I spent the weekend up at Loughborough University on the British Triathlon Federation's Level 3 coaching course - with lots more to come.

Level 3 is the highest award in triathlon coaching in the UK and competition to get on the course is very strong. So I'm feeling a mix of excitement and privilege - how lucky am I to get the chance to learn from outstanding tutors and experts, alongside the cream of the UK's top coaches.

The other coaches on the course come from a wide variety of clubs, including the Head Coaches from big clubs like Manchester and British Army Tri; coaches leading thriving junior sections, others involved with top end elite triathletes. And our lead tutor is Simon Ward, three times winner of 220 Triathlon's Coach of the Year award, a prestigious ironman coach and athlete and founder of The Triathlon Coach.

Already there's much I've learnt and great ideas to try out in ZigZag Alive and with the team of coaches and members at Brighton Tri Club. One of the big themes is communication between the coach and coached - regular, two-way, focused on getting the best out of each other - so watch out for improvements in that area. We also had some great insights on planning phased programmes, just at the right time to feed in to Brighton Tri Club's annual plan I'll be working on. There's also a rigour and thoroughness that comes through in every area that I'm already feeling the benefit of.

Next month we're all back up to Loughborough, with top experts in physiology and nutrition lined up. Watch this space!