Paul Nash Coached Athlete Review

 

The year started with a number of challenges, which included a significant health scare, which encouraged me to make a number of life choices. After 18 years of challenging “Turnaround businesses”, I decide to have a break and focus on some interesting races.

 

 

So I entered the Cancer Research London 10K in February, to gauge my fitness, and ran my fastest 10k since 2018, so decided to be focused.

 

Step 1 was to regain my health and get back to some real training. Being Coached by Brent, I was able to regain fitness in a controlled and structured manner. Additionally, I was able to attend an early season camp, so when the weather turned miserable in the UK in March I hopped over to Mallorca to enjoy an early season Training Camp. I was also lucky to have a 2nd training camp in April, which built on my developing fitness.

 

MAY, the race season started early in May with the St Neots Standard distance Aquabike World qualifier, which didn’t go well in the swim, as the water temperature was only 12degrees, a far cry from the 20 degrees the week before in Mallorca. However, I followed this with the inaugural Burghley Multisport weekend where I raced the 3km Swim (1st in AG and top 10 overall) on the Saturday and then the Middle Distance Aquabike (1st in AG and 7th Overall) on the Sunday, so definitely felt fitter and stronger.

JUNE, saw me race in the Grafman Middle Distance (1st in AG) with water temperature improving and I was getting stronger on the bike. However I was “Chicked” by a fellow Coached Athlete, Toni Senior, who was 1st Female overall. I then headed north to do a fun event,  the 5km Swim in Windermere, which again was bitter and cold, and no fun. But with Brent’s guidance was building to my A-Race; the European Middle Distance Aquabike event, representing GBR in the 65-69 AG. Unfortunately, on a bike recce I crashed out, and I didn’t realise how much I had hurt myself until the mid-point on the bike, where my leg that had taken the brunt of the crash, throbbed all the way to the end. However, the friendship of the Challenge Tri, Coached athletes and Camp attenders is both supportive and testament to the great atmosphere the Brent, Nick and Helen create.

 

JULY After recovery and getting the bike fixed, I headed to Holkham Middle Distance Aquabike (2nd in AG), with specific targets, ahead of my challenge of the year in France. Having had a bad race at St Neots, I entered the Upton Standard distance Aquabike World qualifier, and had a good swim and an excellent bike section, overtaking some of my AG competitors, that I have never beaten, and actually making comfortable qualification, with one of the best bike splits of the day. So then onto my final challenge of July, the L’Alpe d’Huez M Triathlon. So, after racing flat Aquabike courses, I did a complete change, and decided to do a Triathlon, which included the famous 21 hairpins in France. My swim fitness was good, and despite spending the year on flat courses, successfully climbed the L’Alpe d’Heuz, in very hot conditions were others failed, and actually completed a hilly off road run. This is a race to be enjoyed, and the scenery is magnificent, so I am planning to go back in 2026, with Brent’s help to tackle the long course.