by Grant Paling. Triathlon is a sport that challenges both the body and the mind, and my journey through the European Age Group Championships this year has been a testament to that. In this blog, I reflect on the delicate balance between human grit and the transformative role of AI coaching, exploring how technology can enhance performance while leaving the final push to the athlete.
“As I picked myself up off the floor and stood up my bike, my calf was pulsing, it felt like it was going to explode. And that is when I knew there was no chance I would finish this race…”
This is an excerpt from a race report I wrote for my triathlon club for my European Age Group championships race in September.
Why did I start with this statement?
In my last blog, I looked at how AI coaching had transformed my performance last year. I ended by posing the question - how much of my improvement was down to AI Endurance and how much was down to me? It’s not a scientific measurement that is possible of course. I can measure the overall improvements in training and race performance.
I even identified in my last blog an interesting statistic that during the triathlon season months I clearly didn’t train much more than usual (just 30 mins per week on average) pointing to an improvement in using the time itself rather than simply “more volume” and clearly the guidance from AI Endurance was instrumental there.
But I started with that statement as it is the precise thoughts that were running through my head in that last race of the season, “the big one”, the European Standard Distance championships - just after I had crashed my bike with 8 km to go. The weather was horrible, rain pouring down the whole race and the roads were slippy. Multiple people came off. It’s not a nice thing but it’s also where that human element comes in.
No AI coaching can prepare you for that. Sadly it’s not the first time I’ve come off my bike and luckily the few times I have I’ve been able to see it happening and do everything I could to scrub off speed, find a “good” place to land and minimize the damage as much as possible! Races come down to moments. Moments in the mind. And training does too. It’s not just unfortunate incidents like crashes, falls or maybe tricky moments in a swim. It’s those dark moments in a race where your brain is telling you “this hurts, are you sure you want to carry on?”
A large staple of my training is track running. Most Mondays we do a nice structured warm up, some drills and then destroy ourselves for 25-30 minutes. An example set from recently was 4 sets of 400 m at more or less full pace, with 45 seconds rest. Then a 2 minute break followed by 800 m. Then 2 minutes more easy followed by 4 x 400 m again.
Most weeks I made it my aim to push myself hard. In my head I wanted to be the person that pushed so hard I’d finish the set before the allotted time and maybe do an extra rep or two. I wanted to be an absolute beast on that track.
This mentality isn’t created by a training plan, but when the training plan provides the structure - you can focus on you.
That’s really the story of my season. Consistency came through the combination of structured training tailored to me with constant feedback on how my vital statistics were - the AI coach asking me if I felt ok to do the next session as my heart rate variability was low indicating I might not be recovered.
This guidance meant I could really be focusing my thinking on that mental side and also validate my own thoughts.
So many times in the past I would turn up to a race and think I could do a certain time in each of the swim, bike and run legs and then realise afterwards I was perhaps overestimating my performance.
With AI Endurance that changed. I went in not thinking I could do a certain time but knowing. And that allowed me to really have a baseline of what I could do, focus on that and then really focus on training my brain to push hard through those moments where it got tough.
Let’s go back to my race report…
“It was a steady curved right hand into a sharp left. I realised I was going too fast and reached for the brakes but for the second time of the day, my hand slipped off…
I wrestled desperately for control, and managed to scrub off a lot of my speed but focusing on doing so my angle of approach was taking me off road. I had a split second - do I bank hard left or focus on braking further? I chose the latter and to be honest that was the right choice. My bike tried to hang onto the road and for a microsecond I thought it would. Then I was into the grass. And then finally…SLAM! Into the metal barrier!
I got up quick. The marshals came running over asking if I was ok. I felt pain in the left shoulder and my calf. My calf was pulsing, it felt like it was going to explode. And that is when I knew there was no chance I would finish this race…
And yet. I’ve been in the deep waters before. The same thing had happened at Sevenoaks Tri in my first race of the season.
I was confident nothing was broken and even if I wasn’t going to be able to run, I would make it back to transition.
Off I went and my calf was agony. But I persevered. Within a kilometer I was motoring again. Another kilometer and I overtook one of the GB guys (again) who I’d dropped on the earlier climbs in the race. That gave me a boost, clearly I could still cycle.
Another kilometer and my calf had calmed down and I thought maybe I could get some of the way round the run.
Another kilometer and it was even better. Maybe I could even still give this a go. Why not? I’m wearing the GB colours, I have to. My wife and kids are here, I have to. My parents are here, I have to!
And that was when I decided it wasn’t race over but it was game on. My brain flicked a switch and I got into what I can only describe as “beast mode”. 10 km left of the season I thought to myself. Give it everything…
I finished the run in 39:33. My 2nd fastest ever run at this distance (though slightly shy of 10 km). And I was so happy. What a rollercoaster.”
A few scrapes after coming off the bike
Triathlon is physical but so much of it is mental as well and in the right mindset, any of us can be unstoppable.
I was fortunate enough to meet Dame Laura Kenny and Sir Jason Kenny recently and interview them for our annual UK summit event for my employer Orange Cyberdefense. As we drew parallels between elite cycling and cyber security (tenuous you might think but the common thread is of course trying to boost human performance by using AI and using data) one thing remained with me. They both agreed that technology has transformed the sport beyond all recognition in the last decade or so - but one thing remains true. It’s still a pile of bones and flesh and blood that gets on the bike and has to perform. That hasn’t changed.
But if AI does the thinking that it is capable of it can:
And then? Well, then anything is possible.
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by Grant Paling. Triathlon is a sport that challenges both the body and the mind, and my journey through the European Age Group Championships this year has been a testament to that. In this blog, I reflect on the delicate balance between human grit and the transformative role of AI coaching, exploring how technology can enhance performance while leaving the final push to the athlete.
