10 years of Triathlon and some tips

10 years ago, I started my way in a sport and three disciplines, each path is unique, none better or worse, what matters and what makes it special is that it is yours.

The triathlon was a breakthrough in my life, it came to stay because it has given me wonderful moments and others full of frustration, and all those moments have become experiences in which I have learned something and would not change anything and the best thing of all has been that thanks to triathlon I have met many people and I have made excellent friends, friends who share the same passion and who add me every day.

Throughout these 10 years and with 40 triathlons I have spent a little bit, but one that marked me was in 2019 when I had my first DNF (Did not finished) because of a heat stroke, that day I was looking for my qualification to the World Triathlon in Laussane, but I woke up in an ambulance and the next few days I considered quitting triathlon, thanks to this moment I questioned why I do it? And the answer was because I am passionate and that goes beyond a bad result, once I had that change of mentality the podiums began to arrive and the world championships also.

Another difficult time was that a month before my first world duathlon I fell off my bike and as a result, I had multiple injuries on my face, knee and shoulder and I had to change the training so that last month was only indoor because I still had scabs and wounds that I could not expose to the sun, I thought I wasn’t going to be 100% recovered for the World Cup so, just having gone and the fact that my body had responded made me feel full of pride and satisfaction.

Probably the competition and the trip that I remember with more joy is my first World Triathlon in Montreal, from the excitement of being in another country in the parade of nations representing Mexico with other age group athletes, It just makes your skin itch and then living the competition with athletes of all nationalities, my dad bumping into me and my mom screaming my name is something that just remembering it makes me smile.

All these experiences have taught me that time and process are personal. The time it takes you to reach your goal, is different for everyone and is not comparable; knowing how to enjoy the process is key to succeed in this sport, for example, it took me 5 years to win my first podium and 6 years to qualify for a world, there are people who take less and there are some that take more, again every journey is different, the worst enemy of an athlete is comparison, believe in your own process.

What you are about to read is my experience, it is the sum of moments that I have lived and that I would like to share with you, these are things that I would have liked to know when I started in triathlon and that probably would have made my journey easier.

First of all, Triathlon seems that there are 3 sports together when in fact there are 7 disciplines that compose it and that from my perspective all have the same importance:

1. Swimming

2. Cycling

3. Running

4. Transition (T1 and T2)

5. Strength training, physical therapy and stretching.

6. Nutrition

7. REST (sometimes the hardest to understand)

1. Swimming

Swimming is perhaps the most technical sport if you compare it with running and cycling, the Age Group athletes, come late to swimming and that causes a disadvantage. Why? this is because swimming is a combination of a lot of technique as much cardiovascular capacity. Besides that, it is a discipline that does not develop equal to different ages, for the muscles that you must develop from small, but relax triathlete you should not be the best in a discipline, you must be good in three to be an excellent triathlete. Look for structured workouts that combine technique with endurance, plus consistency is key. Swimming is the most jealous sport, do not stop practicing it as it is not built in a day.

2. Cycling

Safety first, always wear a helmet, glasses and gloves and avoid rolling alone and without a car to take care of you.

Having strength and know how to ride is not the same, if you go out to ride in a group takes care of you and others, do not make reckless movements that compromise your safety and that of others, it is your responsibility to know the bicycle signage, ride safe, avoid accidents.

If you are going to draft, keep at least 30 cm away, you do not need to go completely glued and much less that your front tire is on the back side of the front, avoid tires, fall and pull the back.

The art of a good drafting is to know a bit of aerodynamics: the cyclist who goes forward is the one who makes 100% effort, the second 70%, the third 65% and from the fourth onwards only 60%, That is why it is easier to go back and sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that if you pass ahead you could go faster, but remember that if you come back you are doing 40% less effort, value your level well before moving forward and break the rhythm of the group.

Learn a little mechanics of your bike in case you lose the chain know how to put it or if you puncture a tire know change it.

3. Running

Personally running was what has cost me the most, running is not natural as many people say, I started running a 5km in competition with an average speed of 6:30 min/km and I was frustrated to feel that I did not move and see how the rest of competitors passed me off, That’s why I rarely skip a running session, I can skip a swimming or a cycling session, but never a running session.

