Over the past few weeks I have been pondering what I should write about. Sometimes posts almost write themselves, but other times it is difficult to try and come up with something meaningful and useful. Sometimes I simply don't manage to do so.
A little while ago, during one of my struggles for content, my wife suggested that I should start writing a series of posts about various 1%ers that people can work on to help them improve their triathlon performances. Simple things that they can do/change/buy to help them improve. She very optimistically suggested writing 100 1%ers.
I didn't jump on the idea right away because it sounded like quite a bit of hard work and I had seen that well respected Adelaide Triathlon Coach was Matty White had just started something similar on Facebook. I didn't want to appear like to much of a copy cat.
However, some time has passed since she made that suggestion, and I think I have come back around to the idea. I don't think I want to do a tip every day, that might get a bit boring to read, but I think one every couple of days might not be a bad way to go. So I thought that today I might make a start, tip number 1
So 1% number one is a big one, in fact it is so big that I think it should probably count for 10%, but some might see that as cheating. Tip number 1 is GET A COACH.
Why is is this tip so important?
Well, the benefit that a coach brings depends a bit on whereabouts in your triathlon journey you are, however, the benefit they bring is always huge. Certainly at the start the biggest benefit of a coach is the knowledge they bring. If you are new to triathlon, the most effective way to learn about the sport is for somebody to teach it to you. Without the coach you are reduced to learning from the Internet and trial and error, and even then after doing that you have no guarantee that what you are doing is the best way of doing it. However, a good coach can save you all that time and effort and just point you in the right direction straight away. This knowledge can be beneficial in countless areas. It can be telling you how to train to make the most effective use of your time, it can telling you how to do a transition, it can be helping you choose a bike and fit it properly, the list goes on and on.
As you progress further in triathlon that knowledge is still invaluable, but adding to it is the critical review that a coach can bring. A good coach can help you swim faster, run more efficiently, ride more aerodynamically etc. A coach brings with them that extra set of eyes to give you a different perspective on what you are doing. As an example, do you think you could critique your own swim technique from the pool? If you say no then you aren't alone, it is very hard to do, I know I can't, however, a coach standing on the pool deck can. that is the value a coach can bring. Combine their different perspective with their knowledge and you have somebody who can look at what you are doing and help you improve it. Hugely valuable.
Yet another benefit is that a coach will give you a training program. There is something delightfully simple about somebody giving you a training program. For some people it isn't a big deal, but for me I needed that program. By the time I finished racing I had enough knowledge to know what I needed to do to race an Ironman, however, I still preferred somebody else to give that program to me. Tell me what to do and when to do it, I will take care of the doing. I had faith in the person coaching me and so I just had to do what they said, no guesswork, no doubt, just do what this person tells me. Simple.
Really the list of benefits that a good coach can bring goes on and on. They can help you plan a race season, they can help you plan a race, they can advise you on nutrition, they can help with equipment selections, they can tell you when to rest and when to push on... You get the idea, they can help a lot.
All the above reasons and more are why getting a coach (a good one) is why this is 1%er number 1.
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