The Biggest Beginner We've Ever Coached Just SMASHED Her First Ironman

This case study is about the biggest beginner we've ever coached who just smashed her first Ironman 70.3. And the way this story came about and this athlete decided to sign up for a half Ironman is fantastic. Sarah goes to Portugal every year with her family and they happen to see this race, this Ironman, on every year, Portugal 70.3. And she would define herself as a very casual runner. She did a little bit of running, absolutely no swim or bike experience yet last year, her and her family were once again on their family holiday in Portugal and they decided as a family that she should enter the event and have a crack. Having absolutely zero experience in triathlon, she's never swam, didn't own a bike and had basically never ridden a bike. She found us and before she rang up, she got some swimming lessons because she couldn't swim 50 meters. And, yeah, 11 months ago, when she called up, she asked, are we willing to coach absolute beginners? We. Which our answer is always, absolutely. We coach any level, from absolute beginner to pro. And she's also from the uk, which a lot of people don't realise, but we coach any athlete from all around the world and not just in Australia. And so, dad, take us through that initial conversation and then how you got started from there.

And she's quite a modest lady and has a. Has a very busy job and a family. And it was kind of a little bit out of left field that she liked the look of this event and looked like a lot of people having fun and she thought that it might be a great challenge and it's kind of outside the box for her to put herself right out there. But once I got to know her, she does have an inner determination. But, yeah, it was an interesting conversation. You know, first of all, she's saying, well, would you be willing to take on someone who's absolutely useless? And she was really hard on herself and that's how she described herself, as someone who can't swim and can't ride. You know, are you willing to put up with so much of a beginner? And, yeah, and look, our answer is always going to be, we'll coach anybody from beginner to elite, as long as you're willing to follow the program and take the advice that we give you along the journey. And it was the most enjoyable journey out of a lot of the athletes that I've coached over the years. Her willingness to just follow the process and take it one step at a time and really listening to the advice. And in the beginning, you can imagine when someone is quite petrified about swimming more than 50 meters and is quite petrified about actually can I ride a bike outside? And so we didn't do any of that for the first three, four, five months. We just rode indoors and got her totally adjusted to just pedaling because she, you know, anybody who's never really ridden a bike has never had proper bike shoes with cleats attached to the bottom that clip into pedals. And so, you know, everyday recreational people just put their runners on and whack their feet on top of the pedal and away they go. And, and so she had to really learn how to pedal with her shoe, her feet in cycling shoes clipped into pedals and, and you know, she quite enjoyed that, that experience of learning new things. And we try to make it so step by step based type of progression where let's just concentrate on pedaling. Let's not worry too much about what your power is. We need to actually find out where your range is to start with. But let's just try to learn how to pedal properly with a cadence that's above 50. And those things that they seem so basic to the people who've been doing this their whole life, but for someone who's new, that's actually where you have to start, is trying to dumb it all down to make sure that they're only concentrating on a few key things, which is trying to pedal smoothly with pressure evenly on the pedals. And ironically that's what we do for our really good riders as well, trying to get them and everything in between. Every rider in between. The main emphasis is on if you learn that right at the beginning that you can push evenly on the down stroke as well as the upstroke, then you can pedal 360 degree circles with a lot more power than you could if you're just pushing down. And so straight away she embraced all of those training tips that we were going through and eventually we got her to start getting her bike computer to give her the metrics back. And I'm talking three weeks, then six weeks, then 12 weeks and then retesting her to see where she had moved from when she started to her first next testing session and the enjoyment she shows every time. She was improving her power from know from under 100 watts to over 100 watts, then to you know, 110, then 120 and 140, then all of a sudden 150. And this, this progression took the whole year. But, but you know, she's literally 80 watts better than she was when she started. And, and that's a normal outcome that you would have from, from a beginner. I shouldn't say normal. 80 watts is a lot, but, but certainly just understanding how much strength and power you can from. From turning up every day, training consistently. And I think that's the thing that I really liked about her. There was never any complaints about, oh, how hard is this? You know, I've gone from doing very little consistency in my, my life in terms of exercise to, to pretty much training seven days a week. And, and, you know, Tuesdays and Thursdays and Saturdays, she was doing two sessions a day. And, and, you know, that took us a while to get to that point, but she embraced that. And, and, yeah, I, yeah, I would love to have most athletes who have got the mental approach and attitude that she had.

