Coaching Triathlon, Ironman and Multisport Athletes
At the time there were very few triathlon coaches and no formal coach education programme in the UK. As soon as the then BTA offered the L2 award Simon applied, studied and qualified as one of the UK’s first L3 triathlon coaches. With a strong emphasis on working with athletes who have ambitions to complete an ironman event Simon has now helped over 300 people achieve this goal. Some are first timers who just want to beat the cut offs, but there are also those who seek to qualify for the ‘holy grail’ of Ironman performance – qualifying to race in the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. Many athletes have been on his books for more than 5 years and his efforts have been rewarded with 5 Coach of the year awards. Despite his busy schedule, Simon is still competing as an age group athlete and regularly competes in 1-2 ironman events each year. Limiting himself to no more than 20 athletes per year, spaces on Simons athlete list are rare, maybe 1-2 per year. Close My coaching philosophy looks at the bigger picture of what makes an athlete achieve their triathlon ambitions. Head Triathlon Coach at the University of Birmingham where she coaches and runs a club of 120 triathletes including a high performance squad of 12. Louise first started coaching in 2003, coaching for the Black Country Triathletes, Redditch triathlon and BRAT clubs and on the British Triathlon Junior High Performance camps and training days. She has trained athletes at all distances as well as single discipline athletes competing in cycling and ultra running.
kevinrhinehart – Page 2 – Stroke Survivor, Triathlete
Although I felt physically ready to race, and had rehearsed my race plan, I began to obsess about being blown off my bike and wiping out in the gravel, or getting pushed into fast moving highway traffic! The highway remained open during the entire race. Like most racers, as the start time approached, I became very aware of everything going on inside me and what was going on around me. Now the thought of eating breakfast at 3:45AM was not very appealing, but previous experience taught me the value of eating well before my race. The day before the event, I was assigned race number 1163. After surveying the start line, I decided to position myself on the outside of my race group. Although my race line was not direct, my position paid off and I was able to swim relatively unimpeded, turning in a time of 30:45 for a 1500 meter swim. My transition time was a bit slower than other races because I’d forgotten my changing stool, as well as an extra towel to dry my feet, and for some odd reason, I decided to wear socks! Trying to put on compression socks over wet feet was a bad idea. As a newcomer to not only the sport, but also navigating a customized racing tri-bike, my skills and times are continually improving. At race time, there was no time for analysis or any place for self-doubt. The cramps eventually calmed down then subsided, much to my relief! I’d never experienced cramps during a race prior to Lavaman, and I realized I had to be do the right things for my body and remain calm to accomplish my goal of finishing the race.
Imperial College London Triathlon Club
A glorious sunny morning made all bike soreness from the previous day immediately forgotten as I mounted Dory – yes all bikes have to be named. For the second half of the day everyone was enjoying the vitalising sunshine, simultaneously doing wonders for the aspired cycling jersey tanlines. After a long and hard days cycling from Chedburgh to Frankton the day before, we were all glad to have a day off, put our feet up and get a bit of a lie in! A relaxed breakfast was had outside on the patio as the perfect weather we’d had yesterday continued. After three days of riding it was decided that our bikes could do with a bit of tlc, and so after a spot of sunbathing we brought them out for a session of cleaning and servicing, making sure that they were in perfect shape for the next two days. Getting up in the morning, wheeled out our bikes and thanked our hosts Phil and Karin for looking after us for a lovely two days. On day five, the more bright eyed of the group – Lucy and Annabelle – awoke early to buy food and supplies for the day ahead, which the rest of us were all very grateful for. The day looked set to be another gloriously sunny one and we were all very excited to resume cycling once again. We were sad to say goodbye to Sophie and Ellie who had been awesome company over the past few days. A day’s cycling wasn’t completed without another puncture tantrum from Siân’s bike. We were woken on the final day of our adventure by some raucous chickens and the welcoming smell of bacon wafting through our host’s castle house.
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