Ironman Training
Cadence
One hundred and eighty-four electronic bleeps per minute accompanied my run this morning as I tested a new training aid – a metronome. Each bleep matched a footfall, targeting a cadence in that magic ninety to one hundred region elite runners inhabit. They proved remarkably engaging, my mind focused on holding the rhythm, the run […]
Building a Winter Triathlon Training Plan
It had seemed a perfect day for a club ride, clear skies, roads free of ice, but the bitterly cold winds soon burrowed through my layers of gloves. Twenty minutes down the road, as numb fingers fumbled brake levers, a collective decision was made to abandon. I took the fastest route home and once there […]
Visualising Training
I never anticipated how busy the week before Christmas would be. There has been a little more work, a few more meetings and a lot more preparation for the festivities than I expected. Having carefully planned blog posts through to the New Year – a first – I’m already departing from that schedule. Today was […]
This Year’s Approach to Winter Triathlon Training
Hibernation isn’t a good training plan. My minimal exposure to last year’s icy roads and cold air did little to develop my fitness. While I accept that conditions, along with the festive period, limit the training that can be done, they shouldn’t bring it to a halt. I’m not sure if this year is milder […]
Beyond the Triathlon Training Week Template
Developing a weekly training template isn’t motivated by laziness, it can save time but in practice I rarely coach an athlete who perfectly matches the template – everyone brings unique requirements. The real motivation is consistently developing an athlete’s fitness and performance while avoiding injury; it’s a balance of training load and fatigue. When it […]
Developing a Better Triathlon Training Week
I’m not about to offer a radical new approach to triathlon training. My ‘better’ training week doesn’t incorporate special workouts or enable you to finish an Ironman on five hours a week. For those answers you’ll need to look elsewhere. A season coaching a diverse group of athletes has refined existing ideas; evolutionary not revolutionary. […]
Refining Training
As I neared the end of my sabbatical I pondered whether I’d be able to return to a nine to five. Nobody enjoys returning to work after a week’s holiday, imagine if you’d been away for two years. When you travel the pace of life changes – things slow down. You learn to take your […]
Reviewing a Very Different Season
There was no plan. That is the single, underlying cause of this season’s ups and downs. Training was leisure time; I avoided strict structure, did what I wanted and had other priorities. It wasn’t without results, apply a stress often enough and it will lead to changes, but directionless it built towards nothing and eventually […]
More Power in Kona
I wasn’t there, but I’ve spent more time analysing Kona data that in previous years. Following my look at Nick Baldwin’s incredibly controlled race I received four more power files from my friend Roger Canham. Roger has raced in Hawaii every year since 2008 and wanted my view on the power data over that period. […]
Finding the Perfect Tri Bike – Finishing the Fit
A month after my first visit I was back at the Freespeed studio, this time with a new bike in the back of my car. It had taken a while to finalise the details, a number of frames would work for me – the Trek Speedconcept, a Cervelo P2C or a Blue Triad SL among […]
