Comfort zone

A good bit of training today on the last day of my recovery week.

For training today I deliberately put myself a little outside my comfort zone. As I mentioned yesterday my plan for the next 22 weeks leading into the National Championships is to get as fit as I can (well duh), but also to work on my skills as much as possible, which is where the comfort zone comes in.

In all the sports I have been involved in I find there are numerous ways to improve form and technique, drills, practice, analysis by a third party, just through day to day training etc. All of these things work to help you improve. However, sometimes there is no substitute for just getting out and doing a thing.

In the triathlon world the best example of this that I can think of is open water swimming. You can do heaps of work in the pool, tonnes of laps, loads of technique work, open water skills, even swimming in groups in the pool, but you won't truly get the feel for swimming in open water until you get out and do it. There is no better way to feel what it is like to swim in moving water, have to sight etc than actually getting in the open water. For many people swimming in open water is well outside their comfort zone, but it is one of those areas that if people can push themselves out of that zone then they will be significantly better off in the long run.

There are numerous other examples in triathlon where doing something that might be a bit uncomfortable or unfamiliar at first will provide benefit in the long run. Spending time in your wetsuit before race day, riding on your race wheels leading into an event (even if it is a bit windy). Making sure you spend time on your TT bike every week. The list goes on. Generally, increasing your skills such that you are familiar and comfortable with the conditions and equipment that you are likely to experience on race day is never a bad idea.