yes its windy, yes its generally horrible weather… but you have done two hours, you are halfway, you doing it – you are out there when many others are not, have something to eat, take a look at the view… now focus on the scraping something off the bottom of your shoe at the bottom of the pedal stroke and flicking it off your toes at the top…

Is it still so bad?

Breathe… concentrate on your breathing…

Challenge yourself.  Listen to the negative statement you have been making to yourself… now take the same statement and turn it into something positive… anything… but it must be positive… then repeat it five times.

Have reasons to swim, ride and run.  I ask my Ironman athletes to come up with 26 reasons to run.  It is not complicated, but it gives them a reason to run each and every mile during the hardest marathon of their lives.

Finally, find positive statements to motivate you.  I love positive quotes… but that’s me.  Everyone has their own positive quotations, from Chrissie Wellington with ‘If’ to the age-grouper running for a charity.

As Chrissie Wellington says, “Develop a mind bank of positive images and thoughts – family, friends, previous successes, favourite places, a big plate of chips.” Make your list… take it with you… then question yourself constantly: “Am I relaxed? Am I breathing fully and controlled? Is my technique good?”

Breathe…

Turn your negatives into positives and it will all add up to a massive personal victory.

By Paul Jones

First up: read the race information. Get to the race at the specified time… if you miss registration for the event… well, it’s not the best of starts!

Don’t leave make changes to your bike at 11:30pm the night before the race!  a). you should be asleep by then or at least snuggled up nicely in bed and b). er… why are you doing this now?

It is not going to end well… you might be lucky and get away with it… but more than likely you will have some dodgy gear changes, a crank will fall off, a tri bar will fall off, your brakes won’t be efficient or you’re saddle will come off (and that’s a long ride home!).  Make those sort of changes days, even weeks before you race on the machine.

Make sure you know the course… sounds bloody obvious, but, at the end of the day, it is you, the athlete, who is responsible for knowing how many lengths to swim, where the bike route goes, how to get in and out of transition and make it round the whole run course without going wrong.

We’ve all made mistakes along these lines… counting lengths in the pool whilst smashing out a decent swim is hard, was that 12 or 14 lengths? And getting that one wrong is (just about forgivable).  However, not being able to count to 3 on the run route is a faux pas you will learn from!

At F4L Triathlon Coaching we encourage all athletes to walk through transition before the race.  It helps eliminate not being able to find your bike later after the swim, or worse… such as running to what you think is the bike exit only to discover it is the swim entrance!

Another top tip, where possible, ride or drive the bike course before the event… it helps identify land marks to focus on during the race, it enables you to pre-warn yourself of sharp bends, steep hills, what gears you’ll need. You should know how many laps it is on the bike course.  You should also know that normally you would go around a roundabout once… but then again.

We head back to Transition Two, here is where cock ups can easily prevail in the shortest of times!

If you haven’t practiced and perfected a moving dismount… don’t do it… even the elites cock it up from time to time (1:38)… and if you do get it wrong you are looking at gravel rash, chain-ring through the foot or a broken collar bone!

Again, you need to know where the entrances and exits are… fatigue is setting in and mistakes can be made, concentrate!  That would include, rack your bike (in your own spot), take your helmet off (although you can leave it on for the run but you look a bit daft!), put your own shoes on… number to the front and then out the run exit.  Simple!  Except I’ve witness all of the above.

Finally, don’t run in a pair of brand new shoes for the first time at a race.  The only thing you will guarantee is blisters!

You put all that training in.  You work your ass off all winter to race to the best of your ability and then you do one (or more) of the above…

Practice transitions in training… every turbo session could be a transition practice… leave your shoes on the bike, jump on, start pedalling give yourself 20secs to get your feet into the shoes… same at the end of the session, last 20secs of your Cooldown, get your feet out of the pedals and practice a dismount.

Triathlon is a simple sport… you swim a bit, you cycle for a bigger bit and then you run a bit… don’t make it complicated by doing silly things!

