Olly Simon Planning for perfection - A Blog from a Triathlete

It’s very easy to take your time in the first few months of the year as the weather is usually not the best but this is the time you can improve your season the most, not speed but fine tuning technical skills and figuring out which training sessions work for you, kit for the season and planning races to get you to peak at the right times.

Injury free coming out of March most athletes should be ready to race, A races probably still months away but the fitter you are at the early races the less you have to worry about changing things round. I finally read a quote about running that was simple and correct on one of these coach pages amongst all the other OVER coaching, improving running is just consistency, that’s fact, I went from running 1:27 or something in a hilly half marathon in 2009 coming 8th to winning the same race in 2011 with a 1:19 and that was down to consistent mileage and the treadmills getting better going from top speed 14.4 to 19.2, I just ran with no injuries and went from being just an average runner to winning pure running races or at least being on the podium. Best running over all distances in 2016 as seen in pic, if I get in that shape this year I will be happy.

I’m planning a half marathon the end of March to give me a kick up the arse and hopefully some tt’s on the bike for April, so all going well by May, I should be a lot fitter than last year, moving house for March to May with gutting the new one didn’t make training easy last year. I haven’t got anything long till June but it’s no good adding all of the long stuff while I’m trying to be sharp for races so I can start putting some mileage in asap to be strong.

I stepped up the training 2 weeks ago with some threshold sets to wake the lungs and legs up which finally got that feel good feeling after a session, shorter reps for now but increasing as I get more comfortable. On the turbo, 2mins first then 3mins and up to 8 minute reps now, sweetspots should be back before February. Swim seems to be the hardest one to build up, mainly due to pool times around everything else, while everyone puts their 5K sets out there I’m still jumping in and blasting 1k just to keep me ticking along, 10x 100m the other day just to see where I am, times are not too bad just couldn’t have lasted any longer!

Not sure what kit I’m changing this year yet still looking in to possibilities, hopefully the bike but my Ceepo would be fine for a course like Kona so I’m not under any pressure, I could even get away with another season in my wetsuit if I’m feeling really tight.

February should bring a week in Lanzarote to get out on the bike, only time I have to get away as the rest of the year is filling up fast. I’m going to try a different hotel in Costa teguise, the Barcelo Occidental lanzarote Mar which has a 50m pool, see what it’s like.

On the coaching front I’m taking on new clients and the Sharks I coach are finally understanding how hard you have to work to get results, for them they have to be flying by their trials in March so no time to take it easy now.

The few years I’ve been coaching them I’ve seen big improvements and it’s easier now that I can run with them, can’t keep up on anything shorter than 2 mins but I’ve still got the legs to catch the speedsters on the longer reps, not a chance with them for under a minute.

This sport has so much to think about for new comers, too much advice out there, if your lucky and you ask the right person you can save yourself so much hassle, if you don’t like all the tech then don’t use it, power is worth it if you understand it but we all managed fine for years before it was standard practise.

Pic on a second hand racer with mountain bike shoes, “we all started somewhere”,.

I had to learn this sport myself until 2012 but now you can get a top coach if you’ve got money to burn, cycling has advanced the most, everyone is being trained by an X timetrialist or someone who knows someone that knows one, Just go online stick your FTP in and destroy yourself, fact is where all doing the same sessions, the only thing that gives you hope is no matter how many people know the best sessions you still have to do them which is not easy! Genetics plays apart as well. A goal, motivation, music, getting into someone else’s mindset what ever it takes to hit that power for as long as the interval is. I go to tt’s now and get hammered by guys you know have that switch that means they know how to hurt.

Enough about that for now it’s making me dread my first 3 X 20 mins.

Ironman Wales sold out quick, whether it’s down to deferal, payment plan or atmosphere a few have missed out that I would’ve liked to seen on the day, hard to enter everything for the season this early in case it sells out, I find now races that don’t sell out have better quality athletes at the top because they like to just rock up if it suits. Talk about that more next time.