Analysis of statistics and performance

One of the things which has amazed me in triathlon since 83-84 when I first became involved, is the gadgetry which is available now.

It’s no secret that the average triathlete is a reasonably successful person in their chosen career. There is more disposable income in the pockets of most triathletes to spend on gadgets than the average Aussie battler has to spend on beer and ciggies.

I find it amazing that athletes are out there training with three satelites tracking them and a gadget on their wrist telling them what speed they’re travelling, what the temperature is, their elevation and exact location on the planet. Not only that, they’re measuring their heart rate, average heart rate, max heart rate, distance travelled, stride length, average speed and max speed reached.

The suprising fact is that when they race, none of that bullshit matters at all. How they feel inside has far more impact on their performance than anything else.

Confidence, the ability to focus intently, staying calm under changing conditions and self belief are the qualities which are much more likely to detirmine the outcome on race day. But there is no gadget invented which can measure these things.

Without the qualities listed above, it doesn’t matter what elevation you’ve gained, what your average speed was or exactly where you are on the planet. The fact is without these qualities, you’re ****ed.

So when I ask my athletes for feedback, I want 30% of the feedback to be about physical performance and 70% to be about how you feel, or felt during the workout.

I want to know what’s going on inside your heart and your head. The fact that you think about these things and report them to me, encourages you to self examine. I want to know, but most of all I want you to know how you’re feeling.

What we’ll learn from this is, how to “turn ourselves on” for races. We’ll learn what situations to avoid before races. We’ll learn how to over rule detrimental thought processes, replacing an undermining influence with a motivating one.

Most of all we’ll learn more about ourselves as people and athletes.

Understanding the animal we’re working with will enable us to tap into the reserves, which sports science just can’t measure.