By Paul Jones

I go to every race venue with a plan… its not rocket science… its not a complicated plan but its my plan.  Keep it simple…

Coach’s Race Day Tips:  There is a list of equipment for your race here

1. Before you do anything else, get registered.
2. You may need body marking too… that will either be at registration or somewhere specific.
3. Once you have registered, sort your bike out.  Put it together, check everything is working.  Pump your tyres up.
4. Put your bottles on the bike.
5. Put any numbers required for the race on now too.
6. Helmet – apply any numbers and check the straps
7. Some people like to go for a short spin at this point (its not always practical but a 10min spin is a good way to check the velocipede).
8. Go and set up transition…
9. Rack bike, helmet on bars or neatly on floor, sunglasses in helmet
10. Number belt (with number pinned to it!) if not wearing it under your wetsuit
11. Bike shoes – either fastened to bike (IF YOU HAVE NOT PRACTICED THIS DO NOT DO IT IN THE RACE FOR THE FIRST TIME!) or neatly next to your bike.
12. Talc inside the shoes
13. Little bit of vaseline on the heel
14. Run shoes – neatly behind your bike shoes
15. Talc inside the shoes
16. Little bit of vaseline on the heel
17. Make sure you leave them so you can get your foot in.

Transition set up done.

Get out of there, don’t hang around in transition.  Now…

1. Warm up as best you can. Every race is different but if you can’t ride a bike warm-up then you should do a short run warm-up and a few easy run activation exercises before the race – maybe 30min before your wave. For the swim you can bring some stretch cords and do a few minutes of easy pulling to get your swim muscles activated or lots of arms swinging – a good 10mins before your swim.

2. Dial in your pre-race nutrition. Typically I would sip on water and/or sports drink up until 1 hour before your race starts. I also suggest taking in a gel a few minutes before your wave starts as well.

3. Start your swim off right. BUILD into the swim rather than trying to go flat out at the beginning. Leave the super fast starts to the elite age groupers and pros! Sight often and stay on course. Better to go straight and go a little slower vs. going fast and swimming off-course.

4. Get settled into the bike section.  Ride at your pace.  Don’t get sucked in to ‘racing’ the faster cyclists.  Leave them alone, you do your thing… however, be aware of other athletes on the road.  Break the bike section down into smaller chunks… if its laps then count laps… if its 56miles then its 4x 14miles etc.

5. Pace the run.

6. Enjoy it.  Most people taking part in Triathlon do it as a hobby.  Therefore we need to enjoy what we do.  Smile… wave… high 5 friends…

Be nervous… that’s good… don’t be scared… it is just a swim, bike and run with a number on.

By Paul Jones

I’ve been thinking (dangerous I know!) but some of us need to work on some positive psychology… I’ll explain….

You’ve been training really hard to achieve your best results at your A race and something happens during the race that gets you down… maybe you get clunked on the head in the swim, lose your bearings a little bit and come out of the swim saying, “I had an awful swim!”

Or, during the bike phase your chain comes off, you lose your momentum and have to stop, put the chain back on… feel like you can’t get your rythmn back… before you know it you’re saying “I’ve had a shocking bike!”

So I’ve put a list of questions below… let’s call it “The what if scenario”… I’d like you (individually… no conferring!) to write your answer down for what you would in that situation and write a positive statement for when that happens.

For example:
You get swum over in the swim…. come back to the surface, slow down, control my breathing, sight the buoy, get back into my rythmn… stay relaxed focus on MY swim, count 1,2, breath and get on with it.

Let’s begin – please imagine this is your ‘A’ race scenario:

• You can’t get your wetsuit done up and race start is approaching…
• Your goggles snap before race start…
• You trip up entering the water, perform a complete 180 degree flip and land in a heap…
• Some goon dunks you about 20m after the start…
• You can’t find your bike in transition…
• Puncture on the bike..!
• Your handlebars come undone…
• You lose your drinks bottle on the bike…
• Your gears are working but not very well…
• Your chain falls off…
• You see someone drafting…
• The referee pulls YOU for drafting…
• Someone goes past you that you think you should be in front of…
• You fall off – but everything is still intact…
• You see a team mate having crashed at side of road…
• You don’t feel so good on the bike…
• You lose your number belt…
• You feel awful at the start of the run…

You go through a bad patch (as in not feeling great… legs not playing)…

There are plenty more of these scenarios but remember I want you to answer the following:
A. What would you do?
B. Make a positive statement about the situation.

By answering these questions you will get the benefit of already having an answer to these scenarios if they happen, and then being able to take a positive out of it whilst its happening.

By Paul Jones

If your last race wasn’t what you expected, you probably blamed your programme or your coach or both.

We’re not discussing mechanical failures (although most of those can be avoided with better preparation) just about a failure to live up to the performance your training results had you believed were possible.

The simple fact is that your result might a). not have been as bad as you thought and b). if it was, have little to do with your training. It is highly likely that your race day performance could be directly linked with what you did in the 7 days before the event.

