How Tri Training Harder Coaches Tailor one training week for Multiple Athletes
At Tri Training Harder we regularly claim that our camps are for anyone. But how can they really allow for multiple athletes of different abilities to do the same session? How can we genuinely make it work for many people of very different abilities?
A few years ago we reflected at the end of one of our camps that we really couldn’t have had any more varied group of abilities. We had:
A university club group with a classic mix of athletes: first time IRONMAN athletes, GB age-group athlete for standard and sprint distances and a few social members
A group of friends who had done a couple of standard distance races between them. Very much a group of novices.
One Kona qualifying hopeful and some friends who were all of that seasoned IRONMAN focus
A former and current professional ITU elite athlete (one of whom was a world champion multiple times over!)
We really couldn’t have had a wider spread: On the run, the run paces went from over 10 mins/km to under 3mins/km. In the swim, we had swimmers who had a CSS of around 1:10-1:15 and then others who couldn’t break 10 mins for 400m and you can see where this is going for the bike!
So how did we manage to ensure that everyone had the experience and level of service that we are proud of and that make sure that everyone they enjoys their time with us? To add to our complication, not only did we want them to all have individualised training but we also wanted them to feel like they did it all together and that the group still felt like one group even though the training levels were very fragmented.
Swimming is the easiest to get a group feel. You can put everyone in the water and make them swim different distances: squads do it all the time! Even in the open water, we can work with the different groups based on their confidence and speeds and ensure everyone can get something out of the session to help them. We use CSS pacing as a method to help each of the athletes achieve a realistic target for their swimming as well as working technical aspects of the swimming stroke with individualised video feedback sessions.
Cycling is by far the hardest to manage a wide range of abilities. Even making it as simple as a “slow, medium and fast” groups doesn’t make it easier as the different race distance requirements make it harder. The slower sprint distance athlete doesn’t need the same training effect as the slow IRONMAN hopeful. So we work with five groups and recognise that each person will have slightly different aims for each of the sessions. By achieving that we ensure everyone gets the most out of their group rides.
Finally running sessions need to be quite specific. Like with swimming we can achieve that more easily through setting different session focuses for each of the athletes with us. But for the long runs or the runs of the bike we have to manage the athlete’s needs. Here, like with the bike groups we split up into sensible cohorts of athletes or prescribe suggested runs and paces for people to hit off the bike Thankfully, we have a number of routes which tie up really well as out-and-backs so the group can enjoy the same duration of running but clearly each person may head off on a different pace. Then for the sessions we run, just like swimming we adjust the main set for the person in front of us based on their run testing performance, or recent race results. With the run video feedback, not only do we deliver individualised points based on what the coach sees in front of them, but it may be they link up with the physio as well to ensure that we are looking at the whole system of the athlete in front of us and not just coaching ‘one method’.
Finally, these points above just highlight the actual sessions and clearly having more coaches makes it more bespoke (hence our very low ratios of athletes to coaches). However, just having the ratios doesn’t make the sessions specific. The coaches have to understand each person who attends a camp to ensure that they get not only the training that they want but also the training that they need (the two may not be the same!) so by ensuring our coaches are of a high standard to host our guests on our camps we can ensure they understand and empathise with the athletes to provide them the best experience we can. Finally, this is summarised in an athlete report which ensures that each of the athletes have a meaningful bit of feedback they can work on alongside their videos and their tan lines.
Back to the week we remembered fondly before: it doesn’t matter how you perceive yourself: as good or bad; as elite or amateur; as a beginner or retired, we will ensure you have the best experience you can have by understanding your needs. After all - we all do this because we enjoy it and because we want to get better well into our later years and that common trait of fitness and adventure binds us all together so it means we can all sit around the table at the end of the week and reflect fondly on our own hard times, our own proud moments and our joint laughter and look forwards to our own goals with a bunch of new friends to share them with.
We’re here to help
Tri Training Harder are one of the leading Triathlon coaching providers in the UK, using our wealth of experience to unite scientific and technological research with already well-established and successful best practices, to create a formula for triathlon and endurance coaching that works.
The result is an honest, dynamic, yet simple new way of constructing an athlete’s training to allow them to reach their potential.
If you’re planning your next season, just starting out in the sport or are looking for extra guidance at the very top end of the field, we are here to help, and our coaches would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us via the website, and one of the team will be in touch.