If you have read my other 2 blogs you know that I need to be in a group environment to be able to optimise my training and get the most out of my body. In short course triathlon, we are racing flat out for the hour, or if you find yourself racing with the top dogs, racing then for 2 hours. Short course racing is all about the intensity and for that reason you just can’t go slow, as simple as that sounds. To be able to go to that ‘dark’ place, you need to be training in a group for those hard sessions. Having people around you allows you to become familiar with that environment so when it comes to race day, you are familiar with that uncomfortable feeling. To put it simply, it is all about becoming “comfortable with the uncomfortable.” If you have gone to ‘that’ place in training, race day should be easy and not such a shock to the system.
I’m the type of person who simply can’t swim by myself, no matter how easy or hard the session is. On a typical week I would swim 5 times with a group in DCU and once by myself in the National Aquatic Centre. We call ourselves the SDT crew (you can thank Liz for that). You might have to read that one again! The Stephen Delaney Training crew, not copying off the international training group of Joel Filliol with the JFT crew at all! The one swim by myself usually is a super easy session so I don’t lose that ‘feeling’ for the water. Usually technique work and some kicking after a hard run and long bike. I always find that having 2 days completely off swimming and I lose that ‘feeling’ for the water all the top swimmers harp on about.
There is no way I would be able to do any of the swim sessions we do by myself. For example, a favourite set of Stephen’s is 10 x 300m. An aerobic set but I’m nearing tears in my goggles as I plough through these. It has to be the most boring set I have done and we do it nearly every week. Some would say “Paddy, sure if you hate it that much, that will make you stronger.” Not in my opinion. I think it makes you mental. But you feel like a boss once its finished. We have another swim coach on board with us called Tim. Tim gives us a good hard piping everyday. Everyday feels like a hard day and you need that group environment to push through these sessions. Shared pain, is half the pain.
The hardest part with any training set is the first half of the session. Once you get through those first 5, the rest is easy, even though the second half will be the hardest physically, but mentally I find it easier. But getting through those first 5 are torture. So how do I get through this? The group pull me through this, as we both take a turn pacing these. There is a group of 5 of us so we all take 2 turns pacing. When it is your turn, no matter how horrible you may feel, you know you can’t let the rest down, that you HAVE to take your turn. Even though it is an individual sport, we work as a team to pull each other through training sessions.
Another great trait to have in a training partner is a good sense of humour. The last thing you want to see if some grumpy and miserable bolox showing up 6.30am on a Monday morning, whinging and moaning. There is no room for dickheads like that in a training squad. You need someone who is going to make training fun and a good laugh. Someone you look forward seeing every day at training. A good example of this is Liz and Michael. Myself and Michael will always try put each other off during swim sessions like when one of us is doing backstroke, the other will push his head under just as he is gasping for breath. Liz is also a great laugh and someone you can chat to about anything other than training and racing. If you’re going to clock up the hours every week and smash yourself day in day out, you need these people.
The great Mark Allen, 6 time winner of Kona and probably the greatest triathlete of all time was very much an introvert and did many of his sessions alone but when the time was right in his training went out with others. When asked about the ideal training partner and what he looks for in a training partner, Mark made several observations. First and foremost, you need someone who is crazy enough to do the training and miles required. Triathlon is a sport than can see some athletes clock upwards of 30+ hours a week. That’s a fuck load of time spent alone if you don’t have a group or training partner. Secondly, and also just as important is knowing when to race each other and push each other in training. Mark and his training buddies knew when to push and when to hold back. On days when someone was struggling, they helped pull each other through the session, whether that be allowing someone sit on your feet in the pool, on your wheel or sitting behind someone during run sessions, this is what training partners do. They don’t fuck off into the open when they’re feeling savage.
I do all my easy run and bike miles alone and by myself because I prefer to just plug in the ear phones and almost fuck off for a little while, listening to music or podcasts. I don’t go on group rides due the fact that there are no groups around me that suit me. There are plenty of group rides around me but I can’t stand that ‘small talk’ with lads you don’t know. Triathlon is such a selfish sport, it is all take and no give. If I was based down in UL I’d 100% go out with the triathlon group down there just because I know the lads, they’re my own age, and all have similar goals to myself. Unfortunately there is no such group up here at the moment but myself and a couple of other good guys have been trying to get some group going. By going on a group spin, those long bike rides go that bit quicker and also add a social aspect to it, having the craic on the bike while stopping for a hit of caffeine. I go out with another McKenna fella and I love going out with him. We talk about everything but cycling which is healthy I think. We have a good catch up and when one of us is struggling, the other will always have a gel on hand, a wheel to follow or a few quid in the back pocket for a sugar and caffeine hit at a café. I know when I go out with McKenna, it’s going to be a good laugh and catch up.
You remember those hard days when they’re shared with someone else. When we first went out together we would ride hard for 3+ hours. I can’t even tell you how many times one of us bonked. It took us a fair few times before we realised that we can’t keep doing this. The amount of times we have been out and one of us (mainly McKenna) has punctured at just the wrong time. It would be lashing down with rain, into a headwind and all you would hear is that ‘Sssss’ sound. A fucking puncture! Another tough day out I remember particular well was in Portugal, banging out 6 x 1km on the trails. The week before I had paced Michael Moran through the reps with him right on my shoulder. This time he dragged me through each rep. There was led in my veins and I was feeling the last 10 days of heavy training. Michael could have gone off and knocked off another few seconds off each rep, but instead he paced me through each one, like a good lad. Michael is the perfect training partner as I found out during that camp. Great banter and a good laugh and also willing to do the training and put the hard graft in. Just what Mark Allen looks for in a training partner.