Below are 5 very simple things you can do to really destroy your chances of a personal achievement at your race.

Using the mantra from Team Sky, “Leave no stone unturned,” imagine if each of the 5 scenarios’s below added 2% to your finishing time. If you were expecting a 10hr Ironman that is 12 minutes for each one, or an hour if you commit all 5!!

Avoidable Stress!
Most of us are amateur triathletes and therefore have jobs.  We normally travel on the Wednesday or Thursday and then try to fit a weeks worth of work, packing & chores into 2 or 3 days. By the time you leave for the race you feel like you normally do on a Friday night.

Solution – Try and plan your work diary at least 2 weeks in advance and leave the final 3 days for tidying up loose ends. Better still take the whole week off.

Try not to travel too close to the event
If you fly or drive to an Ironman on the Friday before a Sunday race, you are simply asking for trouble. Actually travelling to any race this late is daft. You leave yourself no margin for error: What if your bags are delayed or your bike needs some attention when you get to the event… avoidable stress

Solution – Aim to arrive in town, at least, 3-4 days before race day. After all, you have spent 6 months (or more) training for it so why not enjoy the event and its surroundings.

Too much training – you are not going to gain anything doing extra now…
It’s a common problem: getting to a major event too early and then get too caught up in the hype. You see all lots of athletes out training and panic, thinking, that you should do a bit more. The truth is that most of them probably aren’t racing anyway.

Solution – whatever you think you should have done, any time in the last 7-10 days is too late. Your body won’t adapt to any of the training in time but it WILL feel more fatigued, this is your “Big Picture“, time for the finishing touches… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “Stick to the plan!”

Try not to spend too much time on your feet
It starts with queuing up to check in at the airport and is made worse by lots of walking around the race venue and visiting the expo every day…

Solution – Create a timetable, before you leave.  This should contain of all the jobs you need to do when you get to the event. Then stick to it (its part of the plan). Spend the rest of the time resting.

Dehydration
Most Ironman races that take place are usually held in nice warm places.  They tend to be hotter than you will be used to, especially early season races (S Africa, Lanzarote). It takes approximately 10-14 days for your body to adapt to very humid conditions and heat.

Solution – Make sure you drink plenty of water (avoid the alchohol until after the event) & take in plenty of electrolytes as well. You will get dehydrated during the course of your event so it’s best not to start the race already down on fluids… make a plan of how you will consume calories before, during and after the event.

Some of this might seem a bit over the top but the points all come from real life examples. If you have spent many months preparing for your big event and probably invested a fair bit of money too, would it not be a sensible idea to make sure that you don’t throw it all away in the last 7 days?

Above all, “Stick to the plan, its your plan!”

The individual concerned came to me at the beginning of the 2013 with some realistic but ambitious targets… their personal targets.

Based on their past performances I believed they could achieve what they wanted.  However, they would have to alter what they had been doing in training and re-focus on a different program, nothing major just a different focus.

I created an annual plan that would enable the individual to achieve their best performance at the event they were desperate to do well at.  As an athlete you can not control all the other athletes at the event so you MUST focus on YOUR performance.

Then on a weekly basis, but with feedback opportunities daily via email, phone, Skype etc, I would present the athlete with their program for that week, just like I do with every other athlete that comes to me for a coaching program.

Maybe I am wrong, but, I believe the point of asking a coach to deliver your training program is because you need the following to help you improve:

• Expertise in setting a specific program
• Independent and objective analysis of your performances both in training and races
• Someone to offer guidance and support through issues which will affect your training
• Expertise in technique (swim technique, run technique etc)

I also believe that for any coach / athlete relationship to work the athlete must:

• Respect the coach
• Listen and adhere to any advice given by the coach
• Believe in the program which has been set
• Follow the program which has been set
• Provide regular feedback to the coach

Finally, as a coach I must:

• Listen to the athlete
• Remain objective
• Understand particular issues
• Be supportive, positive, fair and realistic
• Communicate with the athlete

I am passionate about my coaching.  I am passionate about Triathlon.  I believe I am a good coach.  I do not claim to be a Brett Sutton, Darren Smith, Dave Scott or a Jack Maitland… in my eyes they are legends in coaching and I aspire to be like them.

But, I work hard, very hard, to make sure that every single one of my athletes is treated equally and fairly but gets as much out of me as they want or need.  I guarantee their programs are there waiting for them every week. I guarantee to respond to messages within 24 hours.

I encourage my athletes where-ever possible.  I try to be positive when-ever possible.  But… I am also realistic and honest.