Yeah, it's such a key point. And the key factor of riding the bike is getting all the variables under control because there are so many things to think about. And even really experienced riders, when they come in, we so often get people who have been riding their bike for decades say, I feel like I'm learning how to ride a bike again because there's so many new things that are learning about pedaling properly and pressure on the pedals and riding to power and staying within the range of power. So it's not just beginner people that have to learn this. And the beauty about indoor training is that it creates such a controlled environment. And that's a really nice thing for when you're learning a lot of this stuff. And it's. It's all. Can be overwhelming, you know, to eliminate the risk of crashing and to eliminate the external pressures of what outdoor riding does bring and the overstimulus of that, to be able to make it a really controlled environment where you just learn all the fundamentals and then eventually she could get outside, is a really, really good way to go about it. And just overall, I think one of your key lessons from her was that she just embraced it all. And she didn't resist the learning process. She didn't resist the difficulty of it because it is a steep learning curve. And if you resist it, you're going to have a tough time because there's a lot to learn and you just have to embrace the fact that you're probably going to suck. And I think you said that it was really good to see her training was all green, and that doesn't mean that what was happening in the sessions was all green, but she was turning up. And what we mean by Green is we use training peaks with the traffic light system where if you do the session, it gives you a green tick and if you do it, you don't do it well, it still gives you a green tick, which is a very nice thing because you turn up to training. But inside those sections, as a beginner, it was all a bit of chaos, right?

Yeah. And for some people it becomes very overwhelming and you know, you've got to cope with the training sessions. But before that even happened, she had to actually get educated about what to buy in terms of bike that's going to be suitable for her. And, you know, the discussion we've had many times on our podcast is, should you get a time trial bike, should you get a road bike? And in this situation, you know, we're not sure whether this is just a one off event that she's trying to achieve this challenge. So we don't want to go and spend $15,000 on a TT bike. So let's just get a basic bike and we got a road bike. And that was the best thing we did was not to overcomplicate the positioning. So she got a bike fit, she got a new bike. The local bike shop was really helpful where she lives in, in the uk and she got a bike computer. And all of that technical side of it was also overwhelming because getting the technology to, getting it to work, getting training peaks, to talk to the power meter, to talk to Zwift, to talk to Garmin, these are all things that take time and can be overwhelming. And so she just methodically worked her way through that and she did her homework and found out how the Garmin work, did all the research. Unlike what I would do when I get something new, I'll just try and figure it out myself without reading the instructions. But this is the way Sarah thinks. Yeah, I'll learn how to use this properly. And, and she did. So we had no trouble with any of that because she did the homework herself. And that's, you know, we always talk about plan, prepare and perform. Well, that's part of it is the preparation side of it is actually understanding how to use your equipment and doing the research. And so she did that very well. And so that was a great start for me because we have people join our program all the time and some people are embracing that and some people are actually, you know, putting roadblocks in front of them to, to make, make it even harder than, instead of embracing it and, and learning about how to do it, they're, they're putting their hand up all the time saying, I don't understand how to do this. And there are ways that you should be learning yourself so you're more informed. And. And, you know, she was willing to do this. And I think that that was, you know, once we then started to go outside, it's more overwhelming because now you've just gone from this sterile environment where you're. All you've got to worry about is your cadence, your heart rate and your power, and you're not worrying about traffic lights unclipping. You know, when you get to a traffic light and braking, if someone, a dog jumps in front of you or going up a hill or down a hill or having a headwind or having the sun beating down on you, so you're getting dehydrated. All these things are taken away when you're training inside. But the minute she goes outside, it's actually the balance thing on her. That was the biggest thing for her, was to actually not fall over. And because indoors, you're not used to balancing, the bike does, you know, the indoor trainer holds you. So, you know, unclipping and clipping back in and trying not to fall every time she had just come to a traffic light was, you know, was overwhelming again. But she, you know, she had a couple of tumbles, but she didn't ever drop her bundle about that. And, you know, the only thing you can do is keep practicing. And, you know, in the. In the local street where you live, just try to, you know, clip in, ride up the road, break and unclip. You know, when you're just in the safety of your own street, that's the sort of thing she was doing and getting more confident and going further away from her house. And eventually we found a local cycling track where she could safely do that without cars on the road. Sure, there was other bike riders and pedestrians and runners, but, you know, they're the things that they're roadblocks to most people. But if you've got this determination, I kept saying to her the whole time, think about what it's going to be like when you get to October. And we were talking here was last November, December, January, February. Said, think about what you want to feel when you get on the beach in October. Portugal, you want to know that you've done everything you can to get yourself in the best position to achieve the goal of finishing this event. That was our only goal, was, can I finish a half Ironman? And. And so, you know, that's the thing. I kept putting the carrot in front of her in order for you to ride properly on the day, to swim properly and to run properly, we need to do all the work now. And, and she said in the end it was like, what else do I need to learn? What else do I need to know? And so it was a great, it was a great experience for me coaching someone like that.

