I'll preface this by saying that I do not for a minute consider myself one the speedy folks...

However, I do think that a background in at least one of the three disciplines certainly helps. I was a D1 swimmer and the truth of the matter is that I can swim train very little (thus allowing more time to focus on the other disciplines) and still come out of the water in the lead pack with very little energy expenditure (not to mention that the swim doesn't make me nervous like it does others so energy saved there too). On the same hand, those with a cycling background just fly by us fishies and the gazelles - uh, I mean runners and those with a track background - make running those insane times look incredibly easy. A background in one of those disciplines not only puts you far ahead of the pack (so to speak) not only in that discipline but it's also helped you build up an incredible cardiovascular/aerobic engine that's hard to duplicate if you start in on sports at an older age.

My husband and I always joke that if we wanted to turn our future daughter into a pro triathlete we'd get her involved in cross country and swimming at an early age. :)

I'm sure some of the fast gals will be able to add more insight into what works for them.

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I don't know that "speedy" is necessarily accurate, but I have had some degree of AG success.
Here's my take.....

---natural talent Not for me......a coach of mine used to say that most people can get to the top 95% with hard work and discipline, getting to 97% takes some talent, above that requires work, discipline, lots of talent and good circumstances.
---training at a young age, such as being on the track or swim team in school Nope, again. Started at 37 with no significant athletic background.
---clean nutrition This was very important when I was racing at my best. I was very lean and ate an extremely restrictive and clean diet.........just not willing to do that anymore.
---good coach Very important to me, I had no clue what I was doing and had drive that needed to be channeled.
---more time to dedicate to training Due to a lack of natural ability, this was very important....I had to do everything.
---other For me it was motivation........I was training and racing almost out of spite......thankfully I don't have to do that anymore. :-) Of course, my results reflect that.

G

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

I don't know how truly speedy I am but for me it's:
mostly: training at a young age
some: natural talent

I swam from age 8 through college. For 4 years post college I ran some and did a bunch of aerobics at the health club. Then I got into tri's. I give more of the success to the many many years of aerobic training than I do "being a good swimmer". If you count the aerobics years I've been training pretty consistently for 30 years. Yes I can do well in a tri-swim with minimal training but I think my cardiovascular system just has many years of training in it. Also I credit all those years of swimming to knowing how to train hard and not being afraid to race hard. Now that I'm older and have less time I'm actually working on the training smart and nutrition parts of the equation!

I'm a fast swimmer but not a fast triathlete (damn cycling... I'm working on it). Advantages: willing to train my a$$ off and lots of time and the place to do it (still a college student!)

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Very interesting answers so far, friends, please keep them coming!

Of course, I'm waiting for someone to say that they have no natural ability, no background, good diet, limited training time and are self-coached and they win every race they enter. =)

I'm waiting for someone to say that they have no natural ability, no background, good diet, limited training time and are self-coached and they win every race they enter.

I'm working on it as hard (or not so hard) as I can. Struggling a bit with the winning part, though. All in good time, however, all in good time. ;-)

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mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
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Not sure what qualifies as speedy but I certainly think that my swimming and running background have been a huge help. Being married to former NCAA All American in track doesn't hurt either, unless you count the hurt I get from workouts!

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Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

Well I guess that I was speedy in the past. Age group success. Local triathlon success. That kind of thing.
I think:
1) Natural ability - I was just born with the right genes for running, biking and endurance,
2) Hard work and dedication - i.e consistent hard work - with year round dedication for at least several years in a row..
3) Good coach. Very important - you would be surprised what a difference a REALLY good coach can make.I'm stressing REALLY good caoch here. There are coaches, good caoches and REALLY good coaches.
4) Clean nutrition.
No I did not train at a young age. At school I truly believed that I had no ability to run, swim or bike. Did not have the desire either. But I was an active kid (riding horses). I think if you are thinking age group then you do not have to come from a track or swim team.

I'll take a crack at this

---natural talent is 75% of what's getting me to the front.

---training at a young age, such as being on the track or swim team in school, doesn't apply to me. I did a year of cross country and hated it, and never swam, except to surf. I was active, but not competitive or involved in a tri related sport.

---clean nutrition - no. My nutrition is horrid, and one of the things I"m trying to change for this year. I'm trying to eat breakfast some days, eat some fruits/veggies.. but it's a struggle. I live on candy.

---good coach - yes. I have had great coaching for 2 years, and just moved to another great coach.

