Project Description

Name: Josie Roach
Occupation: Marketing

I first met Josie when she approached me about coaching her for an Olympic distance Triathlon at Dorney Lake, UK. Her background was just general gym fitness, but nothing structured or targeted in the way she was about to sign up for.

Fitness checking and levels

We started off by checking her fitness levels in the pool, on the bike and running. We tested her 1000m swim time in the pool, we tested her FTP score on the watt bike and her 5km run time. Out of all three disciplines, it was the swimming that we were going to have to work on the most.

The event was in August and we started training in February, so we had plenty of time to get a programme written and implemented. The big challenge for Josie was going to be overcoming her fear of open water swimming.

Training programme designed

I designed a hybrid training programme in place, covering strength and conditioning in the gym and specific cycling and running workouts, with a typical week looking like this:

  • 2 x strength and conditioning workouts in the gym, updated every 4 weeks so Josie continually progressed
  • 3 – 4 x running workouts, designed specifically to improve running fitness and running speed
  • 4 -5 x cycling workouts, designed to improve FTP and bike mileage
  • 2 x open water swims

Fast forward two months and Josie’s training phases were going well, she was putting in great work and we were starting to see good results. Her milage on the bike was increasing each week and she was consistently improving her running speed. Now was the time to get her into the lake for the first time.

Pushing limits

I can remember it so vividly. We met at QuaySwim, the open water swimming lake based at The Quays in Mytchett, Surrey. You could see she was scared but determined today was the day she was going to conquer that fear. The lake has two loops, a 400m loop and a 750m loop. I told her we were going to do the 400m first and see how we got on.

Armed with my safety pull buoy, we both got into the water and Josie began to swim. Breaststroke was the stroke of choice to start with, but her face was so high out of the water I thought she was going to give herself a neck injury. Her breathing started to increase, and the panic started to creep in.

I handed her the pull buoy so she could catch her breath and after a few words of coaching and encouragement, she was on her way again. After 12.5 minutes we made it round the 400m loop. It was slow, but it was a breakthrough moment.

She rested for a few minutes and then went for her second loop. This one she did in seven minutes. It was amazing to watch her overcome that milestone and made watching her take on the event even more amazing.

That’s why I love coaching so much. You take someone like Josie who has never swam open water, only dabbled in general fitness to competing in an Olympic Triathlon. It was an amazing journey and one I will always remember.

She now regularly goes swimming on her own in open water, rides the bike and runs 10km for fun.

Onwards and upwards for Josie.

If you’re training for a triathlon, whatever the distance, drop me a line and let’s chat about how I can help. As a competitive triathlon athlete myself, it is a real passion to train clients on their tri journey, helping to improve swimming confidence, increasing bike mileage and improving that all important running time.