CAN AN AI COACH GET YOU RACE-READY IN 8 WEEKS?

AI is everywhere... But just how useful is it for triathletes? Charlie Allenby puts one of the latest AI-based training tools to the test as he targets a late-season duathlon.

- CHARLIE ALLENBY

"Hi Charlie, it looks like you didn't train as much as planned last week. Maybe this was a tough time for training. No worries, let's replan I know you can do this!"

Six weeks into my eight-week training block for a duathlon, and I've let Hugo, my coach, down. The previous week had involved travel for work, and although this included a two-hour ride into the outskirts of Copenhagen for a bike launch (the perks of being a triathlon journalist), a relentless itinerary and tight article deadlines meant the running trainers I'd packed had remained firmly in my suitcase.

I’m not that worried that I’ve disappointed Hugo, though. In fact, I don’t think it would be possible. While there are plenty who would describe their coach as emotionless, mine literally doesn’t have any. That’s because Hugo’s not human.

Hugo is the faceless avatar of training platform HumanGo, and has been setting, analysing and tweaking my training as I build towards my first the standard distance duathlon at Hever Castle. And with two weeks to go, my prospects of drawing a respectable line in the sand have taken a hit.

COACH IN THE MACHINE

HumanGo is just one of a number of training platforms that have introduced artificial intelligence (AI) into the world of coaching. Rather than the one-size-fits-all plan that you might find in some places, an Al coach promises a more personalised, tailored approach - one closer to a real-life human. The app creates schedule of workouts based on tests like functional threshold power and maximum heart rate, while it adapts them as required as you build towards a goal event.