---more time to dedicate to training applies to me to some extent. I have three kids and work part-time, but that gives me wiggle room to get in a workout in the daytime.

 

I'm about 80% good genes and the rest hard work (and more time to dedicate to training), a coach and a good diet. The good genes gave me the confidence when i was younger to do sports and realize that I really enjoy doing them.

Here's my sports progression (I hope it doesn't come across the wrong way, I think it illustrates a point...that I'm lucky I got good genes, then the others pushed me a little bit closer to the front):

-Born to good parents. My mom was a top swimmer in high school. My dad ran the 440 yds in college. My brother and sister do not do sports. I got all those genes. We all did some sports growing up, but I'm the only one who excelled in them and stuck with it.

-In elementary school I was the fastest kid in my grade (except for a kid named Booter-he could boot the kick ball over the school, but he was actually 3 years older). I got picked 3rd for all gym class games (behind Booter and some rich kid named Chris), ahead of the rest of the boys.

-I took every swim class the red cross offered and loved it. In jr high I tried the age group swim team, but I quit. I told my mom I didn't like diving in with my goggles on, my coach said i was faster than the boys and they made fun of me. I was the only girl on the team.

-I did very competitive gymnastics until I was a freshman in college. Lots of hours training during the season, and even more during the off season. I was pretty good at it, but didn't really enjoy it other than doing well in meets. This taught me hard work and dedication, because I wasn't a natural gymnast...at 5 ft 10 inches, it's hard to be. It also taught me how to listen to a coach to get what you need.

-I did track in high school as a high jumper. My junior year the new coach made the jumpers do sprint workouts. He threw me in a 1600 M relay one meet and I became a 400 M runner.

-My senior year I did cross country to improve my endurance so I could break the school record for the 400 M. I went to regionals my first and only season.

-I tested out of both my swimming classes in college by swimming 500 M in well under 10 minutes and then doing some crazy swim obstacle course under the necessary time. The swim coach asked me about my previous swimming experience and if I wanted to swim. I told him I was on the gymnastics team and didn't like swimming.

-In college I realized I was a good drinker (I could out drink the boys and they didn't make fun of me for it, they bought me more alcohol). My gymnastics coach was unhappy with my grades, but my drinking buddies didn't care. I started to run marathons so I could keep drinking and stay skinny. Running with a hangover was not a problem when I was 20. I never trained for a marathon more than running 8 miles a day and a couple 15 milers a couple weeks before the race. I normally was able to finish just over 4 hours.

-7 years out of college I found a pool and swam a 1500 M in 30 min my first time swimming. My form was horrendous, but my body position was good (or so the guy I was swimming with said). Red Cross swimming lessons paid off.

-A really hot guy asked me to do a triathlon so I borrowed a bike and did my first race. It wasn't fun. It was an olympic distance and I placed 3rd in my AG.

- I moved to Hawaii and did more tris. Almost always placing 3-5 in my age group, sometimes higher. I always borrowed a bike and never rode at all outside of actual races. I also still continued to out drink my guy friends. They made fun of me for doing triathlons and having to leave the bar. It was okay, by this time I realized they were flirting with me. After a year I bought my own bike.

- I decided to do an Ironman and found a training plan. Hard work (but not necessarily smart work...I did zero speed work even though the plan called for it) got me 12:19. I didn't change my diet at all, and still went out a lot with my friends.

- I hired a coach and cleaned up my diet and went 10:48 in Arizona. The diet allowed me to have the energy to workout harder. I also have a VERY flexible and minimal work schedule so I could train in the AM, work a few hours, take a nap in the afternoon, work a couple hours (sometimes) and then train again in the evening. I can't imagine training for an Ironman with a real full time job.

I think I'm fortunate I got athletic genes from my parents. I don't like to do things I don't think I'm good at. And if I weren't somewhat decent at sports, I'd be an alcoholic, because I was (and am with a little training) good at drinking.

