I was reading an article a friend had published in the New York Times titled “Why Amateur Ironmen Pay For Elite Treatment.” This particular article looks at how many amateur triathletes are paying top dollar for equipment, training, training, and racing. The article is about a person who qualified for the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. He paid for his trainer to attend with him along with other members of his entourage. The coach even stated that it was not necessary for him to go, but the triathlete wanted him to be there. He paid a lot of money for this level of treatment. He has a disposable income to do it. While I’m always looking for a way to upgrade my training or equipment, I have to do it on a budget.
Rocky IV is one of my favorite movies. In this movie it’s USA vs Russia. It’s Rocky Balboa against Iván Drago. It is Rocky’s manual labor and resistance against the mechanized humanoid in Drago. In his training for the boxing match in the movie, there is a montage (not all Rocky have a montage) of him training. You see Drago with all the training, fancy machines, high-tech metrics, detailed training, and of course, steroids. Rocky just uses the same old good hard work. He works out in a barn, runs in Russian snow, lifts big logs and is drug free. The training Drago receives is world class and Rocky doesn’t really have a trainer after the death of Micky and Apollo Creed. This all culminates when Rocky beats Drago in Russia and the Russian crowd chants “Rocky, Rocky, Rocky”. Of course, there’s the obligatory “Adrian!” from Rocky himself.
While I’m not training to fight any Russian characters, I feel a bit disadvantaged in some ways because I don’t have the financial backing to buy training or the most expensive equipment. However, I am here to tell anyone in triathlon that you can do it on your own on a lower budget than most and still be competitive.
I want to detail a few areas about training with a Rocky vs Drago mentality:
Training:
I have been researching triathlon training, which is very popular. I have no doubt that I could achieve more of my goals faster with a hands-on coach. I would love to have a trainer, but I can’t justify the $50-$200 per month for a trainer. I have children to dress, mouths to feed, and other expenses to cover on a limited budget. I could certainly fit this kind of cost into my budget, but I would have to tell my kids that they can’t do something and that’s not fair. I find there is a great deal of FREE training if you are willing to do the research. There are YouTube videos of proper form to swim, bike, and run. There are many nutrition blogs and articles to help you understand your nutritional needs. There are many free or low-cost Training Plans, you just have to search for them on the Internet. Finally, there are tons of books on different ways to train. The main thing I would caution against is trying to mix too many things together. Focus on a particular way of training and eating and stick with it. There are some basic concepts that you should know if you are going to be self-taught:
- Track your metrics in each of the disciplines. Don’t go crazy, but you need rhythm levels for each discipline.
- Track your eating habits. You need to keep track of calories and what you’re eating to maximize your efforts.
- Follow a good training plan. Don’t just do triathlon “any way”, but have a plan.
- Find a group of other triathletes to help you determine if you’re on the right track.
- If something doesn’t work, be willing to fix it and be willing to find a way to fix it. This applies to nutrition or any training method.
- You must educate yourself in the appropriate way for each of the disciplines. If you are not willing to modify your form, you will always have problems.
- You must be self-motivated. It goes without saying that if you can’t do this on your own and you need a coach to motivate you, you will have a hard time if you want to be self-taught.
Equipment:
The age old question in triathlon is “what aerodynamics can I get?” Many triathletes spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on equipment they don’t need or equipment that won’t actually make them faster. If you drop 5lbs you will increase your speed on the bike and run exponentially more than a new $1200 set of aero wheels. Certainly aero wheels look great and I would love to have my own but I am being patient since I bought a $250 pair of wheels a couple years ago that have good bearings (considering switching to ceramic). They also gave me a new aero helmet that really helps with the wind and it was about $125. I try to find deals like the one on my wetsuit last year when Xterra was clearing out their wetsuits and I got one right at $100. Sure, I could try to buy the $300 wetsuit, but I want to eat more than cereal for dinner. I also learned how to build a bike, tune my bike and maintain the bike by watching YouTube videos and reading some articles online. I have found that I can save in these areas by keeping my own equipment and having a smooth ride. I also bought a pair of $15 ceramic bearing rear derailleur pulleys. I’m telling you this helped a lot with my old worn out pulleys. Just before my Ironman race last year I had the chain replaced which also helped. I built my bike from the frame. I bought the frame and aero bars and learned how to put them on the bike. The scariest part was cutting the head tube, but I got over that experience. By doing this part of the bike setup, I saved $300-$500 on the bike. I certainly could try to save for the $3000-$5000 bike, but then again, my kids need to go to college someday!
Drugs:
I know that in the sport of amateur triathlon everyone is here to have a good time and have fun, right? Well, there are some people in the field who are probably taking steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. There is no standardized drug testing program for amateur athletes, so no doubt some people are trying to get around it. I have read about individuals, even amateurs, who have tested positive for various drugs. Some of the uses are for actual medical reasons, but others are for purely competitive reasons. I choose to be a clean athlete and not take these types of supplements and drugs. I would hate to have anything linked to my name that relates to drugs or illegal substances.
With all of this being said, you don’t have to spend a fortune (of which I don’t have) to not only enjoy and compete in triathlon, but also to be competitive. May all “Rocky” triathletes unite and cheer each other on. I may find out one day that better training and better equipment did make a difference, but for now I’ll just keep going and push myself to reach greater heights in triathlon.