Triathlon Europe

Jonno’s Blog – Part 3 –Year 1 Review.

Well, it’s just over a year now since I started being coached by Fiona.  We started out by discussing what we thought my strengths and weaknesses were, my objectives for the year, what races we wanted to focus on, and what we could do to get the best results.

 

We set two targets – a good result in a Half Ironman (i.e. close to 5 hours), and getting under 2.5 hours in an Olympic distance race.

Each week Fiona prepared a weekly schedule and programme, which I followed and we reviewed progress at the end of each week.  This worked well for me as I didn’t have to worry about what I had to do next and whether it would be the right thing; instead I could rely on Fiona’s experience to make sure I was doing the right sessions at the right time.  I was able to concentrate on the sessions, knowing they had been prepared specifically for me to meet the goals we had set.

The other good thing about someone else preparing and reviewing your programme is that there is less tendency to miss or postpone a session, there’s an underlying pressure to get things done, nothing too heavy, but you do have that slight feeling of quilt when you miss a session, that it isn’t just you that you are letting down.

Anyway, without boring you with a race by race analysis of the season, I think I have achieved all I set out to achieve this season.  As well as having three good ½ IM races and beating the 2.5 hour goal at Olympic, I have also PB’d in all our club races, my 5k & 10k times, and our club 10 mile TT, and I suppose it would be greedy to ask for more.  I was only disappointed with one race all season – Vitruvian – and even there I did my best time out of four attempts, so I can’t be too disappointed with that.

So, what next, will I continue to be coached by Fiona?  Well the answer is yes, I think I would now find it hard to maintain the momentum required between events without a coach, and with Ironman Arizona fast approaching I need all the help I can get.  I know there is a lot more I can do to get fitter, faster, and to be more disciplined with various aspects of my life and training, but that will be for another year…………..

Jonno’s Blog – Part 2 – The Early Years.

Like many others amongst us, after my first year in the sport, I wanted to push myself a bit further and harder.  I took advantage of my membership of the local triathlon club – Tri-Force – and attended the swim sessions, the club rides and the occasional club run.  It was great to mix with others doing the sport learning something new, picking up a training tip, or hearing of some epic race that someone had done, and all this helps to inspire you further.  I was doing more races and getting more into the sport, and then in 2005, after a career move I decided to take a couple of weeks off and went on my first triathlon training camp in Italy.

I was on this camp that I met Fiona, and she amongst others showed me a different aspect of the sport.  These athletes, although naturally talented, worked hard at their sport.  There was always something that could be improved to give them the edge that would win races, and whilst I was never going to be at that level, it made me want to push myself that bit harder to improve my performances.

Over the next couple of years I progressed through the various race distances from sprint through to half Ironman, and ultimately to the full Ironman distance in 2006.  This was something that I would never have believed possible for me, a mere mortal, but with the encouragement of friends and family, and a lot of persona fear (of failure) but I did do it, and I felt good about that, it was a huge personal achievement for me.

After that, to be honest, it all seemed a bit flat.  I had achieved my goal, so what else was there to do.  I kept training, racing and I still enjoyed it, but I needed something to push myself that bit more.  Going further wasn’t an option, Ironman is far enough, so I started to think about training better, going faster, and I knew this would be possible, but I would need help.

So I looked into being coached by someone, speaking to several other club members about their coaches, how they worked, and what they could offer.  Then, luckily for me, I heard that Fiona was starting Triathlon Europe, and so I approached her about coaching me.  She seemed the perfect choice; she had the race experience, she had been coached by some great coaches, and I thought her enthusiastic personality would all gel to make her the right choice for me, and so in September 2007 we began.

Jonno’s Blog – Part 1 – Where It All Began.

So how did I get into Triathlon?

Well, I used to be fit, I windsurfed, I sailed, I played squash and a bit of golf, but then marriage, children and career got in the way.  Before I knew it, I was approaching 40, feeling unfit and weighing in at over 95kg.  It all happens too easily, kids take time and you find you are doing less sport, eating their nuggets and chips with a quick beer when you get home, and then an evening collapsed on the couch with your dinner and another drink or two.  Before long you worry about being fit enough to play with your own kids and wonder if they’ll make it to university before you have your first heart attack.

So, finding myself there, I decided in 2002 to do something about it.  I changed my lifestyle, rather than dieting, and without sacrificing all the nice things in life, I controlled what I ate and drank by keeping a food diary, and started to exercise more.  This all worked, and by the end of the year I was 10kg lighter.

So, what would I do in 2003 I thought, more of the same or a new challenge?  The new challenge seemed the best option and I decided to enter the London Sprint Triathlon.  I told everyone, using this as a way of not ducking out if things got tough, and I started to train as best as I could, but with about four weeks to go, I started to worry and in panic I joined a triathlon club.

This gave my training a boost and a few weeks later I managed to cross the finish line to the cheers of my family and the amazement of my friends and colleagues.  It felt good, I had achieved something and I wanted to do it all again.  Like many others I had instantly become hooked on a sport like no other I had done before……………