Triathlon without a coach

You can prepare for a triathlon without a coach, and many age-groupers do. But some of a coach's work a platform cannot do. Below we split honestly where it helps and where you need a real person.

What the platform takes on#

TriCoo calculates the load of every session and builds a plan around your schedule. Load grows, but not faster than a ceiling. After a missed session, illness or a bad day the plan is recalculated, and what you missed is not made up.

Every decision has an explanation. You can open a session and see why it looks the way it does. The AI coach answers questions about the plan in chat.

What stays with a real coach#

• Watching your technique. The platform does not see how you swim or run, even with a watch.
• Teaching you to swim, including in open water.
• Teaching you to handle a bike, ride in a group and on a race course.
• Giving feedback in person, during a session.
• Dealing with things outside the model: fear of water, how your body works, life around training.

If you need any of this, get a coach, at least for a few sessions. A plan and a coach do not get in each other's way.

What stays with a doctor#

Health decisions belong to a doctor. TriCoo can suggest easing off when you feel unwell, but it does not diagnose and does not decide when you can come back after illness or injury.

Is self-coaching enough#

It depends on the person. There is no evidence that self-coaching on a platform suits everyone. It works best when you can already do all three sports and are preparing for a short distance. If you have no experience, see Your first triathlon season.