Regardless of your triathlon ability, chances are you are trying to get faster at triathlon.
As I write this on the fly, there are essentially 5 different Improvement Categories in triathlon (that I can think of at least), as it relates to lowering overall race times.
Improvement Categories:
1. "Lighter/faster/stiffer" Equipment -- Better, lighter, stiffer, more aero. requires more money.
2. Fitness -- Increase in actual physical fitness at the cellular level, in the heart, lungs, and muscles. Requires patience, time, and consistency.
3. Mechanics/Position -- Increase in efficiency, power, or both based on a biomechanical or positional change. Requires coach and/or knowledge of good mechanics and devotion to practicing/incorporating better mechanics.
4. Body Care/Maintenance/health/Recovery -- Preventing injury, healthy eating, massage, vitamins, sleep, etc. Requires more time and/or more energy and/or more money.
5. Coaches and Training Tools -- Incorporating the usage of people or equipment that allow you to train smarter and more effectively by allowing you to optimize your available training time and be more objective and quantify zones, intensities, and effort. (power meters, pace watches, pace clocks, workoutlog, etc.)
Depending on your available time, budget, goals, goal range (short term vs. long term), and resources, you may be able to make improvements in one or more of the above Improvement Categories.
Here I discuss those improvement categories and what it takes to obtain improvements via the different categories.
***(The 5 Improvement Categories themselves are not arranged in any particular order)***
1. "Ligher/Faster/Stiffer" Equipment. This category generally requires spending of more money but not always. Most items in this category are described by retailers that sell them as being "lighter, faster, stiffer, and more aero". (different from equipment that allows you to train smarter, that is Category #5)
This category includes the purchase and utilization of equipment that makes you instantly faster without any gains in fitness, just spending some (oftentimes) BIG BUCKS!
Starting with the *generally* most effective and working down (will depend on the individual athlete)
1. Aero Bars or Clip-on Aero Bars. $50 - $1,000. For those of you currently using regular road or mountain bike handlebars. Aerobars get you lower and "tighter", reducing your frontal area to the wind.
2. Aero Helmet. ~$100 - $200. Lots of BANG for your buck when it comes to aerodynamics. Selection of the proper helmet depends on your bike position and specifically your head position while cycling in aero position. For example, LG Vortice and Rocket Air fit me very well, while Rudy Project Aero helmets do not fit me.
3. Comfortable Saddle. $50 - $200. one that allows you to be comfortable and STAY in aero position rather than sitting up or standing often because your butt hurts or anatomy is numb.
4. Aero Wheels. $800 - $3,000. A good investment if your riding speed in no-wind, flat conditions is 18+ mph. any slower, and the wheels don't make much of an impact.
5. Lighter Wheels. $400 - $3,000. A good investment anytime you go uphill or have a race that involves a lot of climbing. (oftentimes, carbon race wheels are BOTH lighter and more aero)
6. TT bike frame. $1,000 - $6,000. can be quite expensive here, but not necessarily. TT frames generally allow you to get into a more powerful and aero position than a road bike for the purposes of triathlon racing. the important thing is that you are on a TT frame that allows you to get into a very aero position (see Category #3 efficiency/position as well)
7. Comfortable cycling-specific shoes with clipless pedals. $150 - $350. Cycling or triathlon specific cycling shoes and clipless pedals. ones that keep your feet comfortable the entire ride. reduces or eliminates numbness, and has a stiff sole for cycling power transfer. Especially important if you are currently using "rat-traps" platform pedals, or cycling in running shoes.
8. There are TONS of others we could talk about here -- wetsuits, upgraded components, aero bottles, etc., just wanted to give you a general idea)
2. Hard-Earned Fitness. Talking about physical adaptations and changes that occur inside the body, namely in the muscles, lungs, heart, blood, and blood plumbing (capillaries and such). You need time to build this kind of fitness. Fitness is cumulative and that's why the winners of endurance sporting events are athletes that have trained consistently and effectively for a long period of time. Even if you have bad mechanics and technique, you may still get fit by just plain training hard and for a long time. (In fact, you might become really "fit" at BAD mechanics, which just means you have practiced and mastered a certain muscle pattern over time, even if it is not an efficient motion you have mastered) Most triathletes don't have the patience or available training time to reach their potential as far as fitness goes. You have to wait for this one, and that's where you can beat someone that has more talent than you by outlasting them in years of training by avoiding burnout, injury, illness, etc. You can get a certain amount "fit" within the span of a few months, but the dedication to consistency is key -- day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.........
