220Triathlon Edição 334

WWW.220TRIATHLON.COM

FEBRUARY 2017

FEATURE

“While you may believe all eyes will be ogling you, rest assured

the other competitors will be equally self-conscious and the

spectators’ only interest will be seeing their own loved one”

FITTING IN THE TRAINING AROUND

WORK, FAMILY AND SOCIAL LIFE

Work’s full-on, you have a busy family and social life, and

then your buddy suggests you train for not just one sport…

but three. You think it’s a good idea, and then realise

something has to give. The good news is this proves you’re

mature enough to assess your priorities, giving you a far

better chance of managing them successfully.

When four-time Ironman world champion Chrissie

Wellington was asked how long she trained per day, she

would always say 24 hours because she viewed rest and

recovery as integral to her performance as swim, bike and

run. You’re not professional – yet – so you also need to

factor in work, family and friends.

When highly motivated, the temptation is to cram too

much into your training plan. Err on the side of caution and

only schedule sessions that can realistically be achieved

week-in-week-out. Talk it through with your coach, if you

have one, and involve your nearest and dearest in the

decision making as it will impact them too. Finally, accept

that sometimes life will take over and the tri life might have

to be put on hold for a while.

CUTTING OUT ALL

COMFORT FOOD

The further your triathlon adventure goes, the more you’ll

be swamped with adverts for a variety of nutrition

products, multiple articles professing to strip all body fat,

and clean-living recipes promising to supercharge your

performance. The slice of chocolate cake that once only

resulted in a bit of a sugar rush, now threatens to add

5mins to your run split. Disaster.

Firstly, you don’t have to cut out all comfort food. In fact,

if you do, it could even be detrimental to performance. Like

triathlon, food is there to be savoured, and depriving

yourself of occasional treats will make you miserable, you’ll

feel less inclined to train, and won’t enjoy racing as much. In

this light, comfort food is vital. A general consensus among

nutritionists is that variety is a good thing in our diets, so

take advantage of the smorgasbord on offer in the UK.

Finally, you don’t need to be a scientist to figure out that

the more you train, the more calories you’ll burn.

Therefore, if ‘comfort food’ makes up 10% of your grub,

you now need more comfort food… not less!

FEELING BODY CONSCIOUS

“My biggest fear was getting completely starkers

in transition in front of everyone,” says GB long-distance

professional Joe Skipper. “My mum held a towel around

me. I was 13 years old at the Waveney Valley sprint tri and

changed into fresh kit for the two mile run!”

It would be hard not to feel apprehensive the first time

you’re handed a one-piece spandex tri-suit that leaves no

bump to the imagination, but while you may believe all

eyes will be ogling you, rest assured the other competitors

will be equally self-conscious and the spectators’ only

interest is straining to grab a glimpse of their own loved

one as he or she flashes past.

If you really can’t face the humiliation of wearing tri-kit,

then there’s nothing in the rules to say you have to. In fact,

as long as it’s safe, you can wear pretty much anything you

like, and for longer distances – where transitions times are

not so critical – many triathletes opt to change outfits.

Finally, whatever you wear, you’ll have to accept the

post-race photos will look awful. They always do. Even

world champions have to put up with that one.

BECOMING A TRI BORE

How can you tell when you’ve met a triathlete?

They’ll tell you. But eschewing the lame gags, it’s natural to

be excited about your new hobby, and like any subject

you’re excited about, it’s natural to natter incessantly. The

conundrum is how you stop becoming estranged from your

family and de-friended on Facebook.

First, give yourself a break. Becoming a tri bore is no

bad thing for a while. Those that care about you will be

happy you’re invested in something you love. And, surprise,

surprise, tri-bores actually learn about the sport, and make

themselves better triathletes in the process. If you find

yourself still crowing about power output and lightweight

running shoes in a few months, give the family a break and

dive into the

220 Triathlon

forum.

TRAININGWITH

HARDCORE TRIATHLETES

The nervous feelings of heading out on a group ride with

cyclists in matching kit and shaved legs, or turning up on

club night feeling a fraud, are not dissimilar to the

emotions of lining up for your first race. See it as practice

for pressure situations ahead. Everybody who has ever

completed a triathlon was in your position once, and rather

than being snooty about your lack of experience, you’ll find

just how encouraging and welcoming everyone will be.

If you’re worried about your level, then understand that

tri clubs are set up to embrace newcomers of all levels – or

they wouldn’t exist! And before long the situation will be

reversed and it’ll be you putting an arm around that

nervous beginner.

TRAINING

For many, just the thought of getting started in the sport is enough to

keep you firmly rooted to the sofa, but it needn’t be so…

“I was nine when I didmy first

race so don’t remember being

nervous! But I think first-race

fears are the same regardless

of your experience, age,

distance, etc. Forme, it’s the

fear of the unknown. But even

if you have a ‘bad’ race, there’s

always something you can

take from it into your next.”

Jodie Stimpson,

Commonwealth goldmedallist

MY FIRST

RACE