Yeah. And as the months went on, she eventually did find a bike track near where she lives which was a great circuit to keep getting her confidence up outside. And she was learning her numbers and getting as much knowledge as possible and come to the race ready phase. And she had a horrible experience where she entered a Olympic distance triathlon to get some experience, which is really key if you're aiming for a half ironman, getting a sprint distance and, or an Olympic distance in beforehand, it will give you so much more confidence on the day that it's not your first ever triathlon jumping into a half ironman. And we hear sometimes that sometimes people's first triathlon is an ironman, which to us is, is crazy. But unfortunately she had a really horrific experience which most of the race did, which could have put her off, but she got through it.

Yeah. And you know, we wanted to do a stepping stone from a sprint, which she got through and loved the experience and just stayed in her little rangers, you know, wasn't trying to do anything but finish the event. And, and the reason we do this is so that you have the experience of the week going into the event the night before, what food you should eat, getting your, your spreadsheet out to tell you what you should be having in terms of taking in your gear, in your bag, your checklist, you know, what time should I go to bed, what time should I wake up, set the alarm when, you know, car parking, getting to the event, all those things we wanted to her to experience that before she got to a race in Portugal. And so, and then she got through the event, no problem. And, and then the next event was the Olympics. So we've gone from sprint to Olympic. She's got one race under her belt, so she's feeling quite confident and then she gets into this event where seriously, they, they made it a mistake. The organisers should have cancelled the swim because the 1500 meter swim, her training peak showed that she swam over 3,000 metres and was having trouble getting back to the beach. And a lot of the people who are on the boards, at the paddlers who are supposed to be the lifeguards, they were struggling also to paddle against the current. And it was a really Dangerous situation where the majority of the field were out there for, you know, she was out there for an hour and 10, 15 minutes, something like that. And when she went to Portugal, she actually swam 48 minutes for the 1900s. So it wasn't to do with her swimming ability. It was to do with really bad swimming conditions. And to her credit, everybody else who was really struggling, the majority of the field who were really strong swimmers, were able to get out of the, of the water early enough to beat the current. But the people who, and I'm talking the majority of the field did not continue on the race. You know, they, they pulled the pin and didn't, didn't ride and run. But, but Sarah, no, she, she got on her bike and she said she was in tears a lot of it and just, just thought, what am I doing? Why am I doing this? And all those questions you get. And then she got off the bike and then she ran and she finished it. And you know, I said to her, if you've completed that, you'll have no trouble completing the half ironman. You know, that's the hardest thing you'll ever do. She said, oh, really? You know, it seems to me like it would be twice as hard at any rate, by the time, you know, we, we really learned a lot of lessons there and she, she went out of her way then to get into some open water swimming. And to be fair, there was not opportunity because of the weather and the temperature to go open water swimming. So once she had that experience, she actually got out to the lakes and started to do some really good practice and she engaged someone to go out and swim with her because she was quite scared from that experience of losing confidence in her swimming ability. So she was a good lesson and made her more determined to practice the things that she was worried about. And so come the day of the swim, we had eliminated that because she's done the practice between that Olympic distance and, and the Portugal race. And so she ended up swimming beautifully at Portugal and, you know, had no dramas and was, you know, the biggest thing she was worried about was the swim on that day. Out of the whole event, the swim was the thing that was, you know, she said, I've just got to get onto, onto land and get my land legs and I'll be fine on the bike, even though I'm petrified about the bike and I can't wait to run. And so, you know, so once she got out of the swim and she found that it was the most easiest swim she'd ever done in the whole 12 months, she was thinking, oh, well, you know, now the hard pit is the bike. And she just had a ball on the bike and she stayed to her numbers and she didn't have any crashes. She said it was very hard because there were people everywhere and she's not used to having so many riders. And a lot of riders were riding way faster than she was and almost putting her off. And so the majority of the field, in her words, passed her on the bike, but that was okay. Her goal was to get to the end of the ride in under four hours. And I think she did three hours 40 or something like that. And then her big thing was that she, she can run and. And she ended up pretty much passing the majority of the field that had passed her on the bike back in the run. And. And I think she started at, you know, 4:50 pace and ended up at 4:30 pace. She ran a magnificent negative split and she passed, you know, 15 or 16 people in her age group, plus many other people she passed along the way who weren't in her age group. So. And you know, to look back at the, at the timing clock, if she wanted to break seven hours and she did six hours 50 something, you know, she was just over the moon and her family were all there and following her on the, on the Ironman Tracker. And yeah, she said it was one of those great experiences that she'll never forget that she achieved. And she, you know, it's an example of people who are willing to do the work and end up getting the outcome that they want and running across the line with a. I think she ran some ridiculous pace for the last K, the last two K's, because I always say to her, your second last K is the most important. And so she was determined to make that her fastest K. And you know, she's a person who just listens and acts on the knowledge that she's hearing. And yeah, I loved coaching her through this whole experience.

