Triathlon Coaching
- Richard Keenlyside
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Most athletes don't get faster by training more. They get faster when someone reads the data every week, spots the pattern, and changes the plan before the plateau arrives. That is what a coach is actually for.
A template can't see what you're doing wrong
Free plans and downloadable PDFs get people to the start line. They rarely get people to a faster finish, and the reasons are remarkably consistent.
The plan assumes a week you don't actually have. Nobody sees your stroke fall apart under fatigue. Sessions get skipped and the block never recovers. Everything drifts to the middle, too hard to be easy and too easy to be hard. Race day becomes a guess at pacing and fuelling. A bad week quietly turns into a lost month.
Coached training fixes each of those. The plan is written around your real job, family and available hours. Technique gets reviewed rather than tolerated. Missed sessions are absorbed rather than abandoned. Intensity is prescribed and policed, so easy stays easy. Pacing and nutrition are rehearsed well before race week. And someone notices the downward trend before you feel it.
How it works: four steps to your first session
The first three cost you nothing. There is no commitment until step four.
1. Athlete questionnaire
Training history, race results, injury record, available hours, pool access, work pattern and family commitments. This is the part that decides whether the plan survives contact with your actual life.
2. Free consultation
A thirty minute call about your goal race and what is realistic in the time available. If coaching is not right for you yet, I will say so rather than take a fee for something you don't need.
3. Benchmark testing
We establish your thresholds across swim, bike and run so every session has a target you can genuinely hit. Training to the wrong zones is the commonest reason committed athletes stall.
4. Your plan goes live
Sessions land in TrainingPeaks and export straight to your watch, phone or computer. Data comes back, it gets reviewed weekly, and next week reflects what actually happened.
Coaching options
Every option delivers exportable workouts you can follow on your watch, phone or computer. The difference is how much coach attention comes with it.
Structured training plans
A full periodised plan to your race date, with swim, bike, run and brick sessions, a strength and conditioning guide and Knowledge Base access. Best for athletes with a race in the diary who are happy to self-manage and simply need the right training in the right order.
1:2:1 coaching
Your plan rewritten weekly around your real week, full data review, email and telephone access to your coach, regular benchmark fitness testing, and race pacing and nutrition strategy. Best for athletes chasing a time rather than a finish, or anyone whose training keeps getting derailed by life. Coaching runs month to month with no minimum term.
Meet your coach
Richard Keenlyside is a highly experienced and qualified triathlon coach with over ten years guiding athletes at every level, from people taking on a first sprint to athletes who have qualified for the Ironman World Championships.
His coaching philosophy is deliberately holistic. Physical fitness matters, but so does mental toughness and nutrition, and the athletes who improve fastest are usually the ones who get all three right rather than simply training harder.
Certifications: TrainingPeaks Certified Coach, British Triathlon Certified Coach, TrainingPeaks Power Certified, and UKAD Protecting Sport Qualified.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a triathlon coach cost?
One-off structured plans typically run between fifty and a hundred pounds. Ongoing 1:2:1 coaching generally sits between eighty and two hundred pounds per month across the UK market, depending on how much contact and analysis is included. Our current pricing is on the plans page.
Do I need to be experienced to work with a coach?
No, but be honest with yourself about whether you need one yet. If you are training for a first sprint triathlon and simply want to enjoy it, a structured plan will do the job and I would rather you saved your money. Coaching earns its cost when you have a specific time goal, when you have plateaued, or when training keeps getting disrupted and you cannot work out why.
Am I tied into a contract?
No. Coaching is billed monthly with no minimum term. I would rather work with athletes who want to be there.
What equipment do I need?
A GPS watch that accepts structured workouts. Most modern Garmin, Wahoo, Coros and Polar devices qualify. A heart rate monitor is strongly recommended. A bike power meter or smart trainer helps considerably but is not essential to start.
What if I get injured or life gets in the way?
The plan changes. That is the whole point of coaching rather than a fixed block. A bad week gets absorbed and rebuilt around instead of written off.
Do you coach cycling and running as well as triathlon?
Yes. Alongside triathlon and duathlon we coach single-discipline athletes in swimming, cycling and running, using the same structure and platform.
Book a free consultation
Thirty minutes, no obligation and no sales script. We will cover your goal race, the hours you realistically have and where you are currently stuck, and you will get an honest answer on whether coaching is the right move or whether a structured plan would serve you better.
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