Some things that have helped me to be faster running have been alternating between speed sessions, fartlek, long distance sessions and definitely modifying my running technique.

One thing I would certainly have liked to know is that you also run with your arms, back and abdomen so a strong core will make you faster.

4. Transitions

Practice your T1 and your T2 because doing them badly can add many minutes and also at first the body is not used to the sensations of going from swimming to the bike and then from the bike to run so the first times at least is uncomfortable.

5. Strength training, physical therapy and stretching.

Strength training is essential if you want to improve and especially if you plan to practice this sport in the long term, the only way to make it sustainable is with strength because it also helps you avoid injuries.

Try to do frequently muscle discharge sessions with a physical therapist since it helps a lot to recovery.

Try stretching once a week, it gives a lot of slack, but helps to avoid injuries.

6. Nutrition

Nutrition is essential. Consulting a nutritionist can be the difference between success and failure. High levels of demand require high levels of nutrients and energy in perfect balance; to not abuse glucose and we do not lack carbohydrates and proteins.

Supplementation aids the diet, but again go with an expert.

7. Rest:

Rest helps muscle recovery, according to my traumatologist muscle regeneration is given between 6 and 8 hours of sleep so if you sleep less than that the body is not reached to recover and such as you will look as zombie.

Some tips for competition day:

The week before the competition, hydrate yourself super well.

Take care of your diet and do not go too far with carbohydrates, it is best to follow a diet with a nutritionist, but in case you do not, do not overdo carbs intake because it can create havoc, or you can feel very heavy.

Don’t try anything new on competition day (that’s what training is for).

Take your time to prepare strategically your transition zone, there is no rule, just think about accommodating your equipment so that you can put it quickly, but that does place very well your bike with visual references, so you do not waste time.

How to follow the evolution of your performance:

Having a good coach is key and being in constant communication too, let him know your goals, your doubts, your feelings and also listen and LISTEN.

Follow the workouts, it is better to run an efficient workout than a messy one or one day you want to complete what you did not do the previous two days.

Triathlon is an individual sport that is trained as a team, but here there are many loners who enjoy it, but it has worked for me a lot to train as a team because you share with someone else.

The sooner you give up your ego and accept the point at which you stand in that omen to, the sooner you will see critical eyes and goals and be in a position to learn and improve.

As it is an endurance sport it is super important to have a very good aerobic base.

Choose your skills strategically, for example, we all suffer doing a 70.3 (1.5 km swimming + 90 km cycling and 21 km running), but it is not the same stressing the body 4 hours than 7, go step by step, I do not say that you do not do half or long distance, but if you’re starting out you could start with shorter goals like a sprint or if you still decide to go for a 70.3, train it very well so that you enjoy the process and don’t end up hating the triathlon or worse, hurting yourself.

As an engineer I love metrics and technology, but I’m afraid to tell you that the best gadget is your body, not Garmin and not Strava, your body, listen to it, after my last injury I learned that it is better to stop a week to keep forcing the machine and stop almost a month.

Don’t spend on the most expensive watch if you don’t know how to interpret all the metrics, choose a watch that meets your needs and that you take advantage of, for example, I started with a super simple watch that only averages the rhythm of the three disciplines, but that was enough at the time.

It is not necessary to buy the whole first year, triathlon is a super expensive sport, go slowly and first see if you like and if you plan to do it in the long term, remember to prioritize in this order: Urgent, important, desirable, for example: urgent: helmet, important: jersey and desirable: a simulator for your bike.

You have to have a balance because not everything is training, party is worth, but if you wake up or you passed alcohol has no case that you train the next day, it is not useful and if it hurts enough because your heart beats will be full, Take it easy and get well.

The result of a competition does not necessarily reflect your effort, there are more competitors and they also prepared and remember that sometimes there is also a little luck, sometimes the result is given and sometimes not, but there will be more competitions so you can see it as the promise of revenge against yourself.

To conclude I will say that I am happy of my path and of being able to do day by day what I am passionate about surrounded by my family and friends.