Weekly News Number 2

The start of the new week began with the command:“Alright, you’re swimming on 1:25 off the wall.”

Got it. I packed my things and moved over to the lane. I lined up at the back and did my best to get through the set.

What does off1:25 mean for people who didn’t grow up in a pool? It means that every start time is calculated at 1 minute and 25 seconds per 100 meters. So 200 meters are swum in 2 minutes and 50 seconds.

After the first few 400-meter repeats, I thought: “Yeah, not today.”I stopped briefly and reset my negative thoughts. While I was drinking at the wall and taking a gel, JR asked me:“Why are you stopping?”

I told him that ever since the 100×100 set my shoulders had felt incredibly heavy and I couldn’t feel the water.He reacted calmly and did exactly what he’s best at: sensing what’s needed in the moment. He simply said:“Just swim.”

I wanted to respond, but he said it again:“Just swim.”

In the end, he told me that it doesn’t matter if I fail. What matters most is trying again and again.Believe me, JR can also be very different when you arrive completely exhausted and he’s cheering you on to keep swimming.

Trip to New Zealand

Here is the English translation:

This weekend, I’ll be coaching someone at a triathlon for the first time. For that, I flew to New Zealand. Because of the time difference, almost an entire day is lost traveling from Noosa to Auckland – even though the journey itself is quite easy.

On Wednesday, I visited a swimming pool in Auckland for the first time. It turned into a rather unique experience, as the water temperature was 31 degrees Celsius. On my way out, I spoke with one of the staff members, and he said:“Oh yes, we’re having issues with the new system. We still need to figure out the best way to fix it so it doesn’t get too hot.”

After that, I felt like I was still sitting in a steam room for the rest of the afternoon.

How do I organize my training this week?

I’m doing what I consider easy and deciding day by day how much time I have. I have a rough plan in my head of what I’d like to do, but I can’t say exactly what I’ll be able to complete, as it depends on where we’re going.

The good thing is that in New Zealand I have all the tools I need to train, and everything is coming with me to Tauranga. I’m hoping the New Zealand weather cooperates over the next few days. That way, I can ride outside in Tauranga on Friday and see where Hannah Berry trains.

What I’d really like to do on Friday is a run session: 3 minutes ON / 2 minutes RECOVERY.The ON pace should be below 170 HR for me, so slightly under threshold. As always, I’ll do between six and eight repetitions – depending on how I feel.

Another highlight of the week was that I spontaneously went to a gym in Auckland. Ryan, the gym’s coach, really pushed us hard – but in a fun way. I did exercises I’d never done before. I’m pretty sure the soreness will be intense.

The three of us worked through a circuit with three stations. The exercises included wall balls, stepping up onto a box, and finishing on the Assault Bike. We went through the entire circuit three times, without really taking a break.

Tauranga

Sport brings people together. During my run here, I randomly met another runner, and we ended up running together. Later, I found out that he’s a professional triathlete and loves the race in Walchsee just as much as I do.

Spontaneously, I joined him, and we ran up Mount Maunganui, the local mountain. It stands a proud 240 meters high. I’m always fascinated by how you can meet people and, within just a few minutes, already start exchanging stories.

Later that same afternoon, I experienced for the first time how rough the roads in New Zealand are. I rode out into the countryside and explored the area around Tauranga. I kept passing kiwi farms, but hardly any cars. That’s why there isn’t much to tell. The cycling is flat, but very beautiful—as long as you don’t run into cars.

The first win as a coach

On race day, the alarm went off at 4 a.m. I wasn’t really tired. I wasn’t nervous either, but I was tense. Because, as always, it takes a bit of luck to win. Or as Beckenbauer once said:“Success is like a shy deer. The wind has to be right, the weather, the stars, and the moon.”

That means: no matter how well prepared you are, something can still go wrong. A flat tire, lost carbohydrates, or simply not having the day you hoped for.

But when you show what you’ve trained for, the most honest result always comes out. That was the case with Emma as well. After the swim, she was 7 minutes behind, and by the end she had a 19-minute lead over second place.

She didn’t just execute my ideas, she also had a lot of fun during the race—even though I almost had to convince her to start beforehand. I told her:“You should start. I’ll wait right here on the beach. You can come back anytime.”

I waited—and she didn’t come back. So I knew: the hurdle was cleared. From there on, it was all about not forgetting the small things, like cooling. Because the athlete usually knows best what works. Feeling tells you what to do. As always, it’s about figuring out what’s needed in that moment.

In situations like this, you’re like a pilot: you check the systems, and if there’s an issue, you respond with the appropriate solution. More experience, better problem-solving. Simple, right?

My end of the week

I’m really looking forward to my first race of my own. That said, I have to admit that it’s easier to say which Jass card to play than to actually hold all the cards yourself and play the game.

The coming weeks will be exciting as I figure out how to structure my training. As always, the beginning is the most important part. First, I need to resynchronize and reset my body. I’m properly sick right now, and it’s just dragged on for too long.

It is what it is. For now, I’m taking a break and seeing how things develop. The past few weeks have left their marks. I might even go all the way back to square one and make sure I get enough sleep every night so my HRV finally turns green again. Since the beginning of the year, it’s been in the red, and I can feel that my body is barely responding to the training stimuli I want to apply.

As always: many small steps lead to something big.