HELEN JENKINS
She’s one of GB’s greatest short-course athletes and is here to share her top advice for the new triathlete, from positive thinking to juggling motherhood
1 HAVE A PLAN
It’s much easier to improve if you have structure and goals. But when something goes wrong – injury, sickness – it’s important to be flexible and adjust your goals. I’ve suffered with a lot of lower leg injuries during my career and have become a lot better at adapting my training to work with them. I’ll increase swim volume, turbo more and use a cross trainer instead of running. A trip to the beach or a short walk outside really helps me keep my sanity, too!
2 DON’T BE AFRAID TO GO EASY
You need to do easy sessions so that you’re ready for the tough sessions. It’s easy to fall into the habit of doing everything in the middle zone, not recovery but not hard. I have a tendency to push too hard in my easy sessions and recovery days, so I use a heart rate monitor to keep myself in check and know what my limits are from testing.
3 DON’T FOCUS ON THE BAD SESSIONS
If you have a bad day, it’s important not to dwell on it. If I have a bad session and haven’t been able to hit my times or have failed to finish, I usually give myself a bit of time to mope about it. But then I focus on the week as a whole, and take positives from the week rather than thinking about the one negative.
4 TAKE A BREAK
When it comes to the end of the season don’t be afraid to take a break. Even if you don’t stop exercising, time away from structure and routine can really help mentally refresh you and push the reset button before you focus on the next year and your goals.
5 ASK WHY YOU DO IT
I’ve been through bad periods when negative thoughts like ‘Why am I doing this?’ come to mind. Usually it’s during times of injury or when the alarm goes off at 4:50am for the fourth time that week! I remind myself why I do tri and what I love about the sport. Find your reasons and keep them close for when motivation is low.
6 WORK TRAINING IN WITH FAMILY
I now have a two-year-old and a newborn so I need to fit training in when I can. I do all my calf conditioning while cleaning my teeth! Our little girl Mali loves to join in my stretching routine so I do it with her before bedtime. I also have a running buggy.