That’s it then, Triathlon race season is finished (for me at least – we’ll enjoy cheering on Lucy Charles-Barclay going for Ironman glory in Hawaii!). It seems to be a good time to write down a few reflections on what was a pretty fun season.

how to enjoy triathlon!

First and foremost. Before my first triathlon I was so incredibly stressed by not only the unknown of competing in a triathlon but also the stress on results. I was incredibly worried that I’d do really badly and come last.

This took a huge amount of the joy out of the event, I was nervous, unhappy and not really in a great place ahead of it.

My second race, I completely changed my view point. I wanted to enjoy it. I wanted to enjoy the swim, enjoy the ride and enjoy the run. Yes I cared about the race, but no longer about where I’d finish. What the hell do I care if I come last or 40th from last? Realistically there’s no chance of being on the podium so focus on enjoying it. It was transformational.

Just the good pre-race nerves. Come my first Olympic triathlon at the end of the season I was actually looking forward to coming out of the water in last (as I really did know I would). It was rewarded too, the crowd were incredible! I really enjoyed the swim for the first time, the bike and the run were great too. Pushing as hard as I could but not stressing on the result.

Ultimately I made it about me, for me and a celebration of all the hard work I put in. So much better!

what kit do i need for raceday?

I’d read, watched and listened to people stressing over the raceday kit. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of kit for Triathlon. From race suits to wetsuits for the swim, bike, shoes, kit, race belts and the like for the bike (don’t forget the helmet). Shoes, kit, hats, glasses for the run. Not forgetting things like towels, nutrition. Talc (SO IMPORTANT!), vaseline (ALSO) and suncream (in fact these three are vital!).

What worked for me was to lay it all out on the floor, starting from the overall stuff, through the swim – bike – run. Once you’ve got that nailed, just use that photo. Lay all the kit out in exactly the same way you did on the photo everytime. If something’s missing, you’ll know about it. Useful.

Do I need a triathlon coach?

Now, you do not need a coach. There’s so much out there about training plans about training methodologies and philosophies. You can put that together and be incredibly succesful. I, however, tend to overpush myself, even when I’m trying to hold myself back. This has resulted in not getting to the start line in previous attempts at seasons.

I decided to go for a coach (via i-Sport.pl) and it was transformative. My coach held me back, cut the training back and slowly built it up. This resulted, bar the usual slips/trips, in an entire season of consistent training with no misses due to injury. I’m the fittest I’ve ever been and I’ve enjoyed it more than I ever have.

So in summary, if you’re prone to over doing it, despite you’re best efforts, then yes it’s worth getting a coach. Of course if you don’t yet want to do all the reading and understand how you build it all up together, then it’s worth getting a coach. Even having the outside accountability helped. I definitely missed less sessions than before.

There’s more but who wants to read all the text in the world in one go? I’ll post a few more of these over the next few months (until training for next season starts again!).