Self-coaching for triathlons offers flexibility and full control over your training, but requires discipline, self-awareness, and a strong understanding of key training principles. Learn how to create a personalized, balanced training plan that prepares you for race day success while staying adaptable to life’s challenges.
Rachel Faulds during Ironman 70.3 Cozumel Photo by Finisherpix
Athletes take a variety of approaches to prepare for their triathlon goals. Some join triathlon clubs for group training, while others hire a coach to create a personalized training plan tailored to their goals and fitness level. Some athletes follow generic training plans, use AI-based software, or choose to “self-coach.” Self-coaching involves taking full autonomy and responsibility for planning, executing, adjusting, analyzing, and monitoring one’s training program without the guidance of a coach or AI.
In self-coaching, athletes have complete control over their training schedule, allowing for a highly personalized plan that can be continuously adapted to fit their goals, lifestyle, fitness progression, and personal preferences. However, self-coaching requires a solid understanding of training principles, physiology, mental resilience, discipline, and strong self-motivation.
The term “self-coaching” reflects the fact that the athlete essentially takes on the role of both coach and athlete. Unlike AI-based plans or generic training programs, self-coaching allows athletes to account for life’s nuances beyond swim, bike, and run. For example, it enables them to consider factors like mental fatigue from previous sessions or external stressors, such as work or personal commitments. This is crucial, as all forms of stress—training, work, or life—impact performance and recovery. Generic plans and AI-based programs often overlook these subtleties, making self-coaching a valuable option for athletes seeking a more adaptable and individualized approach.
When self-coaching, triathletes should consider several key factors to create an effective and balanced training schedule:
Set Clear Goals:
The first step is to define what you’d like to achieve. Whether it’s completing a specific race, setting a personal best, or conquering a challenging course or extreme conditions (like racing in high temperatures), setting clear goals is essential.
Your goals should take into account your current fitness level, the time you can realistically dedicate to training, the proximity of the event, and your experience and athletic history. Setting well-defined and realistic goals will help guide your training plan and keep you motivated along the way.
Take Inventory Part 1: Implementing Coaching Concepts:
To effectively self-coach, it’s important to learn and apply training principles to your own plan. Successful self-coaching requires an understanding of key concepts like periodization, intensity zones, and recovery strategies.
In addition to understanding training theory, it’s crucial for athletes to take inventory of their own strengths and weaknesses. This means using personal insight to identify barriers to performance and implementing strategies to overcome them.
For example, I know I have a strong aerobic engine, allowing me to sustain a steady pace over long distances. However, I struggle with top-end speed. To address this, I incorporate VO2 max workouts into my training, which are challenging but essential for improving the pace I can hold during a race. My training plan balances aerobic volume, which builds on my strengths, with VO2 sessions that push me to improve where it matters most for my race performance.
Understanding this balance also means reflecting on the demands of VO2 work and aerobic volume. VO2 max workouts, especially for weight-bearing sports like running, often require longer recovery periods. So, when planning, I must consider not only the physical benefits of VO2 training but also the fitness level required to handle it effectively, and the recovery time needed to minimize injury risk.
This tailored approach may differ from other athletes who benefit more from tempo work or other types of training, but it ensures that I’m maximizing my strengths while addressing areas for improvement in a sustainable way.
Each athlete should analyze their goals, assess their physical and mental capacity, and create a path from point A to point B that leverages their strengths while addressing weaknesses. Tailoring your training this way ensures that your program is uniquely suited to your personal needs and aspirations.
Taking Inventory Part 2: How Are You Mentally?
Be honest with yourself—what mental challenges do you face? Triathlon is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. Common strategies for tackling these challenges include visualization, positive self-talk, journaling, and developing personal methods for managing discomfort and fatigue. Take inventory of your own mental barriers: What concerns or insecurities are you dealing with? What obstacles might prevent you from feeling excited, ready, and confident at the start line? Reflect on how you can address these barriers.
This can be a tough process to navigate alone. Many athletes work with a coach not only for a tailored training plan but also for the reassurance that they’re physically prepared. While a coach can offer encouragement and confidence in your readiness, addressing deeper mental hurdles might require additional support. If your mental game feels like a significant challenge, consider working with a mental health or mental performance professional to build confidence and resilience alongside your physical training.
Create A Training Plan (Template)
Athletes then create their own training schedule, deciding how frequently and intensely to train each of the three disciplines. This also includes planning for rest, recovery, and any supplementary workouts, such as strength training or flexibility exercises.
