Pat Cooke-Rogers is an impressive athlete by any standard. Pat has been doing endurance events for 16 years now and has ticked off some bucket list races, including the 430 mile Yukon Arctic Ultra and twice racing at the IRONMAN World Championships in Hawaii. Pat has been a TTH Coached Athlete for just over a year now and we can't wait to see what challenges Pat has in line for the future! In 2017 Pat not only qualified for Kona for the second time 10 years after first qualifying but she also went on to better her time, showing that keeping training and racing fun and interesting is important to remaining engaged and competitive.

tritrainingharderNovember 7, 20171stultra, AG Comment

Elaine Garvican Race Report: Ironman World Championship 2017

The 2017 Ironman World Championships was my 3rd experience of racing on the Big Island. I qualified at Ironman Weymouth in September 2016, which gave Philip and I a little over a year to prepare. Thirteen months to dream, to plan and to train for just over 10 hours of swimming, biking and running. I went to Kona aiming at the age group podium and in the end, I fell slightly short. When I started to think about this race report, I was reminded of one a good friend of mine once wrote about a race at which he qualified for Kona whilst also not quite hitting several other goals. He entitled it “A Rather Glorious Failure” and in many ways this is how I feel about my 2017 World Champs race.

tritrainingharderNovember 2, 2017Race Team, Racing, Triathlon Comment

TTH Race Team Athlete Jason Walkley - Training around a new born baby

In this blog, TTH Race Team Athlete Jason Walkley describes how he manages to fit training for IRONMAN racing around a full time job and two young children. The reality of being a top age group athlete means that flexibility and adaptability are key to getting the training done when finding the time and motivation is hard to come by.

Nick PillingNovember 2, 2017Race Team, Training, TriathlonComment

3 Running Strength and Conditioning Exercises you Should be Doing

This blog looks at three simple strength and conditioning exercises and demonstrates how you can use them to become more efficient as a runner, reduce the chance of injury and therefore improve your consistency in running and fundamentally get faster. These are great as strengthening work, or as a bit of fun/challenge to add in to your running training routine.

Philip HatzisNovember 1, 2017Running, Strength and Conditioning, TrainingComment

Swimming in the gym.....3 key S&C exercises for better swimming performance

We all know that to improve your swim performance one of the key things to do is swim more (sorry folks!), but there are a couple of other things that you can do as well as making that almost daily visit to the pool.

Here we show you three key exercises that will help your swimming.

Sorrel WilliamsOctober 31, 2017Strength and Conditioning, Swimming, Training, Sorrel WilliamsComment

Aero testing - is it really worth it?

The term “aero testing” has been banded around for some time now but it has so far always been reserved for those with unlimited budgets, namely professional athletes. As with all new technologies though, they eventually find their way to the mass market. There are now a variety of low(er) cost and easier to source aero testing facilities all aimed at making you go faster for less effort.

Sorrel WilliamsOctober 31, 2017Cycling, Training, Sorrel WilliamsComment

IRONMAN World Championships 2017

With the excitement of the world championships over and most of the athletes back on home soil, we take a quick look back at how TTH athletes fared on the course.

Philip HatzisOctober 31, 2017AG, RacingComment

8 Reasons You Should Start Working with a Coach

There are times in your sport, your job or life where you turn to someone else with experience and knowledge to help you progress and develop. All too often we get far beyond that point in our lives before we actually ask for help and when we do, we look back at all the decisions we had subsequently made before seeking guidance and we ask ourselves: "Why did I wait so long?!". Here we explore some tell-tale signs that indicate that it is time for you to stop being self-coached or relying on "free" coaching from clubs and invest in yourself and start working with a coach in a more formal manner.

Philip HatzisOctober 31, 2017Coaching, Triathlon, Philip HatzisComment

From Snow to Rock – Ollie Stoten

Ollie Stoten, a long term coached athlete, race team athlete and friend of Tri Training Harder embarked on an adventure in 2016 to cross the Antarctic (1,100miles) with a team of reservists (SPEAR17).

Tri Training HarderOctober 27, 2017Coaching, Race Team, RunningComment

Plan Your Off Season

Here we discuss the part of any athletes year of training and how to plan your off season to enable you to have the best possible results for when race season comes around again. It is the part of the training plan so often forgotten simply because it isn't the sexy, racing side!

