TRAINING TROUBLES

“I’m relatively new to tri, but if I miss a few sessions, I get demotivated, which leads to more missed sessions… Help!”

1) Join a club

Joining a club may seem like a big step but it’s worth taking as coached sessions make you accountable. Plus, seeing the same people each week will ensure that training becomes part of your routine. If joining a club’s a step too far right now, find yourself a training buddy. Knowing that someone else will be waiting at your 6am swim or your 8pm run is a great motivator for helping you out of the door. 2) Be realistic about what you can achieve

Be honest about how much time you have to train. If you take a standard week and then remove the times you’re sleeping, working, commuting, spending time with family and friends… you’ll realise you have less time to train than you think. You should also factor in a recovery day.

And be realistic with when you can train. If you know you’re not a morning person, for example, don’t expect that you’ll be able to spring out of bed every day at 5am. Play to your strengths and schedule training at the times when you’re most receptive. Set yourself up to succeed, not to fail!

3) Enter an event to keep you motivated

If your race goal is quite far away, consider entering interim events to keep you focused. Sign up for that early-season duathlon to test out your legs and sign up to a shorter triathlon to practise transitions or fuelling. Racing regularly will keep you fired up and also help you manage your nerves when the big race day comes along.

4) Banish the tech

While technology and data have become a huge part of triathlon performance, constantly measuring yourself can cause a dip in mojo for some. So don’t be afraid to train without your watch or Garmin occasionally, so that you can enjoy the session for what it is without beating yourself up about pacing, heart rate or power. Getting to know how your body feels is also an important part of growing as a triathlete.

5) Promise yourself a treat

Plan in some achievable milestones and promise yourself a treat if you achieve them. It might be a new training swimsuit or new bike toys. Or a day off with the family, or even a big piece of cake!

6) SLOW DOWN TO SPEED UP

Many struggle with training motivation because they’re training too hard or they train too much too quickly. Research suggests that most athletes will see great progress with at least 80% of their training being at a low intensity. This lowintensity training builds the engine (your cardiovascular system) without putting too much strain on the body, so you don’t build too much fatigue and are ready to train again the next day. If in doubt, slow down a bit, enjoy each session and be ready to train again tomorrow.

7) Don’t feel guilty

Juggling a busy life alongside triathlon training will always mean that some sessions will be missed. And that’s okay. Triathlon training’s about consistency and not ‘hero weeks’, so achieving 80% of your sessions over a period of a year is a much more efficient way to train than banking a couple of hero weeks and then falling off the wagon. So, next time life gets in the way, don’t worry about it. Just move onto the next session without a backwards glance. And don’t forget to smile!