Going Faster

What would you say are the main things that limit you achieving faster times in tri?

They could range from not actually wanting to go faster/happy as you are, to time constrictions, physical limitations, lifestyle factors etc.

To turn it on its head, what do you think would be the single biggest thing you could do to improve your time?

lose weight, stop drinking guinness, hvae less sex and train properly

Would make me a boring bastid tho

How would having less sex help?

Perhaps a negative impact on the "time available to train"?

Surely an acceptable form of cross training though...

Goblin Princess wrote (see)

Perhaps a negative impact on the "time available to train"?

Surely an acceptable form of cross training though...

There's not much training you can do in 2 minutes.

it's more training than I usually do

lose weight and get a new left leg.

I don't even have the too much sex excuse.

Learn to swim properly, drop a few pounds.  Sex must be great cross training.  Gotta be on top though.

Organisation and structure of training. I'm certain I have the time and inclination to get faster, but whether I do or not will be governed by my ability to integrate training with work and life. This is particularly important as my job will mean more travel over the coming years; not a "time available" constraint necessarily, but certainly a planning challenge.

I probably could drink less beer, but I don't want to as my consumption isn't massive and I don't think I'm at a level where that would make a big difference. More likely to have an impact would be a strict diet. At a porky 73kgs, which I could almost certainly drop to closer to 65kgs. Discipline here is something I find a lot harder than the actual training.

Transitions are a big one for me too, as I lost 63 places in T1 at the Outlaw!

TheEngineer wrote (see)

Transitions are a big one for me too, as I lost 63 places in T1 at the Outlaw!

Ok that's funny! What on earth were you doing?!

For me it's knowing what I should really do to get faster. OK, everyone says run, run faster but the exact training plan is something that i'm lacking. I'd like to join a club but with work and travel at the moment it's not feasible.

My thoughts in the Strongest sport thread.

TheEngineer wrote (see)

At a porky 73kgs....

How funny, that's around my goal weight, lol!  For me, weight is a big factor that slows me down, esp. on the hills when biking, and generally when running.  Lack of core strength really affects my swimming, along with just generally not being great at it.  So working on the weight loss at the mo, along with improving running, then i'll get back on the bike and in the pool.  Knackered back doesn't help the bike, but working on that too.  I'll never be at the pointy end though, and have no desire to be.  Tri for me is about challenging myself to do better; i'm not concerned with how I fare against others  Which is just as well, hehehe

I'm just starting to think about trying to go faster now. For me its a different focus on training - up to now I've been doing long, steady training to build up the endurance, its now time to suffer in a different way.

I'll be injured in 2 weeks.

Gary Fegan wrote (see)

My thoughts in the Strongest sport thread.

Thanks, just read it

• Weight (affecting the run times)
• Time for bike training
• Time for multiple pool sessions (swim technique is limiter)

I could address any of these but put simply I don't really want to (apart from the weight). Work/Life/Play balance is about right. I could abandon wife and kids every Sunday for a 6-hour ride but I just don't want to.

What I do want to do is maximise the success from the training I do manage. 8-hours a week is about tops for genreal training with a race specific ramp u for A race each year.

kittenkat wrote (see)

Goblin Princess wrote (see)

Perhaps a negative impact on the "time available to train"?

Surely an acceptable form of cross training though...

There's not much training you can do in 2 minutes.

Does that include warm up & cool down?

TheEngineer wrote (see)

Organisation and structure of training.

This for me, partly down to wanting training to be flexible enough to fit in with everything else.  This is a hobby at the end of the day, even though it might appear to be an obsession to an outsider.  If I wanted to get a bit quicker at tri, I ought to book some swimming coaching.

TheEngineer wrote (see)

Transitions are a big one for me too, as I lost 63 places in T1 at the Outlaw!

I made up 83 places in T1, but that's mainly down to coming out of the water further back amongst folk that perhaps aren't so fussy about time as those 10 minutes ahead. In a sprint or Oly tri it might be a big deal, much less so at IM (unless you're chasing a Kona slot, I guess).

Probably my mental attitude.  I'm prepared to put myself into the 'uncomfortable' zone, but not the real 'pain' zone.  I'm too happy working on my overall endurance, which hasn't failed me yet, giving me the ability to finish all races entered.  But I don't think I really train to get fast, only to get fit.