The Great and the Good

It was an early start. I was off to the British Triathlon Performance Coaching Conference in Nottingham and could just get there on time on the 1st train. Everything went relatively smoothly and I arrived just in time.

I was welcomed by Paul from British Triathlon......"sit anywhere Andy" he said as I entered a big conference room of about 150 delegates. Hmmmmm, "I don't know anyone and I'm shy" I said, only half in jest. Paul guided me to a table of very fine specimens. One lady particularly stood out, she rose to shake my hand, a tall, very strong looking with a regal air of authority. "Sarah Springman" she presented herself as. The name was familiar....ahhh International Triathlon Union Vice President, ex-elite athlete and Prof. of Geo Engineering at University of Zurich! The other lady at the table was the CEO of the BTF and two other conference speakers.

First up was Wing Commander Jim Pennycook, Head of Defence Enterprise at the MOD. Much as I'm an anti-military pacifist these days, his presentation was excellent and insightful. Strategic planning for war has much in common with preparing athletes for high-performance situations. Then Prof. Mike Tipton whose interests include the physiology and psychology of extreme environments was up. I was frantically taking notes as it's a fascinating area. He was a skilled presenter who didn't need his slides and I learnt a few new things that I could apply. Prof. Springman was particularly complementary to me afterwards, asking my background as "my questions to Prof. Tipton were excellent". I felt smug!

I was almost 1st in the queue for lunch, due to my positioning. It was good because I could sit at an empty table and wait for others to sit beside me, good when you don't know anyone. Soon I was joined by a group of coaches and I set about lightly interrogating them on who they coached, what they enjoyed etc. I decided to go round the room, speaking to 'randoms' which is never easy but I got into quite a few interesting conversations. The afternoon went so quickly. I had been pencilled in as a speaker which was a compliment indeed, but I'm glad Paul found others who better fitted the programme and that I was only involved as a delegate. The quality of presentations were aspirational!

The final keynote was Peter Keen, the man who planted the seed of my interest in sport science. He had coached Chris Boardman to Olympic Gold in 1996, was the catalyst for all future success at British Cycling and was a hero of mine. I've got to say that the interview style presentation was the best I've ever seen at a conference. I was wowed with Peter's intelligent eloquence and it was very clear why he had been so successful.

As ever, I had a million questions as I'm one of these annoying people that always have my hand up, just because I want to know stuff. After a wee comment on how he had planted the seed which sparked my interest in working in sport, I asked "Peter, I betrayed national loyalties and had Chris Boardman rather than Graeme Obree as my hero, simply because I liked the scientific approach. How do you think your career would have developed if you had coached Obree, rather than Chris?". Laughing, his answer was "very differently" and he went on to give a few interesting anecdotes on his involvement p with Graeme too.

Prof. Springman then commented on how she used to plot her heart rate data by hand on graph paper, back when heart rate monitors wouldn't download. Speaking with her later, I said "you made me laugh, I remember doing the same after every ride". Hmmmmm "I'm glad I made you laugh" she said! I was convinced she was thinking "I am not a plaything for your amusement".

I managed a quick chat with Peter, who thanked me for my original comment. I said that originally I had had ambitions to follow in his footsteps but Dave Brailsford and my own personality had got in the way! What a lovely bloke and it was privilege to chat to him for a few minutes. The day was a total success. I had learnt plenty that I can apply, got a few business cards and had a fun day. I departed on my Brompton, followed my nose back to the station and the journey home passed rapidly as I fell asleep.