I beat myself up, if an athlete does not perform.  Why, because I am passionate about my work and I have led their journey.  It was me who provided the map for them to be where they are and if they do not perform it is my fault.

Not much makes me happier than when an athlete performs to the best of their ability.

So, why did I refuse to carry on coaching?

Simple, if I am going to work hard for individual athletes, if I am going to spend hours writing programs to help those individuals get the best out of themselves…

…then I expect the athlete to do the same for me, work hard and follow the plan which has been set.

• If the athlete changes the program without consultation then why did I bother writing the thing initially?
• If an athlete does an event without telling me, how can I realistically set a program to help them develop?  There will be additional fatigue.
• If an athlete does not follow the session as prescribed, then they have defeated the object of the session.  That session fits part of the bigger picture.  Do it too hard, you will pay later in the week for example.
• If coming back from an injury you gradually increase their running… 10min easy, 10min easy, 20min easy… would you then expect them to feedback 90 (yes NINETY) min with efforts?  And when they did, I would expect to see… my injury flared up… it did!
• If an athlete does not follow the program and it goes wrong, who gets the blame?  The coach!  But the coach did not tell the athlete to do that….

At F4L Triathlon Coaching we focus on a Balanced, Sustainable and Consistent training program.  We write plans and training schedules for individuals.  We work hard on behalf of our athletes.

At F4L we expect the athletes to STICK TO THE PLAN… it is THEIR PLAN for heaven’s sake.

By Paul Jones

…which will have a positive impact upon your training:

1. Get More Sleep

Most people do not get enough sleep anyway. As an athlete you need sleep to promote a full recovery process. As you increase your training load (volume &/or intensity) you need to balance this with extra recovery time.

2. Hydrate

It is easy to dehydrate.  The expiration of waste products from breathing includes includes sweating and water vapour (notice that cloud you breathe out on a cold day!!).

Full recovery from training cannot take place unless you are well hydrated. This means you should be taking in fluid before, during and after training sessions.

3. Stretch

After training – you should always stretch the working muscles to realign them and help to promote recovery.

Between sessions – 2-3 times per week you should stretch for 15-30 minutes. Emphasise muscles such as hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, calves, adductors (inner thigh). Hold stretches for at least 30s. As tightness here can not only restrict efficient movement it can also lead to lower back pain!!  You should also consider investing in a foam roller

4. Be Realistic with YOUR Training Goals

There is an optimum volume of training that you can recover from each week. Every athlete is different.  We do not all have the luxury of being able to train and recovery like professional athletes. The volume of training you can cope with will vary depending upon the other stresses you have in your life. Remember its about Sustainable, Consistent and Balanced training.

5. Take some time off

Triathlon is an intense sport.  It is important every now and again to take a weekend off, remember the big picture.  Have a TFW (Triathlon Free Weekend).  Give the brain a rest, re-charge, have some time doing things an athlete shouldn’t, spend time with the family, and come back motivated, refreshed and energised.

6. Optimise Your Nutrition
Your body is a high performance engine – well a good 2 litre turbo charged… It will only run efficiently on high performance fuel. Do you fuel on “Super Unleaded” or just plain “Unleaded?” You also need to fuel at the right times.

Take a good look at your eating habits and you’ll be surprised at how many simple changes you could make.

By Paul Jones

That’s messages I have received this week from various athletes… and this is the first feedback I have had for a good week or so.

Now let me take a moment and look at those statements a bit more closely:

“My swimming is crap at the moment.”  No its not.  You swam: 25:45 for a 1900m Time Trial on Monday which is TWO minutes faster than 6 weeks ago.  You’re actually swimming better than you have for a long time.  You feel crap because, it’s the end of a three week training block and you’re tired!  Different person, “I have no power on the bike.”  In your last test set you were chucking out 330 watts on the Computrainer for 30min… that’s more than Pete Jacobs in Ironman Hawaii.  You have to be realistic, you have an awesome bike but we have been working on your run and swim to bring that up, so come May when we hit race season, we can make you a triathlete, rather than a cyclist who cannot swim and run.

This one made me giggle, “I’m struggling with my running.”  How do you figure that?  You’re training for sprint triathlon, to try and qualify for World Age Group championships in London and last week you ran a Personal Best over 5k of sub: 17min… I’m not worried about your running but any chance of you coming to the swim sessions?

By using feedback and the information that has been given the coach can turn these little negative thoughts into something positive, or at least provide an explanation for it.

