Helvellyn Triathlon

Great weekend for me.. a rather surprise victory at Helvellyn (thanks to Dave at www.actionandevents.co.uk for the photo!) 7th out of the swim, 3rd off the bike and then pulling back Martin on the climb up Mires Beck (bloody hell.. he can run well uphill for a big fella). Bit of a drama on the descent with a bad fall and a nasty bang to the head but being hidden in the mist was a bonus. I don't tend to race much these days and prefer to race less frequently and race well rather than race every weekend which is a common issue with athletes we coach.
Realistically most of your hard preparation should be done before the season starts and then the fitness you have is taken into the race season and you try to produce your best performanes on the day. It will take 2 weeks to recover from olympic distance races (even if you do feel ok!) so to race every other week and expect to train hard is a non-starter. When you plan your season for 2009 leave gaps between races or pack a few in (keep ticking over between each with no real hard training) and then take a good 4-6 week break where you can solidly train before peaking for another block of races. Only mediocre athletes can produce their best performances every week of the year..

Should also mention Paul Mason (45-49 age group cat) of the endurance coaching team who finished 7th overall at the Rivington olympic triathlon thereby practicing what he preaches.

Here endeth theenduranceblog..