ericmulk wrote:
mauricemaher wrote:
ericmulk wrote:
PeteDin206 wrote:
ericmulk wrote:
These athletes must not want to be the best that they can be since, if they did, then they'd be training their little butts off in the pool during the off-season to get their swim times as low as possible:)
Because long course triathlon is a swim meet first and foremost right?
As I remember, Rinny usually comes out of the water about 8 minutes back from the first group of swimmers. Not saying people shouldn't swim, but it is a lot easier to knock 10+ minutes off the bike and 5+ minutes off the run than it is to knock 3 minutes off the swim.
I'll bet Rinny is still trying to improve her swim though, as i'm sure she would prefer to come out with the lead female swimmers. I'll bet she's not making any excuses like "but i have to drive to the pool whereas i can run right from my house." I'll bet she's not taking 4 or 5 months off from swimming every year, as Maurice alluded to in his post that i responded to, but rather i'll bet Rinny swims 12 months/year.
I'n not sure if you read my posts or not but I don't recall making "excuses" for myself or any one of my athletes. I was simply saying that for a certain special block of swimming will likely "stick" with the athlete more than the other two sports. Swimming is an endurance sport but also a "skill" sport, certain periods of elevated milage will tend to elicit a better training response which sticks year over year compared to B&R. Case in point the athlete who went 1:22 at IM last year went 1:18 this year, we swam less or more normal….IE 8-10km per week than last year but the benefits in terms of execution/feel etc stuck.
My other point was that…and this is the harsh reality for you, most of the other 7 billion people on the planet don't love swimming as much as you do, or at least don't place as much emphasis or importance on it. For say IM training, it is important but less so than B and R (depending on a certain few and select athletes-maybe Rinny)
So my comment regarding 6 hours of running from my house vs 3 hours of swimming and what the time vs net benefit is, say for most triathletes (especially IM athletes) that is fairly obvious and well understood…. if you had to pick one or the other. Maurice
Certainly I agree that skill in swimming will generally increase with consistent training, and I understand that most of the 7 billion don't love swimming. However, if and this is a big IF, a person wants to do their very best in triathlon, then they will do whatever it takes and swim as much as they need to get to where they can hang with the fast swimmers to the best of their ability. And the issue about extra time needed to go to swim, ummm, well, I guess you guys like never leave your house to go to your work place, school, etc. I've been swimming year-round for 30 effing yrs, since age 12, in about 10 diff cities/towns, small and large, and there has always been a pool somewhere on my way to or from my school or work place, with it taking maybe 10 min extra to get to the pool. Also, in the numerous times I've heard this excuse, and it is an excuse, people also say they have to change to swim. Umm, well, you have to change clothes to bike and run also don't you??? Obviously you do not agree but in my opinion, the whole "but I have to go the pool" is just one more excuse for not swimming well.
Don't get me wrong, after 20 years in the sport I have no issue with more swimming. in 1997 I did my first IM and I was 300th or something out of the water swimming 1:04 or so This year I was about 1:04 and in the top 100 or so. In a relative sense the IM times in the B and R have changed… a lot maybe by 20 minutes (faster) or so while swim times have gotten slower(in a relative sense).
basically what you are saying is just HTFU and go swim more, to a certain degree I could respect that….if a person saw value in that, I understand you swim, like 600 days a year at 12km per day or something like that. I think thats great, do what you want but keep in mind that people may have slightly different circumstances or goals than you. They do more longer distance tri's and you just swim. Or they might want to win there AG or get to Kona etc, as I said before when an athlete goes from say a 1:39 swim in 2008 to a 1:28 in 2012 then a 1:22 last year and then a 1:18 this year that is pretty reasonable progression.
And the key point is a reasonable progression based on time invested.
Swimming more at the expense of other sports is a recipe for finishing lower (or slower etc),What was that old saying?
"training is not the proposal but the answer to the proposal"
when I talk to an athlete..say 8 months out (or 10 or 12 etc) the question is always where do you want to be next year, in the middle there are short term and long term goals, none of which include:
"I want to swim awesome and have a shitty bike and run"
I am not sure if you are understanding my point, what I am saying is that AG athletes who may be in management, have 3 kids, doing their PHD, live 100km from the nearest pool on the shittiest northern canadian roads known to man, etc may prioritize other things ahead of swimming.
Like I say, no big deal. if you love swimming then just…..keep on swimming and do what you do.
Maurice