Wow, that's quite a progression! BTW, I thought your 10:48 in Arizona and subsequent Kona slot were amazing.

natural talent--running wise I suppose I have some. My brother is an elite mountain runner and I have a high VO2 max. I have never quite run to my potential but I have never put in as much work as is needed either...

training at a young age, such as being on the track or swim team in school--I did cross county and track in school and dance growing up along with just being very active. I think that helped a lot. I sure wish I had done the swim team like my mom wanted me to.


clean nutrition--NO! I do eat a lot of fruit, but other than that, my nutrition sucks. I am trying to work on it. I often don't eat enough to build muscle, and have trouble keeping my weight from getting too low. I eat a lot of ice cream and used to eat a lot of candy. but have tried to replace that with foods that don't make me get highs and lows.

good coach--I don't have a tri coach, I wish I did because I think I would improve a lot. Maybe in the years to come I can convince my husband to let me spend the money on it. I do have a great swim coach who is also a great sports psychologist and he has helped me improve a lot in my swim and helped me to be more aggressive in all areas of triathlon.

more time to dedicate to training--I have a very time consuming job and commute which tires me out mentally, so I can't commit as much time as I'd like, but I don't have kids yet, so I do have a little bit of time.

How's your beer mile? :-)

I never did one...my groups of friends were very distinct and different. I think everyone I train with now would kick my ass, but I also think they'd pick light beer and I think light beer is a waste of a perfectly good bottle. Someday I'll attempt one. Maybe I should challenge Rachel to a Beer Mile sometime this winter. That's plenty of time to train!

I'm in.

I vote for guinness, one week after Kona. :)

I'm in!....that gives me an excuse to keep drinking Guinness while training for Kona!

I apologize for the late reply as I just started checking the forum today. I'm getting older so I am slowing down, for sure, but I still place relatively well in my age group. As for why I manage to do well, I can only guess but here's how I measure up on your questionnaire:

nat.talent: I have tested at higher than average VO2 max but not significantly.
young age: I did swim on a summer club for 2 year but then took a solid 20 year break from swimming. I figure skated but I was a afraid of falling so that sort of holds you back. Also, overpronating wasn't something that was identified back then and it doesn't help in figure skating@
nutrition: overall, I eat extremely well if you consider oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate chip bagels and nutella to be good. Generally, I do eat very well and the fitter I get, the more my body craves good quality food.
good coach: helps, yes, but you still have to do the work and you also have to be smart: the closest I ever got to an injury was under one coach. We had to part ways.
Time to train: For Ironman, time is a factor for sure. But you still need to focus on training smarter, not just longer and harder.
Other: I think, for me, the most critical factor is that I train relatively consistently and I have never had a serious training related injury. It's all part of the training smarter thing.

---natural talent my father was a very good race walker in Ireland when he was younger. He had a lot of hardware from his races.

---training at a young age, such as being on the track or swim team in school
hmmm not endurance sports. I did play soccer, softball and basketball. I did however run the fastest mile in PE class in hs and beat the boys in my class, but I thought it was cooler to smoke. Gross!

---clean nutrition yes I eat very well

---good coach I don't have a coach now. My daughter had her Bat this year so I'm a little low on funds. I do however think good coaching is valuable. Last year KP coached me. He is the best coach and I learned a lot from him.

more time to dedicate to training - I always find a way it seems. My kids are older now so that helps but I work more now.

other- LOts of hard work. Also consistent work. I'm older now than when I started so I can't do the hard track workouts (without getting injured).

I'll play...
- Natural talent: I was always a terrible athlete as a kid. My hand-eye coordination sucked and I wasn't very good at any sport, but at the same time, I loved to be active so I did stuff like aerobics and took up running in high school. I've finally come to the realization in the past few years that maybe I have talent for endurance sports (particularly the bike)...perhaps more slowtwitch fibers than most. But the talent doesn't shine through without an incredible amount of hard work and consistency. My parents have very limited athletic talent, although maybe my dad has a little potential (he used to ski a lot before getting married to my mom), but I have 1 brother that is way more talented than me and a sister that has no athletic talent.
- Training at a young age: The only competitive sports I did as a kid were track and cross country in high school. I wasn't very good at it despite my dedication to the sport. I was probably the top junior varsity runner on our small, private school x-country team, but the bottom for varsity. I think people who swim competitively at a young age have a huge advantage. I wish I swam in high school.
- Clean nutrition: Doesn't hurt...seems to help.
- Good coach: I think this is the single most important reason for my success in triathlon. I got exponentially better the moment I got a coach.
- More time to dedicate to training: This is all about prioritizing for me. Training is high priority for me, so I get up at 4:30am to get it done and then usually get back to it again after a long day at work. I work 50-60 hrs per week and I'm currently training 15-17 hrs/week.
- Other: True love for the sport...not just the racing, but also the training. Guess I like my endorphins : ).

