What Makes a Country Good at triathlon? I will be focusing on the success of the British team and how it was achieved. It is no secret that the British triathlon is a real powerhouse when it comes to top-level triathlon competitions. I am taking a deep look at how they do it, and then I am taking a look at what the other successful tri- nation countries do, like France, Norway, and the USA. By the end, I will have identified key factors that go into that medal-winning formula. To What Extent Does Britain’s Dominance Extend? The GB triathlon team has won an impressive eight olympic gold medals ..read more

The race season is a time to prepare for racing. But how do we do that? The following are the main items that you should be focusing on during the race season: SPLIT YOUR TIME BETWEEN RACE INTENSITY AND RECOVERY The race season is the time to ensure that you are ready to race, NOT to build additional fitness. Rather, you are spending your time getting race-ready. This is called peaking. Peaking for an event is accomplished by achieving a balance between race intensity training and recovery. If your training leans more towards training at race intensity, you will fatigue quickly, fitness may ..read more

Doing things that make you dislike yourself is way too common. How many times have you done something foolish, then sat on the couch at night, binging Netflix and inhaling a tub of ice cream to eat away the guilt? Did it work? I doubt it. Most likely, you disliked yourself even more the next morning. There are a wide array of things that people do that result in a lot of personal dislike and pain later on down the road. Many have pointed at a lack of long term perspective and oversight as the culprit for this type of personal error. However, most people KNOW what they are doing. Most people KN ..read more

Compare yourself to where you were yesterday; not to where others are today. Unless you are an Olympic triathlete who is trying to be the best in the world (and even then there is truth to this rule), there is not much point comparing yourself to where others are today. The incredible thing about sport (and most things in life, actually) is that you can become better at it over time. Life is one, big opportunity for us to improve our ability to run, bike, swim, work, play, love, create - everything you do can be improved. And while the thought that you have not mastered anything in life can be ..read more

Make friends with like-minded triathletes. Many of you have heard of the idea that you are the sum of your 5 closest friends, or the 5 people you spend the most time with. This was the idea of American businessman, Jim Rohn, who believed that our lives mirror the lives of those who we spend the most time with. There is some truth to this principle. Ken Coleman, a high-profile career coach, has taken this idea from Rohn and turned it into a blueprint used to increase the number of amazing opportunities popping up into one’s life pathway. I’m going to take both of these sister principles and app ..read more

I was having a particular tough day at work a couple weeks ago. There were some things going on that were out of my control, but causing a lot of stress in my coaching. My wife pointed out to me a painting that we have on our wall in our home: “If you can’t control the wind… adjust the sails.” Wow! What a paradigm shift!! I had utilized this philosophy countless times with my athletes, but had never thought about it in my own life. I think way to often athletes focus too much on those things that they have no control over: other athletes, the pool schedule, the weather conditions, but fail to ..read more

Covid Goal Worksheet Yes, there are some races continuing on, but the vast majority of events continue to be canceled and postponed. This has left many asking “What should my goals be if there is no races to train for anymore?” Here is a guide (along with a FREE WORKSHEET) you can use to help you come up with great goals to keep your training moving in the right direction. There are 3 Types of Goals that are well worth your while with no races in the near future: 1) Personal Challenge Goal This is the most exiting of the three. And that is the point! Choose something that really gets you exci ..read more

Do you have a problem with negativity? We all know that negativity brings us down. It makes it harder for us to be consistent with training, perform well under pressure, and simply makes life less enjoyable. Do this short test to see if you have a negativity problem: Grab a paper, pen and stop watch - divide the page into two halves. At the top write on one side negative, the other positive. Start the timer and write down 5 negative emotions as quickly as you can. Stop the timer when and only when you finish the 5th emotion. Reset the timer and write down 5 positive emotions as quickly as you ..read more

There are a lot of things that can get in the way of hard work. For example, I love to get my personal training done first thing in the morning (like 5 AM-sh early). If I wait too long in the day, my motivation to go for that run or hop in the pool almost completely dissipates. But sometimes things come up and I don’t get that morning training session in. How do you get ahead of those things that get in the way of hard work? Here’s a little trick I use - it’s called the Rule of 5 Why’s. Let’s say, for example, you planned on getting up early to get that 5 mile run in and you just didn’t get y ..read more

Being injured can be tough - especially mentally.  Here are a couple strategies to help get you through it. Change Your Focus Unable to run?  Take the opportunity to really focus on your swim and bike.  If it is winter, try cross country skiing or ice skating.  Summer time?  Try mountain biking or kayaking.  Keep your cardiovascular fitness up and maintain muscle mass while giving yourself time to heal.    Improve Weaknesses Cross train and really target your specific weaknesses.  Gain strength in the gym.  Improve mobility by taking yoga clas ..read more