Our pre-Christmas blog on a possible triathlon book recommendation has opened up the opportunity to spread free speed with this follow up blog. If you asked why the newly published triathlon books are not as informative as the books I mentioned of the past, that is a reasonable question. My biggest criticism not just of the books but also the curriculums that are pushed on coaches, is they are built on what are the best techniques used by the individual sports of swimming, cycling and running. They also push the line of studying the very best of champions, to give you the budding triathlete, all the supposed best information of what you can do or copy to make you a faster triathlete.
This very premise is built on such a shallow foundation with very little to no consideration of what triathlon is. At Trisutto our major motto passed on to the coaches to help them be a superior coach is TRIATHLON IS TRIATHLON.
Swim, bike and run are the components that go into the mix of what is TRIATHLON.
With this in mind, we believe the correct technique for each discipline is two fold: 1. What is the background of each individual athlete in each sport 2. How a certain technique is compatible with the following sport
This is so important when developing a strategy for the individual, while designing it with the understanding that one has to compromise in both technique and the training, when compared to the single sport application.
Hence, the technique(s) an athlete is capable of learning and using to increase speed in the most efficient way for that individual may indeed not be the techniques being pushed by all these specific sport triathlon publications. In fact 30 years of on deck experience has shown me that indeed most manuals are built upon a false premise.
What I can advise for faster improvement is:
Don't become a slave to what the best swimmer in the world does.., or the best cyclists.., or the best runners.
Triathlon is a unique sport that when three sports are combined is called triathlon.
At Trisutto we believe that one needs to look at what techniques are functional for the individual and their overall triathlon performance. I have changed techniques of athletes that come to me, that resulted with slower speeds over short distances; however their times over the triathlon improved dramatically. The question one must ask, and I ask it with every new athlete is:-
are you sure you want to go faster, or do you want to just look good?
Make up your mind clearly on what you really really want, as if one is asked to swim with a straight arm, or run more upright, it will test your resolve more than you may at first think. Just the way I see it.