3. Mechanics, efficiency, technique. Increase in efficiency, power, or both based on a biomechanical or positional change. Bike fits, running/swimming video analysis sessions, and training camps that teach good mechanics. Requires knowledge of good mechanics and devotion to practicing/incorporating better mechanics.
This is "Free" speed. A simple arm motion change, or body position change in swimming can result in instant speed increase at the same or even reduced effort. Likewise for the bike and run. Simply learning and putting into practice efficient technique can make you faster nearly instantly. The key is to learn good mechanics and focus on keeping good mechanics throughout every session. This is often what separates good amateur athletes from elite athletes. Elite athletes *generally* have learned good (or at least decent) mechanics and it's evident when you watch them swim, bike, run. They make it look "easy" by staying relaxed, smooth, and being as efficient as possible through the usage and practice of good mechanics. This is where most amateur athletes have MUCH to gain and why I stress it so much!
4. Body Care/Maintenance/health/Recovery -- Preventing injury, healthy eating, massage, vitamins, sleep, etc. Requires more time and/or more energy and/or more money. It's easy to lack in this area especially if you are a type A athlete. Forcing yourself to recover, nap, or get a massage when your body needs it can be hard, but necessary for adaptation to training. One part this is tools and gadgets related -- massage sticks, foam roller, self-massage tools, Compression apparel, Compression equipment (Recovery Pump, etc.). The other component is time and money -- massage therapist, naps, relaxation, etc.
Very important and often overlooked. Here is an example: Suzy Triathlete is given Sunday off completely to recover from a hard week of training and long Saturday brick workout. To her, a "day off" means an opportunity to clean the house, plant a garden, wash clothes, catch up on bills, and wash windows. While this stuff must get done and she might be the only one to do it, this is NOT a recovery day by any stretch and won't allow her body the type of recovery needed to repair and strengthen itself. I don't have the answer to this dilemma as triathlon is not the only thing in our lives and certainly not the most important thing. I just wanted to point this out for illustration purposes.
5. Training Tools and Coaches -- Incorporating the usage of coaches, training camps, and/or equipment that allows you to train smarter and more effectively by allowing you to make better usage of your available training time, be objective and quantify zones, intensities, and effort. (power meters, pace watches, tempo trainer, pace clocks, workoutlog, RaceDay, etc.)
This falls under the category of training smarter, not necessarily harder.
A coach or group of advisers can help you make informed decisions about how to train, when to work hard, when to rest, when to take nutrition, what nutrition to take, etc. Likewise, tools such as powermeters, pace watches, and software like Workoutlog, RaceDay, or Training Peaks, help you to quantify your training so that you can be objective in your training. Say you want to run an 8:00/mile average in your next 10k. A Garmin pace watch can help you achieve that goal by telling you how fast you are running during your training runs. You can then practice running 8:00/mile in training to prepare your body to do it on race day. Likewise a powermeter can do the same by keeping you "honest" in training and staying in the wattage range you need to achieve your goals. By combining coaching with training tools, you can now have someone optimize your training time AND your intensities/zones, the best of all worlds! Unfortunately, these things (and us coaches) require spending money, but the results and outcome can be very worth the investment when compared to the cost of new wheels, race entry fees, and a new bike frameset.
Take a look at the 5 different improvement categories and make notes on where you think you can make improvements. Now, take out your budget and look at what will give you the most bang-for-your-buck. Maybe you need better recovery habits? A little massage? Perhaps, you would stand to benefit from a Pace watch or powermeter and train smarter. Or maybe your technique stinks and it's time to hire a knowledgeable coach to help you become more efficient and/or more powerful. We all want to make improvements in our respective sport, just a matter of deciding where to invest our resources of time, energy, and money.
As always, don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, we'd love to help out!
Kirk and Derek
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