10 Years of Tri Training Harder – an athlete's perspective
Below long-term coached athlete Paul Hayward takes an athlete’s perspective and offers his thoughts when it comes down to the question of celebrating Tri Training Harder’s 10th birthday. What does coaching mean to him?
I often get asked “what does a coach really add to your performance?” and I usually reply “it adds so much more than just results, it gives you a new way of thinking and mentality”.
It is evident from Phil’s comments on his “10 for 10” (here), in what he would have told himself at the outset of his journey of coaching, that this is what he was seeking to achieve through Tri Training Harder (“TTH”) and the value that they can offer.
On 29th January 2017, I won a 12-week coaching plan with TTH Coach Sorrell on the basis that I was a “committed individual who wants to improve on his full distance finishing time”. While I think they were being kind with the compliments at this stage (although I did wipe three hours off my Ironman finishing time (here)). Fast forward 3.5 years and I would like to think I am now not only this person but more; due to the guidance and leadership of both Coach Phil and my current Coach; Will Munday.
Paul with coach Sorrel
So what does being a Tri Training Harder athlete offer you? I agree with Phil in that it may be a little cliché but can be summed up through TTH’s core values:
Believe
Whether you are worried about making the finish line in a race or facing a particular challenge (such as making the swim or improving your watts), being a TTH coached athlete gives you the confidence to face this through the training you have undertaken head-on and in the best possible position. The coaching is bespoke and designed around you to get the best out of you to the point you will face that race/challenge believing that you can do this.
Strive
Regardless of whether you are a Pro/Age Grouper or someone taking on the race to make the line; as the training sets in you will start to (and want to) push yourself. You want to hit the relevant watts/times/training stress not only to hit your target but to show you can do this. With this focus comes development and improvement, all the time. It makes you push yourself, your views and ultimately your goals.
Achieve
It would be simple (and unfair) to say that you can achieve your goal every time as a TTH coached athlete, as anything can happen come race day (such as weather - see here), but you do achieve so many things through this journey and more than often your goal. This can range from simple things such as a change in food or sleeping habits for the better to the bigger stuff like smashing your goals or redefining your ambition.
However, I do think one thing is missing from this that is so apparent through being a coached athlete and maybe found in all three areas; that is “development”. Through the above values transitioned into your training and mentality, you find that this focus/energy spills into other areas of your life. You find yourself wanting to push, wanting to better yourself in many areas and ultimately, you become a little more alive - through this development.
TTH celebrates 10 years this year, and while I have only had 3.5 years, the results/changes to me as an athlete and as a person are apparent, and I am sure I am not alone. While I am unsure where this journey will end for me (hopefully Ironman Wales* next year) but I am sure that ten years from now Phil will be just as committed to achieving the dreams of the TTH athletes that he is today.
Michael Jordan once said “Success doesn’t stop when you get there” and I am pretty sure he, and TTH, live by this.
* AG trophy dependent
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.