When we start out, triathlon training is a lot of fun. We’re learning about all three sports, and quite possibly enjoying exercise for the first time in our lives. We explore the area around us on foot and bicycle, take our first tentative steps into open water, see our swimming improve, and start a collection of medals and PBs.
But over the years that follow, we can lose that sense of fun. As we learn more about efficient training, complete our 10th sprint triathlon and have explored every route within a 50 mile radius of our house, things can start to feel a bit repetitive. Training turns from an adventure into a grind.
Reframing your relationship with triathlon
The first thing I want to reassure you is that this loss of enjoyment and spark is completely normal. Every single triathlete goes through it.
Let’s compare it to a romantic relationship. When you first meet someone you want to be around them every minute of every day. Things are exciting as you learn more about each other, go on dates and start to imagine a life together.
Fast forward 30 years and a perfectly happy couple might only see each other at a few points throughout the day. This doesn’t mean they love each other any less, just that the excitement and buzz of the early days has worn off.
The same is true of triathlon. There is no way to maintain that excitement and buzz for several decades. We’ve gone from a whirlwind romance with our bike to a steady, happy coexistence.
Making triathlon training fun again
While we need to accept that triathlon will never be as fun as when we first started the sport, that doesn’t mean we should consign ourselves to years of dragging ourselves through workouts that feel like watching paint dry when all we want to do is have a lie in.
Some people are almost robotic in their ability to follow a training plan, but most of us are looking for more in the way of mental stimulation.
We can keep our triathlon training fun my mixing up our longer sessions, taking on new challenges, being flexible with our training plan and adding a social element to our training.
Mixing up our long, steady sessions
Zone 2 training is the single most important session to help you prepare for your triathlon. The downside is that it’s very boring. The biggest pushback that athletes have from doing this kind of work is that it’s just a bit dull, and I’m not going to argue with that. Most of my training plans include large amounts of steady state sessions, especially if you are training for a 70.3 or an IRONMAN event.
Part of this is a mindset issue. These long sessions are a chance to step away from the constant barrage of noise and information we are subjected to in daily life. Whether you are lucky to live somewhere rural where you can throw your leg over a bike and head out for a steady ride on country lanes, or you live in the city and instead have to knock out 90 minutes steady on the turbo trainer while watching a film or listening to a podcast.
Instead of seeing every workout as a chance to push your limits, we should see it as a chance to step away from the stress of life.
However, there is only so many times we can ride or run the same routes at the same target before we lose our minds. When training midweek this is one thing, but for our weekend rides we probably want to feel like we’re on a bit of an adventure.
My first tip is to try one way training sessions. If you have a three hour ride in your calendar, rather than riding a three hour loop, ride three hours in one direction towards a train station (if you live somewhere with good public transit). You can then take the train back home, which allows you to explore a wide variety of roads you would not normally be able to ride.
I would also advise against incredibly strict adherence to the plan above all else. Yes it’s ok to take a slightly hillier route that will occasionally send your power or heart rate above target. It’s alright to push your ride out by 10-15 minutes if it allows you to head to a landmark or town you’d love to visit. You might even want to push your ride out by longer if you have hired a bike while on holiday and want to make the most of it.
If you are riding indoors, most indoor software will have a route of the week, climb of the week, weekly challenge or the like to act as a motivator. Lean into these, and feel free to tweak your training to fit around it. Only have a 45 minute ride on your calendar but the Tour de Zwift you’ve been participating in has a stage that will take you closer to an hour? Get involved.
At the end of the day, I would much rather someone does a session that deviates from the plan slightly rather than skips a workout because they can’t motivate themselves to start.
Make it social
Many triathletes are the ultimate lone wolf. This is often due to necessity, as they need to get their training wrapped up by 8AM so they can spend the day with their family, and the only way to achieve this is by starting their training at 4AM, when nobody else is there to join them.
If this is the only way you can train, then you just need to get it done. Chances are you’re not even reading this article.
For many of us however, we can get sucked into believing that training solo is the only way to go. We see elite athletes who do all their mileage solo on their TT bike and feel the need to walk away from our club environment or training with friends in an effort to train like an elite.
If you’re looking to train to qualify for the IRONMAN World Championships then there may be some mileage in this. Every session needs to be optimal, and you can’t afford to spend your big bike session soft pedalling behind someone else. You also probably don’t want to stop for coffee three times or sit at the top of a hill for three minutes waiting for Mike, who is completely out of his depth, to finish pushing his bike to the top of the hill.
But what if you are a member of a good club where you enjoy the training sessions? What if you have a neighbour who also runs and you want to join them?
Having someone else to train with can be an incredibly powerful motivator, and can absolutely get you out of the door on days when you might try to find an excuse to skip a session.
When it comes to swimming, training with a group is a bit of a no brainer in my eyes. Not only do you have the camaraderie of completing a set with other swimmers, you also share the lane with others who respect the rules/etiquette of lane swimming, rather than having to duke it out with ransomers in a public swim lane.
The issue with training in a group can be that it’s difficult to train at the correct intensity. And everybody hates the person who keeps complaining that the pace is too high or low for them (just go out and ride on your own), but it’s absolutely permissible to go slightly over/under target if it motivates you to get out when you wouldn’t otherwise.
Race more
Racing every other week is a good way to find yourself stuck in an endless cycle of tapering and recovery. It is good fun to lay down a max effort and see how you’re progressing. Slowly chipping away at your half marathon PB in the run up to your event can feel tempting.
However, this isn’t ideal training, to put it lightly. When I took on my first 70.3 I had a PB in the half marathon of 1:34, but it took me 2:56 to drag myself around the run course. Putting in more steady state sessions would have put me in a far stronger position, but instead I over-raced.
However, it is possible to go the other way. If you abstain from racing completely, even if you find yourself salivating at the possibility of local events, then you’re never going to have fun.
Pinning on a race number, or lining up for a Zwift race, is a great way to remind yourself why you’re putting in all of the long hours training. Mixing events up with a trail race or unusual distance you’ve never raced before are also a great way to keep things fresh and exciting.
Break from your training plan
If your plan feels restrictive and like it’s stopping you from doing what you want, then give yourself permission to be flexible with it. Missing or switching up a few sessions here and there isn’t going to have a notable impact on your performance on race day.
I would much rather that someone uses a bit of creativity during their midweek sessions and turns up for their big weekend ride motivated, than swerves a key session because they just can’t face it.
Filling your week with sessions completely contradictory to your training plan are unlikely to result in peak performance. But if your plan feels suffocating, it’s ok to break from it to help make your triathlon training fun.
Follow a training plan
Is this completely contradictory to the point above? Yes, but hear me out. Progress is motivating, and overtaking people hand over fist on race day is fun. If you have been self coached or training randomly, then following a plan, or working with a coach, can give you a renewed sense of purpose and direction. Seeing your FTP shoot up being able to push out your long runs pain free can help put the spring back in your step.
Conclusion
Fun means different things to different people. Without knowing what it is that motivates you, it’s impossible for me to give you a playbook to follow that is guaranteed to get you fired up and enjoying training in the way you used to.