When self-coaching, think of your training plan as a flexible template rather than a rigid schedule. One of the benefits of not relying on a generic or AI-based plan is that you have the ultimate control to make adjustments as needed. Life happens—over the course of a typical 16- to 32-week training plan, you might face unexpected challenges like illness, minor injuries, or work deadlines that require you to pivot your approach.
Begin with an overall template that maps out your start-to-finish goals, but take things one week at a time. For instance, if you’re following a 16-week training plan, you might start with a four-week “base” phase. During this phase, your goal could be to gradually build volume with low-intensity or mostly aerobic and tempo work. Within each block, have a general idea of what you want to accomplish before moving on to the next phase. (For more details on training phases, download our free triathlon guide on the homepage.)
This approach allows you to remain adaptable and resilient, helping you stay on track toward your goals even when life throws you a curveball.
Things to Consider When Making Your Training Plan:
Consistency Is Key
This is one of the most important principles to remember when preparing for a triathlon. The best training plan is the one you can stick to consistently. No single workout or week of training will prepare you for race day as effectively as a steady, manageable, and occasionally challenging program sustained over time. Consistency in your training load is the foundation upon which your race day success is built.
Determine The Appropriate Balance Across All Disciplines:
Triathlon is about mastering the combination of swimming, biking, and running. Focus on training for a triathlon as a whole event rather than three separate disciplines. It’s important to avoid overemphasizing your strongest discipline or neglecting any of the three. Many triathletes, for instance, tend to shy away from swimming—often because it’s their least favorite or because it’s the shortest leg of the race. However, improving your swim performance can make a significant difference. Even a slightly faster swim can leave you feeling less fatigued, setting you up for a stronger bike leg and a better overall race day.
Plan For A Gradual Progression:
Gradually increasing training volume and intensity is crucial for long-term success and injury prevention. The general rule of thumb is to increase your volume by no more than 10% per week. However, this is just a guideline, and athletes need to monitor their overall load across all three disciplines.
For example, if an athlete is training 10 hours per week with a breakdown of 50% bike, 25% run, and 25% swim, a sudden shift to 20% bike, 50% run, and 30% swim still totals 10 hours, but it nearly doubles the running load. Because running is the most weight-bearing discipline, this kind of shift could significantly increase the risk of injury.
When planning your progression, consider the interconnected impact of each sport on the others. Shifts in load within any discipline can influence your performance in the others. Monitor your weekly volume carefully, and avoid sudden increases in any one area to ensure a balanced and sustainable training plan.
Plan on Rest and Recovery:
Remember, training isn’t about constantly pushing your body to its limits. To truly benefit from your hard work, you need to follow intense periods with appropriate recovery, allowing your body to absorb the load and achieve fitness gains. Recovery looks different for everyone—whether it’s complete rest or lighter activities like walking the dog, find what works best for you and incorporate it into your weekly routine.
Plan for regular rest days and listen to your body, being open to adjusting your training as needed. A useful practice is to rate how you feel about training at the start of each day and evaluate how your body felt during the session. If you notice a trend of negative ratings, it may indicate that you aren’t recovering enough. Identifying this early on is key to avoiding overtraining and burnout, ensuring that your training remains balanced and sustainable.
Monitor Your Progress and Adapt As Needed:
Tracking your progress not only shows how far you’ve come but also helps you identify patterns in fatigue or performance, allowing you to avoid overtraining. Regularly assessing your progress enables you to make informed adjustments, ensuring that your training remains both effective and balanced.
At the same time, stay flexible with your training plan—life can throw unexpected curveballs, and being adaptable is key. Focus on prioritizing key workouts, and don’t stress over the occasional missed session; long-term consistency is what truly matters. As a self-coached athlete, you need to be resilient and ready to adjust your plan as needed to accommodate changes in health, schedule, or unforeseen obstacles. This flexibility will help you stay on track while maintaining a balanced approach to training.
So, basically....
Creating a self-coached training schedule requires careful planning, a solid understanding of triathlon demands, and, above all, self-awareness. For athletes who thrive on autonomy and enjoy a challenge, self-coaching can lead to a highly rewarding and successful experience. However, there’s no single right way to bring out your best on race day—everyone’s approach is unique. For some, working one-on-one with a coach, purchasing a training plan, or using AI might be a better fit. Ultimately, there’s no one correct way to tackle triathlon—except for following the race rules, of course; those are non-negotiable!
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