Yeah, from the first phone call to just having to conquer every step along the way, from being the absolute beginner swimming and biking to getting to race week of a half Ironman and not only being confident in your ability to probably finish, but having a race plan to actually stick to and some numbers to look to. And again, a race plan that goes step by step, just get through each discipline, get through the swim. And there was still some chop in that swim as well. And so that says a lot that to get through that swim really comfortably with a good pace and good time in not very calm open waters in Portugal. That was really good. And then to bike like she did, to know where she'd come from and just get to the run like you said and to have that experience in your first half ironman to do what we always say and run really smart and have a slower first half from your second half, a negative split and finish absolutely flying for the range to be. I think the original range was 5:40 to 6 minute pace and then she finished at 5:42 pace and that's the very top end of the range she can be running. That's as best as experience you can have in a half ironman to run at the very top of our predicted range. And she said that she was kind of passing everyone on the run and basically yahooing at the end which is you're not going to get that experience very, very often in your first ever half ironman or any half ironman. Not many people do. To go from that very first phone call to there I think is just phenomenal. And I guess to conclude, what would you summarize as the main lessons of what she did well together at that point?

Yeah, I think as I said at the start when we were introducing Sarah, she would be pretty embarrassed about the fact that we're talking about her. That's the sort of personality she is. But I'm sure she'd be proud that we think that this is such a great story that we want to tell everybody. I think she'd be proud that others can learn from her experience and that just following and trusting a process that's well thought out and measured according to your current ability. And it doesn't matter whether you're an elite athlete, middle age grouper or a beginner, as long as the program is based around your current ability then if you trust the process you can achieve amazing things. And I think the support that she had from her family, her husband was huge supporter and he's already talking about what's our next destination race. I think she's talking about doing nice in June next year and these are really good things that she's had a great experience and she wants to actually go on with it now. She couldn't wait for the post race analysis conversation and telling me all about her experience on the day which was so fun to hear and the joy in her voice about the way she ran. And you know, and, and you know I did, I did the ride and I never thought I'd be able to do that, that full 90k like that and didn't have to stop. And my nutrition was fine, my pacing was fine. Everything I did enabled me to get to the, to the end in, in great condition. And I think, I think, you know, that's, that's the story that we want to, that we want to spread is, you know, if you're well planned and prepared, all you've got to do is go out there and perform and the result will be fine. It's exactly what you, what you're after. And as long as you're willing to do the work and be cons, then amazing things can happen.

