Many performances are already lost in the days or weeks leading into the event as the person/ performer succumbs to negative thoughts or feelings.  As a response, we release too many of the key stress hormones (adrenaline & cortisol) from our natural fight, flight or freeze response, thus leaving the body in a sub-optimal condition to perform (a little is good, a lot is not!).

Did you know that just in our two feet we have 38 muscles and tendons, 214 ligaments, 52 bones, and all wrapped up in this amazing stuff called facia?

We are so fantastically well put together a machine that is designed to do things in a certain way, to optimise its natural gifts. So when searching for ‘the secret to performance running’ we find it in the phenomena known as…

Whether training for an Ironman or short course triathlon or simply looking to get faster over 5K or 10K, there are some important pieces of the running jigsaw we need to put in place, to become optimal.

Do you like being injured? Do you look after the little things as well as you could? Massage, nutrition, sleep, relaxation, balanced lifestyle, etc?

One of the key areas outside of training & sleeping to enhance performance for me is something called ‘Pre-Hab’.

What is Pre-Hab?

Pre-Hab (Pre Habilitation or doing things to prevent injury) is often low down the list of priorities for most people trying to balance training with the rest of their lives.

This is normal; we have jobs, families, and lives and are simultaneously trying to get better at three disciplines (and transitions). However, as a coach one of the most difficult scenarios I come across is the athlete struggling mentally due to long-term and sometimes short-term injuries.

Releasing your calfs using this techniques (MET) I find much more specific than using rollers or a ball on your calfs, please have a go and share if you like it if you have found it beneficial. Tight calfs can lead to shin splints, achilles problems and plantar fasciitis. It's imperative for the triathlete/ runner that the calf is kept healthy, supple and free from pain.

Firstly, what is mental toughness?

Is it never having those thoughts of quitting or slowing down? No, this is natural.

To me, mental toughness is about finding a way to deal with these moments, coming through adversity/ a wobble, and maybe, just maybe having a wee smile to yourself when you do!

Why do I prescribe sand running and its benefits? Each February I take the team (and the London triathlon Academy) away for a warm-weather camp. It’s the perfect time of year for us Brits to get away and feel some sun on our backs.

There are a number of key sessions I like to replicate on camp, runs on the same hills, bike sessions over the same courses, and swim sets in the same pool, etc to see if we are in the same or better place physically than last year or 3 years ago.

However, one of the key benefits for us City dwellers is the use of around a kilometer of soft sandy beach, right outside the hotel.

In the past few years I've watched some very ordinary* young triathletes become very accomplished juniors; and a 29 year old city Lawyer take 19th in the London Olympic triathlon after only 18 months as a full-time athlete. Then there's the 40+ age grouper who sits on the turbo for up to five hours and then achieves a sub 9 hour ironman, a feat he never thought possible four years earlier.