Hi guys,
Hope you’ve all had a great May!
It’s been a very busy one here at TN headquarters with many of you kicking off your first races of the season. There have been some terrific performances with athletes hitting the podium and others who have overcome real adversity just to get to the finish line. As usual I’ve seen it all!
What is crucial for athletes to realise is that peak performance rarely ever comes from the first race of the year. Remember you are coming off the back of virtually no triathlon racing since 2022. It’s like putting down the first pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that you build as the season progresses. It also helps to highlight key areas for development.
The key areas to review are always:
- The technical
- The physical
- The mental
You need to ask yourself, where are you lacking and where can you be better next time in each of these 3 areas?
This is the first question I ask myself as a coach when I write my athletes training plans for the next phase of their training. The goal being to help them elevate performance to a new level next time.
Already I have seen athletes losing significant amounts of time to others in transition. Some of them losing several minutes and places from that one area alone. My view has always been clear on transitions, there is no reason why anyone can’t have fast transitions. This should now be a wakeup call to be a little bit more specific and targeted in this area over the weeks and months ahead. It’s so easy to recreate this in training and requires the very least amount of physical effort to save you precious time.
The key message here is don’t just expect it all to come together on race day. Do something about it now to build that confidence for next time. You give so much over to training for this sport so be meticulous in every area. Even if you consider something to be a smaller detail it’s usually these things that end up catching you out.
The other key areas to be aware of as we look to improve performance over the coming weeks and months is to realise the impact of increasing temperatures. This effects both performance and hydration/ nutritional requirements so be sure to factor this into any training session that could be warmer than usual.
If sessions feel harder in heat it’s because it takes the body time to adapt to it. You simply must be sensible and cautious as it can make even the easiest of sessions significantly harder initially. It definitely isn’t the time to move turbo trainers out into the sunshine to get a tan, do that and you will pay for it big time. You also need to be super cautious with running as this is where heat usually has the greatest impact. You can easily mitigate these issues by training to heart rate, slowing down, shortening exposure/session time or even taking walking intervals until the body gets more comfortable in it. This process varies from one individual to the next but to acclimatise to heat usually takes a few weeks.
If you don’t consider heat acclimation or acclimatisation it doesn’t matter how fit you are, it can ruin a race day performance if you don’t take the necessary steps to adapt to it. I wrote this newsletter last year to help you introduce protocols your training to speed up this process.
In the meantime consider these areas before you hit that sunny day for your next training session:
- Time of day: The earlier you go out the cooler it will be
- Clothing: Wear a white hat & keep clothing light coloured & loose
- Protect your skin: Use high factor sunscreen
- Hydration & nutritional requirements: Use a hydration belt/ vest so you can carry adequate hydration when running and be sure to factor in increased nutritional & hydration requirements for longer rides
- Pace control: Be prepared to slow down, ride/run to heart rate and adapt session until you see an improvement in heart rate response. Be patient it will come.
Race results
Vietnam 70.3
- Vicki Hill
- Splits: 38:48 swim / 2:38:52 bike / 1:47:50 run
- Total Time: 5:11:05
- 1st in 45-49 category / 6th female overall
- Next up: Ironman Philippines
If temperatures were the theme this month, then conditions couldn’t get any tougher for our ‘Pocket Rocket’ out in Vietnam. With temperatures nearing 40 degrees with high humidity conditions couldn’t have been any more challenging. But as usual Vicky showed her class and won her age group by over 20mins. An outstanding performance and the perfect demonstration of how to manage effort to match the conditions. Great prep for another hottie coming up next!
The Outlaw
- Charlotte Drummond
- Splits: 36:31 swim / 2:48:40 bike / 1:43:56 run
- Total Time: 5:20:15
- 6th/50 in 30-34 category
- Next up: Luxembourg 70.3
A great start to the session for Charlotte with an excellent top 10 finish. A tad quicker through transitions and she would have made the top 5, Coach is expecting something special next time, Charlotte has assured me she will follow suit. Nice work Princess, you proved to yourself you are made of the tough stuff.