A coach can provide inspiration and helpful feedback after a poor performance in training as well as competition. This information can become an important learning experience that will influence an athlete’s future performances.

“My coach recognised my situation, was firm but did not judge, was flexible… adapted his approach to meet my needs, and was available for discussion.”

There are three primary reasons for providing feedback to individual athletes:

• Motivation
• Reinforce positive performances
• Acknowledge improvement

In any sport, feedback is essential between athletes and coaches.  More so in triathlon, as a sport which has four disciplines it is very unlikely that your coach will be present at every session. Therefore, without feedback from the athlete to the coach, how will the coach know you have completed your swim that day, or if you pulled up in the run session, or if you were exhausted because the athlete’s young child was up all night ill.

No coach should wait until a crisis occurs to communicate concerns to athletes but this also goes the other way too.  The athlete is equally responsible for feedback.

At F4L Triathlon Coaching we focus on Sustainable, Consistent and Balanced training.  We can not do that if we do not get feedback.

Feedback can be acquired and used in many ways:

Motivate athletes – Provide positive and supportive statements soon after performances. A common technique used is positive-negative-positive – we call it the “Shit” sandwich.

Provide emotional support – This is not the time to attempt to communicate what actually occurred… that will come later.  This is the time for a coach to simply listen.

Positive reinforcement – Triathletes, like most individuals, respond better to positive comments.

Negative reinforcement and/or punishment – Such techniques are usually ineffective with most athletes. Far too many coaches still use this strategy as a carryover from how they were taught.

Intermittent reinforcement – Each athlete learns and process information independently. Some athletes prefer visual learning, others, prefer to listen (audible) or process information via diagrams or reading.

Instructional techniques – Stress the “how to” rather than “how not to do” something.

Critiquing performances – Analysis of strengths and weakness of a specific element plays a massive part in feedback.

Develop Problem Solving Skills – Teach these concepts so athletes learn to analyze the problem themselves rather than always being provided with an answer.

Have the Triathlete describe the positive and negative aspects of their performances – Establishing this type of communication is a fundamental means of acquiring problem solving skills.

Before starting a new competitive season, coaches and athletes together should analyse the previous season with an assessment of which goals were met and which are still a work in progress.

Feedback is essential as a coach, but also as an athlete.  Without it, how do either develop?

/p

Alarm bells should be ringing, pre-season races for a target in September! But you haven’t even started training properly yet… immediately you are thinking “Shit, should I be training more? Do I need to do a camp? What races should I be doing? Aaarrrgghhhh…”

First, don’t panic… if you haven’t the knowledge or the experience and simply don’t know what to do, then seek out help from someone who does. Not the bloke who can talk for England on the club-run, but, a coach.

A good coach should be approachable, well presented, a good listener, have your best interests at heart and yet be knowledgeable, qualified, confident, firm when necessary, offers praise, reassuring and assertive.

There is no point having a coach who listens to you, if you then do not listen to them! They are, after all… ‘the coach.’ Sit down, before you start planning 2013, look back at 2012…

Now is the time to target the areas of weakness from the previous year. See “Self Assessment will help you in 2013” article.

What are your goals for 2013? Write them down.

Your coach will then use your goals to develop a plan… they will break that plan down into shorter goals and targets… perhaps a swim time trial or a test set on the turbo. If you hit these targets it keeps you motivated, focused and sets off a buzz feeling inside (its called Endorphins) that you are doing well and you are taking the steps to achieve your goal.

Once you have done this a good coach will put together a plan that has YOUR goals, YOUR targets, that fits into YOUR lifestyle with YOU… it will be YOUR PLAN.

Nothing keeps your moral up like being told you are doing well.

Training is great… but quality training is better. A lot of F4L Triathlon Coaching athletes say that the biggest difference their coach has made is making better use of their time. Many do less hours but get better results. It’s about sustainable, consistent and balanced training.

Make sure you stick to the plan, if it’s a ‘Rest day’… rest… if it’s a hard session… go hard… if it’s an easy session… go easy… if you don’t, then tomorrow maybe harder than its supposed to be. Its all part of that big picture!

Finally adopt a no-excuses policy with regard to your sessions. Train when you are supposed to. Do not put it off, if your training partners do not go out, it is their loss… train, when no-one else will train, ride when no-one else will ride, run when no-one else is running. Do this in the knowledge that you are getting stronger, you have an edge, YOU are a Triathlete and YOU ARE STICKING TO YOUR PLAN.