Timing

I think of a lot of things while swim/bike/running, a lot of it is fluff or filler but sometimes I get on a good thread....like the one i've recently been brewing.

Timing.

Timing has to be the single most important thing in Triathlon at any level. From the moment you wake up till you hit the sheets, timing plays a significant role in the day/week/month/years of a triathlete. Workout spacing, workout type and pace, nutrition, recovery, therapy, away time, misc., are all aspects of an athletes program that need proper alignment to be timed well. Some of us have battled it, some have got a knack for it.

Particulary i've been thinking about the timing of an ITU race season, although there are so many other topics, this one intrigues me most. The WCS season is a long one (April-October), and the moment they made it a 'series', timing became that much more important.

The length of the year and heightened level of competition has made it very tough to race consistently well. The southern hemisphere athletes are often fitter than northern in the spring, but the tables can swap come August/September. How do you time the season so that you have at least 4 strong WCS results + a solid Grand Finale?

I think we could agree that we saw a lot of athletes do quite well in April to June and then entered a rough patch through the heart of summer. Others progressively got stronger as the year went on, and others seemed to maintain a consistently average level throughout. Clearly some different timing involved here?

Timing will be even more important come the Olympic year in 2012. A lot of athletes will still be chasing points to qualify yet need to have a full tank for August. It would be very interesting to see how the year is laid out for the qualified vs. chasing qualification athletes and their respective performances come the big dance in Hyde Park.

Time will tell...