Everybody.. needs somebody

Due to work commitments and coaching duties I rarely get to train with the club any more and spend most of my time training alone. Swimming has never been a personal strength and I have to admit that staring at the tiles can often lead to me leaving the water after 2000m have been completed.. I just can't take anymore. Needless to say, swimming has suffered somewhat but this week I joined the guys at COLT (City of Lancaster Tri) for a couple of sessions and as I hadn't swam with a group for some time it made me realise just how much easier it is as 3000m cruised by without any thought.

There has to be some sort of social element to training, if not, the end result will surely be burnout and failure to complete the schedule.. as I'm working up that way frequently and they were such a welcoming bunch, I'll definitely be swimming there again!

If you swim alone.. why not make an effort to find a local tri club session and do this once per week.. without any doubt you will feel the benefits!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

Never happy..

So I did the Chester triathlon Sunday and finished 3rd overall behind Roger Wilkins and Martin Cain. Both are flying at the moment and as they are both cracking guys I don't think I could have been happier having never finished that high up in the event. However.. as soon as I saw the results I wasn't happy.. the swim could have been a minute quicker, I think I can go 2 minutes faster on the bike when on form and the run could be 1-2 minutes quicker.. and there lies the problem.. I'm never happy.

It should work along the following lines.. I dedicate hours of my life to training and sacrifice a great deal of pain and sweat, I finish a race in the highest position I've ever managed and this is followed by unrivalled satisfaction which makes all the effort worth while.. not so.

I've coached several people to Ironman pbs and their response when I speak to them after the event? I can go much quicker.. I think the bike was too slow.. etc. If you dedicate a large amount of time to training, at some point it is balanced by the satisfaction of performance.. otherwise how long can motivation last?

In the tri world where all your peers are doing the same as you, it's easy to lose touch with normality and realise that what we all do is something special and a sense of achievement and satisfaction should be the reward after every event. If you think that your Ironman time is nothing to brag about.. you're spending too much time with triathletes and not enough time with normal people!! When you hit a target, enjoy it.. rather than instantly brushing it aside and not even recognising it's existence!

Anyway.. I still think I can find 4 minutes next year.. but I'll just relax for a minute today and enjoy yesterday's result.

Thanks to the guys at Chester Tri for yet another exceptional NW Olympic championships, next stop Boundary Breeze - NW Sprint organised by Manchester Tri.. another great race!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

Focus Daniel son..

I remember someone telling me about oxford and cambridge competing in the boat race a few years back.. I have no idea who were the favourites but I remember that the underdogs set out to row as close to the favourites as possible and clash oars.. they did this within the first mile and repeatedly continued.. as a result the favourites lost focus and lost the race.

It's interesting that both teams clashed oars yet one lost the plot and the other went on to win.. the reason for this is that for one team is was their game plan, so their race went to plan and they remained focused on their own actions. For the losers (who were the favourites), they did not expect this at all and they spent most of the time focused on what the other team were doing..

This is a perfect example of open water swimming success.. if people bump into you and you switch your attention to them.. or the choppy water, or any one of the other swimmers.. you are not focusing on yoruself! Block everyone else out and focus internally.. pick 2 things which you need to do well.. keep your head down and keep your body long. Focus internally on those 2 things and ignore your surroundings..

Research has shown that elite athletes tend to focus internally rather than externally and we can all learn something from that!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

Oop North..

There are some bloody fantastic races up here in Lancashire, just got back from Rossendale Sprint race which is just like triathlon used to be.. £25 to enter, no frills and £1 for pie and peas at the finish.. I've competed in triathlon for 19 years and the changes are incredible, some for better and some for worse but on the whole who cares if more people are triing!

If you fancy a bit of Lancashire racing there are some great events which include Horwich, Brinscall and Rossendale, and more recently.. IMUK who I hear are giving out branded flat caps in the goodie bags.

The NW in general is a great place for racing and in addition to the Cumbrian monster races such as Helvellyn and Coniston Old Man, there are some great club races.. Chester Olympic organised by Chester Tri and Boundary Breeze organised by Manchester Tri are perhaps the best established and amazingly well organised and supported by club members. Everyone tends to know everyone and club members are friendly right across the board towards their local neighbourhood rivals, just how sport should be.

Pie and peas have just settled as I write this.. Chester in 2 weeks and then on to Boundary Breeze.. everything leads to Helvellyn! The summer lies ahead and is structured around these landmarks!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

Kids.. god love em..

Good couple of weeks for me, did the Keswick Mountain Festival Triathlon and managed to lead off the bike and hold on for the 5 mile fell run to secure the win. Nice way to start the year and a good confidence boost when I thought that I had been going pretty poor for the early season.. As with everyone else.. too much work, not enough time to train.. blah blah.

Recently been doing some work with kids in local primary schools. Organising a project which involves a childrens triathlon in July and linked with that we are visiting local primary schools over a 5 week period and delivering sessions to help them prepare. British Tri (Rob Bishop - NW Development Officer) have been great and British Cycling are providing the bikes which has been a bonus.

Last week we had transition relays which involved kids running to the end of the sports hall and putting on shoes and socks to deafening screams of team mates. The transitions were far from slick but nevertheless they thought it was the best thing ever and they are now hooked on triathlon! A race involving changing socks! That'll do for us!

So hopefully we can promote health in the schools through the medium of 'swim bike run' (or at least that's the plan).. perhaps the most amazing of all, year 5 were still wearing black plimsolls with elastic tops.. how old are they? I thought they would be long gone!! Now they were fast.. and ideal for quick transitions.. You thinking what i'm thinking..?

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

I bet Linford was good at open water swimming..

Open water swim training is now well under way at Rock and Rive and whilst coaching this week I had some thoughts that i felt compelled to share..

I’d put money on the fact that at some point in your triathlon life you have walked through public changing rooms in the swimming pool, hoping that the pool is empty and you can get the space by the wall to swim uninterrupted up and down the pool.. lane ropes are great.. no idiots getting in your way.. and then you move from that environment to open water...

One of the key things to successful open water swimming is being comfortable in close proximity to others, remember the old Linford Christie technique of tunnel vision? Simply refers to focusing internally on yourself and not focusing on what’s going on around you.. In open water events most people think too much about what’s going on around them... who’s bumping into them.. who is too close.. and if you are thinking about them.. you aren’t thinking about yourself.. the head start lifting and you start to panic.

When you begin your open water swimming this year, change your mental focus and think about your stroke and your breathing (especially exhaling) and ignore others.. Tunnel Vision.. it’s the future.. and there is light at the end of it!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

Early season racing

First race of the year out of the way and a lot to learn.. question asked only today.. at the age of 44, is there any point me trying to get better? Am I really going to get any faster?

Myself, I'm still trying to get faster, still exploring new ways to save time, just how long this enthusiasm will last.. I'm not sure. But if you are losing focus, how can you continue to drive yourself fowards? Well, its a cliche but set some specific goals.. entering races are not sufficient. In addition to entering your race, set some specifics regarding to times you want to achieve, the next step is to work out how you will achieve those times. Analyse your swim/bike/run, everything from cornering to hill climbing, aerodynamics to pedal technique and work out where your weaknesses are and put together a personal development plan. Once you have done this.. commit to it and put the plan into action, take all necessary steps to complete the action plan.

Every race is an opportunity to do something new and an opportunity to review and learn from your mistakes and experiences. Don't just slip into the same routine each race and produce the same results.. a little thought goes a long long way.

There is no such thing as 'I can't improve'.. just depends whether you want to or not. Start today.. success guaranteed!

Here endeth theenduranceblog..