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Silly Mistakes

In Races of TTC (September 18, 2008 7:51 am)

It’s been a busy few weeks so I apologise for not updating the blog

A couple of weeks ago I was volunteering at the Vitruvian. Once again Iain and the crew put on a great race and the responses have been amazing. As always lots of people came up to day hello and I have to say that it’s sometimes difficult to remember everyone’s name, so apologies if I sounded a bit vague.

Now to my real thread…

At just about every race I go to I see even the most experienced triathletes make simple mistakes that will have a negative impact on their race. I’ll list them below and then perhaps I’ll come back to them in a future blog.

Here’s my top 10 easily avoidable errors

Arriving at the race venue with minimal time to prepare
Not knowing the timings for the event such as your wave start time, when transition closes etc
Leaving vital bits of kit – like a wetsuit – in transition when it is closing
Leaving vital bits of kit at home – like a wetsuit!
Missing or not listening to the race briefing
Not knowing the course
Overloading your bike with extras (4 water bottles, saddle bag with tools etc)
Having a bike that doesn’t conform to regulations – bar ends unplugged
taking forever in T1 & T2
Not knowing where the mount & dismount lines are at the start and end of the bike

Time after time we (TTC coaches) see these errors committed which could save athletes minutes off their finishing time and yet they often pin the blame on…

“My training was rubbish…I need to run faster”

“My bike is too heavy. I need to get a Planet X stealth with Xentis wheels”

Their coach, their programme, their genes blah, blah, blah

If you want to go faster in 2009 try taking a look at elements outside your training

Coaching isn’t just about writing programmes for athletes.

Stay healthy & have fun

Simon

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