Getting Coached, Getting Sponsored, Getting Ready!

You might remember in my recent post about Triton Triathlon that I was in the market for a tri coach to help push me through this season. After doing a lot of searching around the web at different coaching options, I ended up going to some local triathletes that I know and asking their opinion. They referred me to a coach working out of one of Montreal’s most popular tri shops, Cycle Technique.

I met with the coach, Gil, and I really liked his approach! He definitely knew his stuff, and made it clear that he was readily available for feedback when needed. All my training would be planned and logged with TrainingPeaks, which I have already using for over a year, and getting coached meant that he could co-opt me into his Premium edition of TrainingPeaks. Gil schedules my workouts for the week every Saturday, but also responds to any feedback that I had for particular sessions. So far, his workouts have been definitely kicking my ass and getting me to push more than I would have. Beforehand, my typical bike trainer session went something like this;

5- 10 min warmup

About 45 mins of constant cycling at  90rpm

Maybe a sprinkle of one-leg drills

5 -10 min cooldown

Now, this is a typical workout taken from the past week

90 cad / warm up 2x(2'@z1.5+2'@z2)

70 cad / @ z2 with 15" pick ups to z3

3x(85 cad / 3'@ z3 +2' @ z4)

100 cad / @z1

60 cad / @ z2 jumps 15" intervals

100 cad / 10 x ( 1'@ z4 + 1'@ z2)

100 cad / @z1-2 in aero

cool down

Other big news is my getting accepted into the Timex FactoryTeam. 

While many people call this a sponsorship (I guess it technically is), here’s the jist;

After applying and being accepted, athletes are required to pay $100 to Timex. A sponsorship that you have to pay for? Sounds weird, right? But it’s not so bad. Once a part of the team, Timex will send you the following branded products;

My collection of shwag

Headsweats Visor

Headsweats Light-weight hat

Run belt

Water Bottle

Timex Watch (mine was an Ironman 30-lap watch)

A bunch of Timex Stickers

Along with these, athletes also receive a one-time use code to receive 40% off at the online Timex store, and an $80 credit to purchase specially designed Timex Factory Team Clothing through the Champsys network. To be fair, most of the nicer gear costs more than $80, but I could still use it to get away with a free cycling jersey, tri top, tri shorts, windbreaker jacket, and other basic clothing (like a lot of socks), or at least get a nice discount on other gear. So far I haven’t decided what to get.

All in all, my math works like this (assuming I would pay for similar items at some point, and that whatever I would buy from the Timex store costs at least 100 bucks)

So from a financial perspective alone, yeah its worth it for me to join the TFT. Also, being part of a team or community in any way is always fun and makes racing more enjoyable. Members also get occasional emails with exclusive discounts or offers, making members feel really privileged. 

Yes it’s part marketing gimmick, but its also a fun idea!

With about 12 weeks to go until 70.3 Mont-Tremblant, I’m getting excited and doing what I can to prepare. I know that I still need to do a lot of hill work, both on the bike and on the run, so I’m hoping that warmer weather will let me do more work outdoors.

Thats all for now!

Thanks for reading and keep Tri-ing!

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Looking for a Coach - Triton Triathlon Coaching

In my attempt to better myself as a triathlete and my overall fitness, I've began looking for a coach or coaching program. I don't really mind using an online service or interaction, but I don't think I'm quite ready to start shelling out $100+ a month for a coach, so for now I'm trying to find an effective but cost-sensitive coaching program.

The criteria that I'll judge any programs on are:
- Price
- Training Plan structure/ adaptability
- Coach responsiveness

One that I found was the newly created Triton Triathlon Coaching. This online service was created by Simon Whitfield, a renowned Canadian Olympic triathlete.

Getting Started

Triton offers a free 10 day no credit card required membership, that grants full access and is really a nice way to check if the program is for you. Set-up is quick and painless; input basic information, then select goal race distance and date, then add in any additional races that you have scheduled between now and then. Since training for races requires a minimum training period, the system will not let you select a race that is too soon (don't expect a 1 month training program for an Ironman). The system will then populate a complete training calendar for you to follow.

Using Triton
As you go through your calendar, you just click on the workout(s) of the days, length and specific exercises or intensity levels is prescribed for you to follow, along with tips and instructional videos.

After your workout, it is important to log how it went, which is supposed to help the program adapt to your responses. Since you don't upload anything (recorded HR, pace etc from a watch), this is the only way for the program to get a sense of what you need going forward.


So how does Triton stack up in the end?

Price
At only $40 a month, Triton is arguably one of the cheapest triathlon coaching programs that I have seen. Membership can be cancelled at any time.

Training Plan
- Visually clear, and entire training calendar is visible right away
- Workouts can be moved within the week account for time limitations
- Workouts are clearly explained
- Feedback is available
- Site is slow

Coach Feedback
Coach feedback is available through a messaging dashboard. You simply write any concerns or questions and can expect a response not long thereafter. My first emails to customer service took 36 hours to respond, and the second not too long after. Depending on what you're used to, this might be considered a while.

Problems:
- Can only schedule triathlons can be scheduled as non-goal races. How do I account for a half-marathon during my training period?
- Training time seems on the low end. For a half-Ironman, my longest bike ride is less than hours
- Feedback sometimes takes time.
- Plan adaptation is based on just a few log responses, not recorded data (HR, pace, etc...), uncertain how much it really changes based on input.
- Scheduling must be done completely manually. Since I know I will not be able to train on Saturdays, I'll have to move each week's training to different days
- There has been reported issues with a lack of sufficient REST days

Overall, I think that Triton has the potential to be a great training program for many athletes, but at this time the service is just too new, and has too many features that are "coming soon" to be a complete training guide or substitute for a live coach.

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