I think a really important lesson here to really remind the audience is that she was willing to get uncomfortable and put herself in situations she was afraid of. And there was plenty of them. And the way we've summarized this is it's very easy to hear it and go, oh, it was a very smooth process from A to B. You know, it was a very straight line, whereas if you looked at a map, it was a really squiggly line of a journey that's all over the shop. Or if you thought of the staircase analogy that you always use, you know, it's two steps forward, one step back, you know, almost up a step and then, and then flatline or even backwards when things, things that are really uncomfortable happen that you have to get over. And learning learning curves and mistakes and times when you want to quit and times when you're crying in a race because it was so hard and it was so scary, you know, it wasn't just smooth sailing the whole time. If you're going to attempt something that is a challenge and is a stretch goal and it's uncomfortable, you have to expect that you're actually going to go through uncomfortable things and be willing to do that. And I think that, yeah, it's easy for us to say, you know, follow the process and commit to the training and you can achieve any goal you want. But that does come with these challenges and you have to embrace those and know that you're going to feel crap in some weeks. You're going to be so tired from a new training stimulus that you're in a bad mood some weeks and you don't feel like training sometimes and you feel like throwing in the towel and that's all just part of the journey. And, and while we want to make enjoyment as much part of the process as possible and we don't want it to be a big suffer fest, you have to accept that doing anything new or worthwhile as a goal is going to be uncomfortable and it's going to stretch you beyond what you can currently do. And that's a really, really important point, I think.

Yeah, that's a great summary. And look, you have to step outside of your comfort zone at some stage, and if you do it on a really measured, incremental range, there's still going to be hiccups, there's still going to be illness, injury, you know, shocking experiences in races that should be better organized. And you're going to have all these roadblocks, as we call them, put in front of you. And your job is to remain calm and just, just deal with them one at a time and just meander your way around the roadblocks that have been put in front of you and, and then you can actually cope with, with the over or you're being overawed with everything, aren't you? There's just so much being thrown at you and you've just got to remain calm and deal with it one at a time like you would in any situation at work or with your family. It's the same with training. You know, don't be overwhelmed by it. Just take it one step at a time. And there's going to be, as you said, setbacks along the way, and there was plenty of them. We're making it sound like it's a fairy tale story, but we want everybody to listen, the listeners out there, to understand that, that there were bumps in the road, many of them. And, and the thing that I'm most proud about is that Sarah rode those bumps really well and was able to get back on the horse, so to speak, every time that she was knocked back. So, so I think that's the attitude you need to have. You need to be open and willing to be uncomfortable and then put yourself in, you know, outside of your comfort zone. And if you're not willing to do that and you, you want to just stay the same, you're not going to, not going to get the opportunity to achieve things that you should be able to achieve if you put your mind to it.

My favorite part of the story was just her, the family support and that the family was all on board. They would see this race and they decided mum's going to do it and that they were all supporting her. And my favorite little part of the story is that I think one of her daughters ended up naming her teddy bear Coach Jared, which was really funny. They'd heard so much about Coach Jared that the teddy bear in the house was called Coach Jared. And look to finish. It was such an encouraging story. And I think we just want to say that if you're wanting to attempt something that you're not sure is possible, you know, think of this story and your ability is no barrier. Like we said, whether you're a beginner all the way through to pro age is no barrier. We've had literally a 21 year old just apply and a 69 year old apply, and we've coached athletes into their 70s at a very competitive level. So if you've got a goal in mind, go to trivelocoaching.com to apply and we'll have a discussion with you about it and see where we can take it. Thank you very much for listening and we'll see you in the next episode.