Furthering our thirst for knowledge, advice and tips on triathlons, we caught up with Helen Jenkins, 2008 & 2011 Triathlon World Champion.
From what we’ve read, it looks like you started tri life in Wales at about 15? What an amazing place to train. We are constantly being told/ reading that hills will really help our training. Do you think the hills and wild coastline of Wales helped set you up for international success?
My location has helped. Not necessarily the landscape but more the support and training partners and coaches I have at home. I’m lucky to have always had a great swim squad and really good support services based at the Welsh institute of sport. Without this it’s unlikely I could have trained and been as successful in my home environment. On top of that. It’s great to have good training on my door step. The cycling and as you say, hills are fantastic and cycling around the coast is beautiful but more often than not at the moment it’s wet and windy.
You mention that you did your first “time trial” on a borrowed bike. For newcomers into the sport of tri, it seems like they could be sucked into a never ending money pit of buying tri gear. What’s your advice to those people (well, us actually)?
You can spend as much or as little as you want. Spending over the odds won’t always help, giant/liv now make a fantastic range of bikes with really competitive prices. You can buy a bike there for reasonable price and it I’ll be almost as good as anything you can spend an excessive amount on. They have a quality range to fit all budgets and a great warranty. That’s the most expensive bit taken care of, the rest is moderately priced compared to the bike. Most important thing with all your kit is to make sure it fits properly and you’ve trained with it enough before you race and you comfortable with it.
In the last ten years or so, since you started triathlon, how have you seen the involvement of women in the sport change? It seems like more and more women are getting involved?
More and more people involved in general yes and triathlon seems to have a real popularity at the moment. It’s great seeing more women involved and hopefully triathlon will keep seeing more and more women taking part. It’s a great sport to be involved in and something some women are beating their partners at!
We struggle to fit in a full training programme with work and family (4.5 kids between us…one more on its way!). Is triathlon your “job” as such, or do you work elsewhere to supplement your training?
I simply couldn’t train as much as I need to if I had a regular Job, most weeks training time is around 25 hours a week and up and driving to and from training takes more time, plus physio and massage. Fortunately I have great sponsors that allow me to carry on challenging myself and getting better.
What does a typical training day look like for you?
I start most week days with a swim at 5.30 until 7.15, I will then head home for breakfast and ride for 2/3 hours depending on the day at around 9. I will have lunch at around 12.30 and rest for a bit and then run 50 mins to an hour at around 4pm. I will normally stretch for 15 mins twice a day and will do some kind of gym work at some point also most days.
And we have to ask about Marc. As much as we have our families support, they groan when we start talking about training techniques or the latest gear etc. But Marc is your husband and coach. How do you do it?
Since Marc was the athlete first and the coach second he understands what I need to do to be good, he has raced at numerous world champs as well as 2 commonwealth games and olympics so he completely understands the demands of the sport more than most and still does the majority of the training with me, so, when I’m tired, most likely he is also tired. We are fortunate to be able to do what we do.
Marc answers: it’s easy when it’s all going well, but when it’s not, then it’s tough, when Helen is struggling as she has done since pre olympics 2012, it’s a challenge and hard to see positives but when it’s good and we are training well we love what we do. Fortunately at the moment Helen is the best she has been since 2011 and we are enjoying what we are able to do again. It’s the first time in a while!
Marc, whilst we have you, what is your number one piece of advice for someone getting into the sport of tri?
If your completely new to the sport, join a club and take advice and listen to people around you. Even get a coach, preferably a good one with experience for a month or 2 who can give you some hands on support.
It’s clear to us already at this early stage, that mental strength is going to be key to getting over the line. How do you train your brain to keep you focused on the end goal of, in your case, winning the world championships?
If you focus on what your doing and commit to the task at hand and try not to get distracted I think it’s easier. Everyone has bad patches and finds it difficult but sometimes that hardest part of a run is getting out the door. I keep focussed primarily because of what you say above, I want to win, so, if you set your self a goal, then normally that will help motivate you.
We constantly thank our family for letting us out to train and for letting us talk geeky tri things that they’re pretty bored of already 😉 Who would you like to thank for their support over the years?
Too many people have helped. This list would be endless. At some point I will get round to thanking them all. Different people at different stages.
Thanks Helen & Marc and best of luck for the 2016 season!
If you’d like to keep track of Helen’s progress, head over to her website.
Helen Jenkins Triathlon World Champ 2008 & 2011
Helen Jenkins Triathlon World Champ 2008 & 2011
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