Another brilliant weekend on the BTF Level 3 coaching course, this time focused on cycle and swim coaching.

There was a strong technological theme to much of the weekend, with the cycle training in particular looking at how to measure and then construct training programmes using power.

This included us analysing course mate Glyn as he performed a full on max test on a CompuTrainer while we measured his power, cadence, speed, heart rate, body position, ability to keep up his normal stream of jokes… We also had some basics on bike geometry and the essentials to look for in bike fit from former BTF Coach of the Year Rob Moore.

Then to the pool for the second day as we did video analysis of our swim stroke and Critical Swim Speed (CSS) testing with expert Coach Emma Brunning of Active Blu. Emma is also the Coach Education Manager for Swim Smooth - on whose approach I've based all my swim coaching and forms the bedrock for our Club swim coaching at Brighton Tri.

I'll be looking at the options for incorporating video analysis into my coaching - and the video of my stroke certainly gave me lots to work on too! Another big lesson from the day was the importance of posture and flexibility - something I was aware of before but not to the extent that Emma emphasised and showed us.

We also had a good session on open water skills. Again, Emma impressed the need to incorporate these into pool sessions throughout the year to prepare our swimmers for the chaos of racing in the open water. There are a few extra games and tricks we can practise in our sessions. Lead Coach Simon also emphasised the value of making more of our actual Coached Open Water Swims (lovingly known as COWS at Brighton Tri Club) to simulate race conditions and to base swims on actual race pace.

Big thanks as always to the tutors, to Tim for the video analysis and all who make it a supportive group.