Guilhem is a lifelong member of the ADOC orienteering club in Chenôve (21). He has been a member of the French team for five years, with three European cadet championships to his credit. He took gold in the relay two years running (2015 and 2016), and a fine 8th place in the long-distance event (2017). Junior was competing in his second World Championship this year. After a very fine 6th place in the relay last year, he had his teeth into it!
RESULTS = With two top 15 finishes, 12th in the long distance and 14th in the middle distance, and a bronze medal in the relay (with Quentin Moulet and Guilhem Elias), it’s fair to say that his objectives were more than met. All the more so as he also passed his PACES at Dijon medical school, coming 12th!
We’ll be taking a closer look at his year of sporting and academic success in an interview with the coach ‘s technical input on his preparation.
A graphic review of preparations for the World Cup
Image caption above:
Top curve = physical condition (relation to training volume)
Histograms = Accumulation of stress (freshness) – red histograms downwards indicate training overload – green histograms indicate a good load/recovery ratio – yellow histograms upwards indicate freshness
Hi Guilhem, why did you use TrainingSharp?
Hi! I knew that I was embarking on a difficult year in PACES, and that I would therefore have little time to train. So I had to optimize my training in order to keep a good level (or even progress) while having as much time as possible to work.
The club I’d trained with in previous years had schedules that didn’t always suit me, and planned for several athletes at the same time. As I was rarely available, I knew I’d have to train on my own to have more freedom over my schedule.
TrainingSharp seemed to me the ideal solution for personalized training to suit my busy schedule.
COACH’S NOTE:
The year was shaping up to be a challenging one, with the PACES entrance exam and selection for the junior world championships all in sight. At the beginning of September, we had to put in place an optimized training strategy, taking into account his lack of time for training and recovery. I quickly understood the hours of training he could do and the training load needed to help him progress.
To begin with, he carried out physical tests at the beginning of September to determine the intensity zones he would have to follow rigorously. (see image above). After that, the training weeks followed one another with assiduity on his part.
Describe a typical day in PACES (hours of sleep, nap, training, classes, revision?)
The day started at 6.35 am with breakfast, followed by the streetcar to the university (45 min of public transport, which I optimized by reading the files). I’d get home at around 1:15 p.m. to eat, then force myself to learn one more course to make sure I was really tired and fell asleep quickly. This little 20-30 min nap allowed me to be efficient again for the rest of the afternoon. I’d then learn the morning’s lessons, and around 5-6 p.m. I’d take a break by going to practice.
When I was doing intensives, I’d go with a friend, which also took my mind off things, but sometimes, especially for Z1 jogging, I’d go on my own with courses I’d read. Admittedly, it wasn’t the best in terms of breaks, but at least it trained me to read maps. ????
When I got home, I’d revise older courses until dinner, then after dinner I’d do MCQs or easy courses until 10.30pm. In this way, I tried to get at least 7 hours of sleep, which for me is necessary to stay focused on the lessons and keep in shape during the sessions.
COACH’S NOTE:
There was little time available for training. The aim was to do 5 training sessions a week, i.e. a maximum of 4-5 hours a week during PACES.
As a result, to generate sufficient physiological adaptations, most sessions were intensive (critical threshold work / VMA / high-speed CO…). A pyramid model was ideal for optimizing training in this situation. More than 30% of the training was carried out close to or above the critical threshold! This intensification of training was necessary if we were to achieve our objectives.
How did you prepare for the selections in parallel with the exams?
It was a difficult period, given that the selections fell 5 days before the core exams, I had two sources of stress that caused me a lot of problems with sleep. I was having major insomnia, falling asleep around 5 or 6 in the morning. So I lengthened my naps to solve this problem, and the best coach shortened my sessions, which finally enabled me to arrive at the selections in good shape.
In terms of courses, we had 3 weeks of revision for the second semester, which allowed me to slacken the pace a little in the evenings to try and get to bed early and limit the damage caused by insomnia. But on the other hand, I stopped the afternoon break by working continuously on my lessons, even during the sessions.
The weekend of the selections I took longer breaks to keep fresh mentally for the races, which in the end went much better than I’d hoped since I did a great performance in the long distance which enabled me to be selected. ????
And what about the world championships?
By removing the competition to prepare, I had much more time. I was able to improve my recovery by sleeping 8 or 9 hours a night, and thus increase my training load. I then did a few training camps, notably in Grenoble directly with the coach. I gradually felt myself getting back into shape, until the last week when all I did was repeat technical simulations of the world championships and quiet sessions to “build up my energy”. So it was in good shape and, above all, with an over-motivated mind that I set off for the world championships.
What were the main difficulties?
The main problems I faced were lack of sleep and motivation.
For the first point, the solution for me was naps, relaxation before bed (like reading or watching entertaining videos) and, above all, mint-glend tea haha.
In terms of motivation, I would think back to past competitions to give me courage for training, and I would take breaks to see friends or call my sister. My daily contact with my coach gave me peace of mind about my preparation, which in turn gave me confidence for the future. I also took one evening a week when I stopped work at around 7 p.m. to do something else and recharge my batteries for the week.
COACH’S NOTE:
Calculating training load by combining athlete feedback and session constraints is a central element in remote training monitoring. This enables us to quickly determine the athlete’s optimal and tolerable training load. For Guilhem, the target load per week turned out to be between 1200 and 2000 AU (around 1500 AU for a good quality week without causing too much residual fatigue).
I tried to keep the load as stable as possible during PACES, and to take advantage of increasing the volume during the break period (end of December-beginning of January) and after her exams (May and June).
Your favorite session? Your worst?
The 7 times 2’30/2’30 at 19-20 km/h on the long straight of the Chenôve plateau, struggling behind the coach (on the bike ????). Worst suffering but profitable.
My favorite sessions were the little technical OC sessions on the plateau, where I’d really cut through the work and set off so as to catch the sunset during training.
Any final thoughts? ????
Thanks to Olivier for training me all year long and making me a plan adapted to my work and my current shape.
I never thought I’d be able to progress athletically despite my medical condition, but that was without counting on OBTrainingsharp ????.
I would also like to thank my family and friends for putting up with me during a year when I wasn’t always present or pleasant. The moral support was perfect ????
COACH’S NOTE AND CONCLUSION :
The strategy put in place seems to have been validated. The crucial aspect was to be really careful to control training loads to avoid glitches as much as possible (see graph above).
In the end, only 1 week’s sickness during the winter, and no notable injuries! And given his results at the world championships and PACES, it’s safe to say that we’ve achieved a perfect score (well, especially him ;)!
Congratulations again, it’s a real pleasure to coach an athlete like this!
But fortunately, we’re back for a year of preparation (which should be less stressful at university level) with a final junior world championship for him which promises to be a great success 🙂
Stay tuned!
Interview by Chloé Haberkorn
JWOC results: https: //www.jwoc2019.dk/
Interested in coaching? Please contact me.
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