4 years ago when I started to take triathlon training more seriously than the occasional and token swim, ride and run, my weakness was in the swim, followed by the run and then the bike - I didn't really have the strength. With a small smudge of fitness and athletic ability, all three legs of the triathlon was a chore. Don't get me started on transitions - that was a real eye opener when I joined Tri Alliance.
Fast forward a few years of training and I have a difference perspective and respect for each discipline. The only way I can express it is by breaking it down to each leg:
Swim Starts
I am still a nervous wreck at swim starts - who isn't?! However I know that I am not the weakest swimmer out there and now have the confidence to not have to stand right at the back of the wave.Swim
I am still not aggressive enough to swim over people but I am no longer hesitant about swimming past people or drafting ones who appear to know what they are doing. I have started to increase the level of my comfortable swim pace for a long course race. I no longer consider the swim as my weakest leg anymore. To be honest, I really enjoy swim session at the pool and open water. Now I have learnt more about the technique and art of swimming, I am more relaxed in both situations.The swim leg is the shortest in a triathlon - in distance and time (exc transitions). For some people, their day is determined (by their own mindset) if they are having a good day or not. So far, I have not (yet) experienced what others called a bad swim in a race. Although I am now swimming amongst the bunch - for long course racing, you are not necessarily in waves with only females/males in your age category - I am more confident and stress less when I am punched or kicked. I have accepted that it is part of this sport and there is nothing I can do about it - I can only control how I handle the situation.
I know I have more to improve on my swimming - I know I have many other flaws to correct but this can only come from turning up to swim sessions and having the coaches give me feedback whenever they can. It is very hard to firstly pick the flaws and secondly what to do to correct them without feedback.
T1
So far in the long course races I have done to date (2) - I have put on my (tri) cycling shoes in transition. I can't do the hop-hop-leg over mount and I am not confident in steering with my left hand only whilst putting on my shoes. I also have drink bottles behind my seat too which prevents me from doing a graceful leg over seat manoeuvre. I hop on the bike after the mount line like I do for a normal ride. I few minutes longer than normal but at least I am doing it safely.Bike
When I first started triathlon, my favorite leg of the triathlon was on the bike. I used to come out of the water last (or on a good day, 2nd last) so when I finally got on my bike, I would ride past people in my wave and see my position from last to not-so-last. I was more confident on the bike and knew that I was able to hold my speed (for sprint distance triathlons) comfortably. Over the past few years, my rides have escaped outside of Beach Rd and my strength on the bike has improved. I did take the bike for granted whilst I worked on my weakness (of the swim) and saw my strength on the bike leg of the race compromised in the previous seasons.In a triathlon, you spend the longest amount of time on the bike as it is the longest distance out of all the legs - makes sense to work on the endurance to not only ride the bike for hours on end but to also stay mentally alert. I definitely saw differences of my own performance when comparing Shepparton and Geelong. I had more mileage in training for Geelong and was mentally alert during the race. It would be great to compare like-for-like for Shepparton but will have to wait until November of 2013 and hopefully achieve a time < 3 hours. I know that I am far from being good on the bike for long course racing but this will come with spending more hours on the bike in the months to come (post Ironman Melbourne).
T2
I am still not doing any fancy dismounts off the bike due to the bottles behind my seat but I do have my feet out of the shoes so I am getting through T2 bare feet. Sorry for the beginners reading this post - do as I say, not as I do :)Run
Although I have never been good at running - I blame it on my lack of hips and hence chunky thighs that rub together when I walk - I have seen big improvements within the last 6 months (Thanks Greg). I am able to run more faster than my previous 6:30-7:00min/km run pace and can hold < 5min/km for 250m or so. This is just attributed to being consistent and actually turning up to run sessions up to 3 sessions a week. I fear that I can only do a run when I am running during a coached session and this weekend will be a true test if I am able to get out and run by myself - wait for a write up of this session for sure next week!I have also started to actually love running - in that I can see the benefits of it for my overall endurance and being able to run past people in a long course triathlon since I have learnt about the art of a good manageable and maintainable pace.
My weakness is still my fitness and strength (still one of the slowest if not the slowest) amongst the Ironman group of my squad but as I have mentioned before - I am ok with that. I know my own pace and I know that I do have the (mental) toughness/stubbornness to get to the end.
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