I typically place well my my AG as well, not for natural ablility, good nutrition or coaching... I live in a small town an nobody else shows up. I guess that show dedication on my part ;-) I got 2nd in my AG at a du on Saturday.

Seriously though I'm a big advocate of hiring a coach. The focus and accountability they provide are priceless.

I have made significant progress since I started doing tris. I am still working towards bigger and better goals of one day being one of the 'speedy' women.

---natural talent - I'd argue I have very little. I ran the 100m and 200m, high jump and long jump in high school track. Ran 1 yr. of cross country and the coach used to pick me up in the car because I was so far behind. I have sprinter mentality and ability. My best swim event is the 50 free.

---training at a young age, such as being on the track or swim team in school - in high school I was a talented ski racer, slalom and giant slalom. As above, I was a sprinter in track, so I don't think it has much bearing on my endurance endeavors. I started swimming at age 23.

---clean nutrition - I definitely think this is IMPORTANT. I have been doing much better with IM training this time around, eating better, more good proteins and fruits and veggies. I have been diligent about my recovery drinks, too.

---good coach - I had a friend who wrote my training programs. Then I tweak around with them. I'd like to get a coach but any time I mention it my husband poo-pooh it as he has a degree in exercise physiology... but any time I've said OK, then YOU write my training program, I know it's not going to happen. I have a great swim coach with my master's program. He tore down my stroke last year and we've rebuilt it and I have noticed a major difference. I'm faster but using less energy- I get out of the pool after a hard 3300 yds and feel fresh. This summer will be the real test.

---more time to dedicate to training - I have a 40 hr. per week job, not 50-60 hrs like many and a 7 minute commute. I could bike to work and back if I liked. I have no children. I think all this helps. I also can bike right from my house, this saves time vs. having to drive somewhere and then bike. I have a little bit of a flexible lunch, I can get in up to a 40 min run without any complaint from my boss or company. There is a workout room on site and a locker room with showers.

---other - as my screen name suggests, I am very disciplined and determined. I follow a training program very well. I get a lot of sleep, hitting the hay 9:30-10pm and waking at 6:45am. On the weekends I'll stay in bed as long as possible, maybe 10 hrs. I also go regularly for ART therapy, which helps me stay injury-free. I think I owe most to good old-fashioned hard work. I've also taken up doing running races as training runs. I think experience is really big too.

The guinness beer mile sounds great, I love that stuff!

Not sure I'd call myself "speedy" but I tend to podium at most races. I came to the sport a few years ago (in my 30s) with no background in swimming, cycling or pure running. I was a competitive soccer player years ago but then went to grad school and worked way too many hours, plus traveled. So, I'd have to say hard work & determination are #1. After that:

---clean nutrition - eat a pretty healthy diet. however, with all the training, certainly don't deprive myself of desserts
---good coach - DEFINITELY! otherwise, i would tend to overtrain
---more time to dedicate to training - had to balance with a crazy work & travel schedule. reducing my travel helped since I could ride more (and sleep more!).
---other - training consistently, day in & day out, not skipping workouts. also, spent A LOT of time on the bike and have seen the dividends as my bike times got faster and my legs were fresher for the run.

I started with a local coach - who was quite good. But then when I wanted to improve more, I went with an internet coach, but I knew quite a bit about him already, which is why I chose him as a coach. It worked very well, because he was such a good coach and very dedicated. (think that he now charges $1000 plus per month, but was only charging $225 when I had him as a coach - real good coaches can eventaully charge quite a bit :-)
Anyway, finding a good coach can be quite challanging.

I went with a local coach. With my local coach came a great training group which really keeps me motivated. The group has a ton of IM Veterans and excellent athletes in each sport. During swim workouts there were swim coaches that helped with my stroke, coaches on the bike who taught me how to climb hills and sprint, and on the run, coaches that could tell me to stop talking and run harder. My coach is a good coach, and I think the best there is locally, but I don't really get individualized attention/plans. I knew this going into IMAZ and debated it. I decided to stick with him because of the training groups, and the price. He is also available for unlimited interaction, and I like that (even though I didn't really ask too many questions). When I did stop in to talk to him or see him at a group session, he gave me individual advice about my training plan. I really get turned off by the one phone call a month thing. I guess I can see how some people can take advantage of the coach by constantly asking questions, but i think if the coach isn't okay with that, they shouldn't coach the person.