When I first started in triathlon in the winter of 1985 all I knew is that I had the ability to swim and the ability to run. So I swam masters, ran on my own and joined a bicycle club. There was no such think as a triathlon coach. There was absolutely no information on how to train for triathlon. This took me to the finish line of some triathlons but as I moved to the ½ Ironman distance I struggled on the run tremendously. So I hired a running coach that ran me into the ground. I still struggled on the run; shocker eh? Well this running coach was training me for a ½ marathon but I was not participating in a ½ marathon. I was doing a ½ Ironman. It is one thing to run fresh in the cool part of the day and something totally different to do it after a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike and 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside?
It was only after many races and trial an error that I discovered how to train for triathlon and guess what? I started running people down late in almost all my races. Even at the Olympic distance the difference between my fresh 10K personal best and my triathlon 10K split was only 20 seconds.
I will save the explanation as to how that happened for another day but my point is that triathlon training is not the same as swim training, bike training and run training combined. Triathlon is a sport in itself and anyone that wants to be a triathlon coach needs to understand why and how to coach that.
Triathlon is becoming very chic. Triathlon is in the Olympics now and being an Ironman triathlon finisher is a goal for many people. This in turn creates a great demand for triathlon coaches. Many people want to be a triathlon coach or should I say multi-sport coach. When I go to many of these coaching seminars and conferences I still see the same thing I saw when I started into triathlon. I see swim coaches, bike coaches, run coaches, strength coaches all wanting to become triathlon coaches. In many cases some of these folks have not even done a triathlon. One thing is for sure they tend to apply the single sport specific methods to triathlon training. When you choose a coach choose one that is a triathlon coach and not a single sport coach turned triathlon coach to make more bucks.
There is another type of triathlon coach that I have not mentioned. That is the lab coach and researcher. These folks have PHD and ACD and YMCA and more letters after their name they can not fit them on their business cards. That is great. I go to many of these certifications myself. But that does not make them a good triathlon coach. They tend to make people feel very inadequate. Once they mentioned a few acronyms at you all you can say is yeah, and the conversation is over. How can anyone have a conversation with them? I sure can’t and I have a Masters in Science. Never mind folks that are not from a scientific background.
Triathlon training is still about going long. Even a “sprint” triathlon takes over an hour to complete. How many individual events in the Olympics take over an hour? Not many. Triathlon is an endurance event and if you train long and develop your endurance you can do very well. I managed to PR in Kona with a 9:34 without a coach, with very little speed work and very little strength training. It was only years later once I learned more from Mark Allen that I realized how lucky I was. I happened to meet the right folks who steered me the right way to train long and properly enough to achieve what I did.
If you want to do well in triathlon just increase your volume in a gradual manner so you can go long and go easy, sleep well, eat well and you are 80 to 90 percent there. Even with all the so called advances in nutrition, technology research etc, professional triathletes today can not come close to Mark Allen’s times in Kona. Even last year with perfect conditions and an easier run course Faris was not close to Mark’s best times. Mark ran a 2:40 marathon in Kona, only a handful of these guys today can even break 2:50. Think about that.
With regards to my training I had a good couple of weeks. Yesterday was a big day for me. I think it is the first time I did all three sports in a long time. I rode 2 hours; I ran 40 minutes and swam 3000 yards. I definitely felt it. The run was slow the last 20 minutes as I was feeling the bike ride and my heart rate was high. I would say about 30 seconds per mile slower. I did stay aerobic the whole time so I was happy about that.
I still have not ridden my new bike. Tomorrow I will receive my last parts to make it a tri bike and I have a neighbor who is a bike mechanic that will help me put it all together. On January 3rd I have an appointment for a very scientific 3D bike fit here in Boulder. It is done at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and I will post a blog about the process and show you some photos.