Self coaching is difficult - plain and simple- but it's more than possible. A good book is a great place to start. Yes, I know, coming from an English teacher, that's expected, but it's true. Below are several that I've found helpful. Friel's book is a must have for any triathete.
- Joe Friels The Triathlete's Training Bible
- Brad Kearns' Breakthrough Triathlon Training: How to Balance Your Busy Life, Avoid Burnout and Achieve Triathlon Peak Performance
- Joe Friel and Godron Byrn Going Long: Training for Triathlon's Ultimate Challenge (Ultrafit Multisport Training Series)
- Joe Friel's Your First Triathlon
- Jayne Williams' Slow Fat Triathlete
- Matt Fitzgerald's Triathlete Magazine's Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide
Any of these books offer an exorbitant amount of information relating to triathlon. There's a wealth of knowledge out there when it comes to triathlon. All of which will help your times: nutrition, weekly hours, annual hours, periodization, intensity training, heart rates and the list goes on. I highly suggest picking up Friel's Training Bible. Other books, like Fitzgerald's week-by-week guide are more hands on and might help you out for your first race, but you won't know the how or why behind your do. The "how" and "why" are so important to self coaching. In fact, that's what self coaching truly is. Taking in the knowledge behind what you're doing (the science) and then using that to organize your training (the practice) is how you peak in a healthy and most efficient way.
Joe Friel's Triathlete's Training Bible
In Friel's book and his blog, he helps you plan and also teaches you the holistic aspects which are so critical to self coaching. If you don't have a degree in exercise science you'll still be able to interpret and understand this book. After reading it, you might actually feel as if you do hold a degree in exercise science. This book covers nutrition, weekly hours, annual hours, periodization, intensity training, heart rate training, exercises, examples for all distances (Sprint, Olympic, Half, Full), how to avoid injury, and most important to self-coaching: how to monitor your training and progress.The book is a bit left-brain and may require a lot of coffee to get through it. But you won't regret this purchase. It just might take the place another holy book in the house.
Brad Kearn's Breakthrough Triathlon Training
This book saved my sanity. It' a great addition to the left-brain numbess that Friel's book may inhibit. It's the fung shei or balance to The Training Bible. The book is full of triathlon legends, examples of what to do and what not to do, and is saturated with eastern philosophy. Kearns does a great job at balancing his successful triathlon background with his new down-to-earth realizations that came after closing in on burnout in his career. Buy this book for the pure motivational factor. Motivation is key to success to in triathlon. Extrinsic motivation (the money or podium) will only get you so far. Finding the meaning behind it all will take you so much farther (and keep you sane in the meantime).
These two books are the bulk of continually-read literature. With the above two books, I find I am able to balance my work schedule, family time, me time, with the demanding load triathlon requires. If 7 hours a week seems like a lot of time to spend to you on training, it's not really. These books will help you fit it in. I'm able to spend about 15 hours a week during peak season and still feel relaxed. It's all about efficiency.
If there is another book you'd like reviewed, shoot me a comment.
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