Philip HatzisOctober 18, 2017Coaching, Training, Triathlon, Philip HatzisComment

Should I take an Off Season?

As athletes we get to that time in the year when all races have been raced and we are in our 'off season'. However, for most of us we notice the only thing that changes is that we have said we are taking an off season. Is that change in approach sufficient? Or should we be more strict on taking time out? Here we discuss the benefits of taking time out and how an off-season can help you to peak higher than you have before.

tritrainingharderOctober 18, 2017Coaching, Training, Triathlon, BiomechanicsComment

Assessing your Season

Unfortunately, those evenings are getting darker and it is the time of year when the racing season is coming to an end for the majority of UK Triathletes. It is a natural time for reflection on all the racing that has passed in 2017.

Alan WardOctober 17, 2017Coaching, Training, Triathlon, Alan WardComment

TTH Athlete Q&A: James Briscoe

James Briscoe is a TTH Coached Athlete who first visited us in Portugal 4 years ago while at Swansea University. Since then he has developed in a big way as an athlete while also being coached by TTH. This year James took on the ITU AG World Champs in Rotterdam and also won the Llandudno Sea Triathlon.

Nick PillingOctober 12, 2017AG, TriathlonComment

Super League Triathlon – Here to Stay?

As Superleague Triathlon hits the shores of the British Isles in Jersey, with its new format and glamorous presentation bringing an almost 'Rock'n Roll' atmosphere to the format of a classic triathlon, we explore if this new kid on the block is here to stay and what it means for the sport.

Philip HatzisOctober 3, 2017Coaching, Triathlon, Philip HatzisComment

GO TRI - The Oratory

GO TRI - The Oratory is part of a series of GO TRI Aquathon's being hosted by The Oratory School, Reading and organised by Tri Training Harder.

If you aren't familiar with GO TRI then it is an initiative by Triathlon England to get more people active and interested in multisport events - more information can be found here.

Nick PillingOctober 3, 2017AG, News, TriathlonComment

Elaine Garvican: When is a race not a race?

In my book, pretty much never. If I pin on a number, I want to perform as well as I can on that day, with whatever fitness I have. Personally, I don’t see much point in a “training race” where I purposely hold back. That’s not to say there isn’t a benefit for some people – but I think when you reach a certain level of experience, you don’t necessarily need a race in order to test nutrition, or equipment. I can do those things in training, or in a sportif if the requirement is for a longer ride. For me, a race provides things a training session does not; competition and a level of intensity it is extremely difficult to replicate on your own. Removing these aspects would negate the point of coughing up an entry fee.

Nick PillingOctober 2, 2017Race Team, TriathlonComment

Ollie Stoten – My First Year as a Doctor....

As Ollie Stoten reflects on his first year as a doctor, he realises it probably hasn't been a normal right of passage. After a successful 2016, we look at how 2017 shaped up for Ollie. Crossing continents, Alpine ranges and smashing race results. Here, both Ollie and his Coach Philip Hatzis candidly reflect on a truly unique season. [Read about how his perspective changed through the race season here]

tritrainingharderOctober 2, 2017Coached Athlete, Coaching, Race Report, RunningComment

How to progress your coaching career

Ultimately coach development comes down to a mixture of time and experience, applied on top of solid theoretical knowledge. It can be a difficult journey to walk at times and it can seem like there are frustrating barriers in front of coaches, especially for those coaches who are currently coaching on a voluntary basis but wish to take their coaching further.

Alan WardSeptember 29, 2017Coaching, News, Triathlon, Alan WardComment

5 reasons why you should train with TTH - by Janz Fredo

To some people, training for a week in the beautiful Algarve, Portugal with Tri Training Harder’s coaches can be a bit daunting. A lot of people believe we only cater for serious athletes or at least the pros. This could not be further from the truth and we were lucky enough to stumble on this secret blog from holiday athlete Janz Fredo to his friends on “5 reasons why you should train with Tri Training Harder”.

Sorrel WilliamsSeptember 29, 2017Training, Triathlon, Sorrel WilliamsComment

TTH Athlete Q&A: Kurt Winship

This is the first in a new series of blogs where we will be doing short question and answer sessions with a variety of our athletes so you can get to know them a little better! You will hopefully learn from these that we cater to all athletes, from beginner to elite level across all of our coaching services.

