Although he may not look old enough to be a dad, Will Newbery is a 28 year-old personal trainer and father to Oscar. Last year Wil’s sole aim was to qualify for the World Championships in Lausanne, which he did, as well as ending up 8th in the BTF rankings and coming runner-up in 220 Magazine’s Age Grouper of the Year category. This year sees Wil looking to continue his success for the www.votwo.co.uk/SBR team as well as raising his boy with his partner Kath in Bournemouth. This is how he plans to conquer the world!

If triathlon changed my life then who knows how I’ll cope with fatherhood...

I knew the day was coming. The day when my freedom to train was snatched away from me. People had warned me that I wouldn’t have time to be training 18 hours a week; that I wouldn’t be able to go on warm weather training camps; that I wouldn’t be spending two weekends a month racing across the country, let alone go to the World Championships again and that my bike budget would be cut, not just in monetary terms but also physically too. “Where are you going to put the baby seat on that?” people were heard saying.

In a way I refused to listen to people. Triathlon was what I did and everything and everyone else just slotted around me. Why should a nine pound baby be any different, and limit me. I kept my über-bike and, in fact, bought a new fixed wheel winter hack (I hear the gasps at the back) because it seemed like a fun addition to my family! I didn’t need it, but as I said I’m a triathlete and we don’t need things, we want them! I had just joined votwo as an elite team member and was being coached by Phil Mosley. I signed up to do the European Championships and things were looking good as I recorded a PB in the Gosport half marathon in November.

The due date came (and went) and I was still in full-on training mode. Training twice a day, six times a week. I was questioning Kath’s bump “Are you sure it’s not just wind?” Then The Day arrived. The proudest day of my life – yes, it ranks higher than meeting Dean Richards and Tony Underwood at a rugby course when I was 13. Oscar Robin Newbery was born on January 29th 2007, two weeks late (takes after his mother) and even then we had to pull him out of the sunroof!

I had taken two weeks off work, Kath was going to be in hospital for at least a week, so I thought I would be able to get a couple long rides in, I could do my hill session and maybe get a swim in. An easy week. Not a chance. The first two days I spent by her side from 7 in the morning until 11 at night (visiting hours were 8-9:30 but I smiled at the nurses!) Then on day three Kath said “Do you want to go for a run or something?” (her parents had gone and she wanted to get some sleep). I had forgotten about training! So off I went down to the beach to do my hill reps, but after the third of ten I made my way home. Something wasn’t right; I didn’t want to be out there.

And so it went on after she came home. Every time I went out for a ride or a run I felt a burning sensation … not the burn of lactic acid but I felt guilty… …that she was looking after him alone and I was pursuing my old lifestyle that didn’t contribute in any way to raising a child. I started to skip training sessions. Kath was great and would say “don’t you need to go for a run?” and I would make excuses… “my legs hurt, it’s raining”. Things were changing; I was morphing into an adult, with responsibilities and everything!

I’m not going to get into the ins and outs of parenting but it’s not easy. The first six weeks were tough, and any training that Phil had given me was a struggle to find time to do. As great as Kath was, I could not justify spending nine hours at work then do two hours training. So something had to change. I had a chat to Phil and we came up with a plan that would mean I could do minimal training yet get maximum results. Luckily I had quite a good fitness base from last year and the winter.

So what was this mighty plan and is it successful? Well, yes, it is successful. In all but one of my races I have finished on the podium. The plan? Well here is my weekly schedule –

The important thing is to be flexible around a general plan, and I don’t mean able to touch your toes. I try to do as much around work time as I can. I’ll go in an hour early (I work shifts) and do my session there. I could even do more running in my lunch half hour. But this works for me. The intensity is high and the duration is low. My weekly average for the last four months is less than six hours per week. The thing to remember though is make every session count. Know what it is you want to achieve from each session. Cut out the junk miles. Even my hour ride into work I’ll put some sprints in, or attack the hills, or ride my fixed wheel - anything to keep me sweating.

I am lucky because Kath understands that if I don’t do something then I will get a little twitchy, and Oscar loves watching me on the turbo! What I have noticed is I am enjoying it more. I look forward to training and races even more so. Oscar has opened my eyes to the real world (of triathlon). Not everyone has 18 hours a week to train and not everyone wants to train that long. This season, however, I will prove to you that you can be quick on six hours a week, sometimes five hours, heck I’ve had a couple weeks where I’ve trained less than four hours, but by golly did I make the most of every second!