- Angus Pollard
- Splits: 30:49 swim / 2:19:19 bike / 1:28:35 run
- Total Time: 4:24:20
- 7th/98 in 25-29 category
- Next up: Staffs 70.3
13th last year and a big move up to 7th for Angus this year despite having one of the toughest races mentally of his life. There is beauty in suffering however and he got his just reward by achieving his first target of the year, a top 10 finish. When you hang on in there even on the toughest days you can really surprise yourself as to what is possible. A ‘character building’ race for sure. Now get some sleep, even Superman needs it! (ha-ha)
Dorney Lake Sprint Triathlon (European Qualifiers)
- Toby Dean
- Splits: 11:39 swim / 32.33 bike / 20.32 run
- Total Time: 1:07:01
- 50-54 category
- Next up: Box end olympic
Box End Olympic (Qualifiers)
- Toby Dean
- Splits: 25:29 swim / 1:08:18 bike / 47:40 run
- Total Time: 2:23:51
- 4th in 50-54 category
- Next up: TBC
2 excellent races on paper unfortunately but one that proved to be a disaster on the day. After a superb season opener at Dorney lake where the top 11 all finished within 3mins of each other, Toby set a new PB on that course & finished 11th. He then backed this up with a brilliant 4th place the weekend after at Box End. He also came off his bike at 35kph and somehow managed to start the run. He then pulled his calf muscle whilst running to 4th place which really is quite amazing. Unfortunately, the pain kicked in the following day when the race dust had settled and he is now out of the European Champs later this week in Madrid. Fingers crossed for a swift return later in the season.
Dorney Lake Sprint Triathlon (European Qualifiers)
- Tony Jarvis
- Splits: 12:46 swim / 34:14 bike / 20:50 run
- Total Time: 1:10:43
- 45-49 category
- Next up: European Champs Madrid
A really solid season opener for TJ, just enough to give him a taste of what’s to come. Only breaking the surface this one and so much more to come from one race to the next. Perfect warm up for the European Champs later this week. GO TJ! 
- Adam Cook
- Splits: 15:34 swim / 37:44 bike / 22:58 run
- Total Time: 1:20:24
- 35-39 category
- Next up: World Champs – Hamburg
When you finally race the race you want to race (whilst ill!) this can only be seen as a huge move in the right direction. This is exactly what newbie TN athlete Adam managed to execute and got his just rewards. An excellent performance to build on for the rest of the season.
Dorney Lake Sprint Triathlon
- David Rueda
- Splits: 14:57 swim / 36:47 bike / 24:07 run
- Total Time: 1:18:49
- 2nd in 50-54 category
Always good to see the ‘Flying Spaniard’ out there doing his thing. Huge congrats on hitting the podium in your first race of the year.
Tri Force Sprint Triathlon
- Steve Phillips
- Splits: 14:57 swim / 36:47 bike / 24:07 run
- Total Time: 1:18:49
- 2nd in 45-49 category
- Next up: Dambuster Olympic
After suffering from the chest infection from hell leading into this race it was good to see Steve make it to the start for this local race. One to blow off the cobwebs so to finish 2nd was a great kick off to his 2023 campaign.
Some of my fave things this month…
Endurance athlete extraordinaire Sean Conway is at it yet again. This time he is trying to break the World Record for Ironman’s on consecutive days. The record stands at a mind boggling 101.You can follow him on Instagram at seanconwayadventure, by the time you read this he will be over halfway!
In the spell of the Barkley: Unravelling the mystery of the world’s toughest ultramarathon
If you’ve heard of the Barkley or watched the film about it, you’ll know that it is considered to be the toughest Ultramarathon in the world. Since 1986 only 17 runners have finished it. This book is a fascinating insight into to what motivated Michiel Panhuysen to take on the challenge of it time and time again.
McGregor Forever
If you love MMA, then you’ll love this new 4 part series from Netflix. Love him or hate him the notorious Connor McGregor is one of the biggest sporting stars in the world today. This document-series charts his downfall after the biggest loss of his career to trying to fight his way back to the top. It’s warts and all and no stone is left unturned.
New athlete Q&A
Name: Adam Cook
Age: 38
Star sign: Virgo
Years in triathlon: 2
Occupation: Marketing agency director
In another life you would have been a…DJ
Who is your athletic alter ego? The invisible man – I am nothing but the task itself!
Favourite training session: Long cycles
Least favourite training session: Any high intensity run!
Favourite training track (music!): Jon B – Up All Nite
Favourite book: Driven – Douglas Brackmann
Last book you read: Can’t Hurt Me – David Goggins
Favourite training venue/location: Turia park, Valencia, Spain
Favourite race experience: crossing the finish at my first Ironman 2021, Bolton having only learnt to swim 4 months prior!
Top 3 race bucket list:
Compete and finish in AG world championships (in 2 months!)
Sub 20min 5km off the bike in a sprint triathlon
Reach the top 25% in any swim
Favourite mantra: what you focus on will grow
If you could choose 3 famous people to come to dinner with you who would they be & why?
Mike Tyson: A man that’s been up, down and everything in between, a master of mindset under pressure
Steve Jobs: Marketing and product genius
David Goggins: Because he’s simply a savage
Training hours per week: About 10 (when work and family life allows!)
What are your training & race goals for 2023?
Get a sprint PB in the Hamburg world championships 2023
Run a sub 20 5km (been on the list for a long time!)
Master my slow transitions!
