Coaching
Coaching
There are a few reasons why people choose to work with a triathlon coach, main reasons being:
With 20 years of experience coaching athletes, from racing in the Olympics to winning an in AG, or setting PBs, we have a proven track record of improving athletes' performances, whatever their level.
With 12 years of experience running the British Triathlon Sport Science Support Team, including devising performance strategies for the Athens, Beijing and London Olympics, we know how to cut through the noise so you can be assured you are doing the right things at the right time.
Everyone is unique, and how we deal with all athletes is individualised. Obviously, all programmes are designed for each athlete, but how we communicate and use data and feedback are all tailored to the athlete - helping them to be accountable to themselves more than us.
(Kona qualifier for 2023)
"I chose to be coached by Mark due to his high level of experience coaching elite athletes and his background in sports physiology. We’ve been working together for over two years now, and I’ve seen great results. Mark is also easy to reach - my messages and comments are replied to within minutes, which makes communication and feedback between the two of us much better than any other coach I’ve worked with. Overall, I’m very happy with the service he provides as a coach, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in the future"
(AG Triathlete - Sub 10hr Ironman)
"I started working with Mark after several years of getting close to a sub-10 Ironman but always falling slightly short of the performance target I had set myself. I knew the gains I needed to find were predominantly on the bike whilst also maintaining the strong swim and run that had made me competitive as a top age grouper and regular Kona qualifier for several years. Finding these gains was challenged by a demanding full-time job and the fact I was already working very hard towards my Ironman goals… Plus, I am a woman over 40, and improvements become harder and harder to find at my age."
We only take on a few coached athletes to ensure the quality of our coaching service. Our coaches work in close collaborations, so although you may choose one or the other of our triathlon coaches; they may both work on your training programme or other aspects of the coaching process.
Mark is a British Triathlon Level 3 coach with a Master's in Applied Physiology. Before creating Intelligent Triathlon Training, he was a physiologist for the British Triathlon Olympic Programme, supporting teams in the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics. Mark was also Performance Manager for the Women’s Olympic Team in 2008. In 2010 he became head coach for one of the two UK Olympic Training Centres in Loughborough and coached Lucy Hall to the 2012 London Olympics.
Since switching to private coaching, he has coached athletes to world championships, European championships and countless personal best performances.
Sam has raced as an age-group athlete and as a professional long-distance triathlete. He took up the sport in his early 20s after sailing at a high level. Mark has coached him since 2015, and consequently, the two have a lot in common with their coaching, but with different perspectives, skills and knowledge.
On his first Pro Ironman, Sam set the fastest debut pro time by a British athlete on his way to finishing 8th in Ironman Texas.
Sam brings a lot of experience as a competitor and is a valuable asset to our coaching team.
Our role is to help you reach them using our expertise and experience.
Developing performance is a journey, and we create a map to navigate this journey to set the direction and ensure you understand the route we have taken.
Once we know what your goals are, we can set about building a unique triathlon training plan and working on other aspects of your coaching, too, such as swim technique, nutrition, race strategy etc.
Customised to your life schedule and race goals and integrated into your daily life. Delivered via a complementary Training Peaks Premium account
All workouts include a video or written tutorial on the focus, how-to cues and guidelines for each session.
Workouts are embedded with coaching cues and built to easily synchronise with your favourite training tools (Garmin, Wahoo, ZWIFT, TrainerRoad etc.)
We adjust your plan when necessary, factoring in fatigue, travel, work/lifestyle, and schedule changes and provide regular feedback.
Race strategy discussions and plans covering areas such as:-
Treating each athlete as an individual is a core principle for us, and as such, we aim to deliver:
As a coached athlete, we also use some other tools which you will have access to that helps with our coaching process and your racing such as:
Although you may have a lead coach, the knowledge and experience of our coaches are shared across all athletes.
You want to find out more about us, and we want to get to know you. This chat is about finding out if we want to work together and is a great chance to ask any questions you may have.
If we go ahead, we will share a link with you to sign up and arrange your onboarding meeting. This is we really get into the details of what you want to achieve and what you have been doing.
For triathlon coaching with Mark as your head coach
We also charge a £115 set-up fee when you book your 60-min onboarding meeting.
For triathlon coaching with Mark as your head coach
We also charge a £115 set-up fee when you book your 60-min onboarding meeting.
The benefit of coaching over an online training plan or surfing through the web is that we cut through the vast amounts of information and focus on the most relevant to YOU to improve your fitness.
All training programmes are developed around you and your goals.
If you are training for your first triathlon, you want to be confident that you are on the right path and that all your preparation will lead to great results and improved performance.
Honestly, that's an unknown, the answer is probably, but if you have been doing great work and had good coaching, it may be that you are near your maximum potential. The best this to do is get in touch and have a no-obligation chat with us to find out more.
Yes, most certainly. We do a custom package which factors in not setting or evaluating the run training; for more details, contact us.
Ideally yes. There is a free account, and we include a Premium account as part of our coaching fee. We have evaluated other options and concluded that, at the moment, training peaks is the leader for coaching planning and prescription.
We have articles in our member's area that will outline how you can get your data into Training Peaks.
The Training Peaks account is yours if we put sessions in there, we have shared that information with you, and it is now yours. If you eventually move to another coach, we will not ask you to delete this information as some coaches do. Training sessions don't make a training plan or a coaching programme; it's how they fit together and how they fit the person that matters.
This is one area that we do need athletes to appreciate. We do need triathletes to have power on their bikes (or use a smart trainer), use a heart rate monitor and ideally(not currently obligatory) use a Stryd running power meter.
These tools provide a vital source of information for us as coaches to use in combination with your feedback. With only one or the other, we are left guessing too much.
It does help, but it's not essential; that's what your coach is for! We adapt our style with a flexible approach, so we can provide as much or as little information as required. As you learn more, you might want more depth.
No problem, we will reassess the plan and make any necessary changes, even if that means tearing up the current one and starting again. We are here to help you achieve your goals, even if they move for any reason.
You can drop us a message and ask what is best to do; if it's more serious, we can arrange a call or video chat to discuss the best way forward.
As long as it is reasonable, we do not limit contact. Sometimes we may need to talk several times a week if there is an issue or in the build-up to a race. Other times we may not speak directly for a week or two.
We use all the various video conferencing tools such as Skype, FaceTime etc. but prefer MS Teams, and we have a booking page for athletes to schedule calls and check when we are free.
We also use WhatsApp for more informal issues or quicker responses.
Use one of the above methods
As often as is necessary, we understand life is busy, and we may need to work in time for family life or work. We will amend the programme and workouts as much as necessary so that you can fit training into your life.
It may be as much as one week or as many as eight weeks it depending upon the best approach for the time. Some triathletes like to know their future training well in advance so they can ensure they can fit training into their lifestyle.
We limit coaching to 15 athletes per coach. Many of our athletes are long-term, so places don't come up very often.
Yes, assuming there is space, you can move between programmes.
Assuming there is space, yes, that is possible.
We ask for one month's notice.
Yes we do; supplied by Kalas, we enter an order at the start of each year, and if there is sufficient demand mid-season we can add another order.
We do not require athletes to wear it though, it's your choice.