Nick PillingSeptember 13, 2017AG, TriathlonComment

How should you categorise your races through the season?

Athletes often categorise their races. In this article, Coach Philip outlines how athletes can use a category to help adjust their mindsets before the event.

Age is just a number: How does getting older impact an endurance athlete?

Ageing is a natural process which, we hope, we will all get to experience. As we age our bodies change, some more dramatically than others. In this article Coach Denise looks at what changes we can expect and how we can accommodate them, to enable us all to keep training, and racing, for as long as we want to.

How to pick the best Race Buddies

Are you planning on racing with a bunch of clubmates or friends? Do you know how you will cope? Will you be the easygoing traveller, or will you be the one who carries their nerves quite obviously? Coach Philip addresses some key points of self-reflection that athletes should go through before travelling to a race with others.

Endurance Athletes – Training Through the Menopause

Training through the menopause is often a confusing and difficult time. In this article, which was first published for the Castle Race Series, Coach Philip looks at the changes and how athletes can navigate them.

Are Training Plans Dead?

In this latest article, coach Philip explores whether a training plan is now dead. He also looks into the rise of artificial intelligence and its impact on the sports industry.

How do you get faster at endurance races without any training?

In this article, Coach Philip explores how athletes are often distracted by the enormity of the task and get excited about the headline sessions instead of ensuring that all the fundamentals are in place to improve their chances of success or, more importantly, reduce the probability of failure.

Catherine Tait – Macmillan Triathlon (check out her website).JPG

How to be an endurance athlete post menopause?

In a recent series of blogs Coach Denise has looked at the impact of the menstrual cycle, contraception and perimenopause on the female athlete. In this article she looks at what athletes and coaches should consider in the postmenopausal phase of life.

Should we dial down our FTP after the off-season?

In this latest article, coach Philip Hatzis explores how much we should dial back our FTP after an off-season break, or even if we should!? Read on to learn how to adapt your training after taking some time off.

Perimenopause and the athlete

In earlier articles Coach Denise has looked at the impact of the menstrual cycle on the female athlete, and how to train effectively within the body’s natural rhythm. In this article, Coach Denise looks at the impact that perimenopause can have on the athlete, and how to continue to train effectively through this phase of your life.

How can I do better at test sessions?

As we look to the new season, testing is one of the first things many athletes will do. This will be the form of benchmarking to understand initial fitness levels, biomechanics or other areas. Various aspects of training and performance will be measured and improved upon in the coming months. Yet, often, athletes dislike “test week” and miss out on brilliant opportunities to improve. Coach Philip Hatzis explores the topic of improving your testing sessions in this article.

How do I know if I should train if I am not feeling 100%?

At some point in their athletic career, every athlete has a point when they’re unsure if they should or should not train. This is often a result of illness or fatigue or something similar. They are feeling a bit “yuck” but do not necessarily understand why, which makes deciding whether they should train a tough challenge. In this article, coach Philip Hatzis explores how athletes can decide whether to train or not.

Should Goals be Time-bound?

In this article, Coach Philip explores goal setting and the commonly accepted approach to goal-setting that may actually inhibit performance by forcing a time constraint on athletes where no time may be the best option.

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Are Coaches Sacrificing Health for Performance?

In this article, Coach Philip explores some trends we are starting to see with new athletes who have been previously coached by others. Though athletes often start working with coaches for performance, we are also responsible for ensuring that athletes are healthy and safe. This article looks at some examples and highlights some things that athletes and coaches can do to enable a better approach to athlete welfare.

How to plan for a triathlon season

Love it or loathe it, the topic of planning is central to all sports, none more so than multi discipline endurance sports. Helping to focus time, effort and energy, great plans can produce the best results on race day. In this blog Coach Denise looks at the topic of planning, why it helps within the sport of triathlon and how a coach can help you to help yourself.

How to become effective in swimming in the waves

Being able to swim in a pool is not quite the same as being able to swim in open water. In this latest article, Coach Rita explores her learning experience when she took an open water swim session with some British athletes and her surprise at the skills gap between their swimming ability and open water experience.

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