Friel Joe - Triathlon Science

Joe Friel

Jim Vance

Editors

Human Kinetics

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Triathlon science / Joe Friel, Jim Vance, editors.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Triathlon. 2. Sports sciences. I. Friel, Joe. II. Vance, Jim.

GV1060.73.T77 2013

796.42'57--dc23

2012036423

ISBN-10: 1-4504-2380-9 (print)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-2380-9 (print)

Copyright 2013 by Human Kinetics, Inc.

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This publication is written and published to provide accurate and authoritative information relevant to the subject matter presented. It is published and sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, medical, or other professional services by reason of their authorship or publication of this work. If medical or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

The web addresses cited in this text were current as of December 2012, unless otherwise noted.

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E5643

The Tri-Knowledge Advantage

Joe Friel, MSc

Whether you are a triathlete, coach, sport scientist, or student of the sport, if you are passionate about the science of triathlon, you are in for a treat. Human Kinetics, Jim Vance, and I have brought together some of the most knowledgeable people in the many fields related to sport science to contribute to this book. Here you will find the scientific underpinnings of a wide range of triathlon topics from physiology, gender, and genetics to biomechanics, training methods, and psychologyand more. The book is a treasure trove of information that will help you understand what it takes to succeed in this complex sport.

No project like this has ever been done for triathlon. I promise that you will learn a lot. I know I did, having read each of the chapters before publication. And Ive been around the sport for a long time.

I came to triathlon in 1983 when I did my first race in Longmont, Colorado, a race just short of what we now call the Olympic distance. It was a pool swim. After many years of only running before trying this new sport, my stroke mechanics were pathetic. In those days we didnt believe that technique was important. It was all about building fitness in the pool with endless intervals. The bike I rode was decent for the early 1980sa Fuji road bike that probably weighed 25 pounds (11 kg). In those days there was no such thing as a triathlon bike. It would be 6 more years until the first of those appeared in bike shops. I came from a running background, but my ego was deflated on that race day by how slowly I ran after an hour of pushing my limits on the bike. Of course, power meters, GPS devices, and accelerometers were unheard of. I would get my first heart rate monitor later that summer. Racing back then was only about going as hard as you could for as long as you could.

In those early days we had no reason to think that triathlon would be anything other than a fun way for swimmers, cyclists, and runners to compete with each other. We never dreamed that it would one day become the fastest growing sport in the world or that in less than 20 years it would be an event in the Olympic Games. Triathlon was just something we all did as a break from our real sports.

In the 1970s I had gone back to school to work on a masters degree in exercise science, in part so I could become a better runner. I had high aspirations as an athlete and had always been curious about how to train to run faster. I figured the answers to all my training questions could be found within those ivy-covered walls. After 3 years of study I came away with few answers, but with much better questions. And along the way I learned of the role of research in seeking answers to such questions. Ever since then I have been a student of the science of training for sport. To this day I read research studies the way most people read novelsjust for fun. So when I was asked to be a part of this book project, I jumped at the opportunity.

I knew I would need help with such a huge project, so I asked Jim Vance to come onboard to assist. Jim has been a coaching associate with me for 4 years. He also comes from a running background, having competed in track and field at the University of Nebraska. After graduation, he took up mountain bike racing, which eventually led him to triathlon. He soon turned pro and moved up to the Ironman distance. Jim was a public school teacher before becoming a coach, so he understands how to help athletes become more fit and faster by learning as well as doing. I was Jims coach before he retired from professional racing to become a full-time coach. So I knew that we could work well together on this book.

We started on the project in the spring of 2011 by deciding what should be included, and we then made a list of people we would like to have onboard as contributors. The list was impressiveand we got them all. They each fall into one of three categories: academics with advanced degrees, coaches with high levels of certification and unparalleled experience, and medical practitioners known for their treatment of endurance athletes. Several of the contributors fit in two of these categories. All are athletes, and many have competed or continue to compete at remarkably high levels given their busy lives. They come from five countriesAustralia, France, Russia, South Africa, and the United Stateson four continents. You can read brief biographies about each of them in the About the Contributors section. Their accomplishments are remarkable. In the sport of triathlon, never has such a high-powered group with so much cutting-edge information been brought together with a single mission: to help you understand better what it takes to excel as a triathlete.