RESOURCE and resolve are the new orders of the day for leading county triathlon squad Do3.
The respected squad has maintained its triathlon training schedule despite the current isolation and lockdown scenarios.
Under head coach Dave Knight’s leadership, the squad is being put through its paces via streamed group cycles and a series of triathlon challenges.
With the triathlon season largely on hold due to postponements and cancellations, many athletes were approaching peak condition, but their schedules have now been re-tuned to allow for an extended spring and build fitness for later season races.
From cycle fitness tests, endurance rides and strength and conditioning exercises, to transition training and basic bike mechanics, Do3 has kept its winning momentum up with individual athletes completing up to 16 hours of training over a week.
Backyard bootcamps have been brought into play, spare rooms converted to makeshift gyms and video conferencing has become a new norm for Do3 in helping maintain a sense of normality and camaraderie for the squad.
Knight added: “Keeping to a routine during the current times is imperative for our athletes’ physical and mental health.
“Hence, we’ve tried to replicate our regular sessions with online meet-ups that keep our community socialising and inevitably it allows some athletes to still compete against each other!
“Using video conference and some fantastic online cycling apps, we can still train together and race each other while keeping distanced and safe.
“Many of the key triathlons were due to happen in the next couple of months, meaning we’ve race-ready athletes who we need to keep motivated for this extended period.
“This means we’ve transitioned our regular swim and run squads to an online group and we can see fitness levels are still improving and for sure mental agility is too.”
