How to qualify for Kona 11 years in a row * Simon Ward and elite AG athlete Owen Martin

After a few weeks away from chatting with athletes, I have a real corker for you today.  I met Owen Martin on his very first visit to Kona back in 2010 and I even recorded a conversation back then about how using a CompuTrainer had helped him achieve a lifetime goal.  Now, 10 years later, Owen has just qualified for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships for the 11th year in a row. He is a model of consistency and in today’s episode Owen shares his thoughts on training, life, long term approach and a whole host of other topics. If you have any ambitions to get to Kona or if you just want to enjoy some longevity in the sport you must listen to this.

It’s another long chat but there are some great stories in here and important lessons including:

• The traits of elite vs average age group Ironman athletes
• Owen has all guns blazing as he takes aim at the drug cheats in his age group who regularly occupy the podium
• How to recover from Kona and jet lag and still win your age group 8 weeks later 
• The importance of patience in training and racing
• The value of a coach, and why the fact that his coach cares about him matters to Owen 
• Why communication and the sharing of information are critical in the coach/athlete relationship
• In Kona this year Owen’s “numbers” were the best ever and yet he underperformed. 2 months later with less impressive figures he wins his age group in Cozumel. We talk about this in-depth, as well as the importance of confidence in your fitness.

Owen is planning to do a weekly blog on Instagram about his journey to Kona 2020. You can watch his videos on Instagram at owenie53

If you are ever in Newry, N. Ireland then drop in to Owen’s cycling studio - Ventoux Cycling Studio and say hello.

You can also find out more on the Ventoux Cycling Studio Facebook Page

We also talked about Owen’s triathlon coach Alan Couzens. You can find out more about Alan HERE

To find out more about Simon’s SWAT programme, please click HERE 

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook page HERE 

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes 

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com