Triathlon tool box

Triathlon is a complicated sport. Not just do you need to master the performance in the three legs - swimming, riding and running - but there's a myriad of equipment you need just to participate, not to mention the planning and coordination to complete training, let alone the logistics of getting everything to a race!!! Who ever said life is simple??

Anyway, once you've got the basic pieces together - swim, bike and run gear - there's a number of other things that I rate as valuable and important to include in your triathlon tool box, that can help both your enjoyment and thus performance in the sport. Here's my top-5 things to include (in no particular order):

1. Power meter
I consider a bike power meter - and running speed/distance device - as the most valuable training and racing tools around. The things you can learn about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, power profile and more is worth its weight in gold. Then, the way you can use a power meter for training and racing, and maximising your performance is endless. There's a truism that says you can't manage what you can't measure, and a power meter and GPS running device are the ideal measurement devices to provide valuable information to boost how you manage your training and racing. The key thing is, though, to use them as a tool and not be a tool using them!!

2. Recovery strategy
This is not so much an item as a commitment to doing the little things that make a difference to your overall performance. Recovery is everything you do between finishing one session and starting the next one, and rates equally as important as the training itself. You can never over train, only under recover.

Recovery strategy includes the products you use, from self-massage tools, ice baths, nutrition, to complementary activities you perform like sleep, stretching, relaxation, and so on. The better you execute your recovery strategy...the more productive your training will be...and the more improvement you'll achieve.

3. Sunscreen
This one is simple. Australia has a very high rate of skin cancer, and in every bunch of triathletes you'll see all range of sun tan lines on arms, legs and back. Sunburn is dangerous, unhealthy, hurts and is a performance inhibitor. But it is also a preventible performance inhibitor. There's a range of good products to help athletes cover up, eg, summer arm sleeves, not to mention great sunscreens that last. But they don't last forever so make sure you pack sunscreen every day.

4. Efficiency
This tool box item is a skill that is not just limited to triathlons in that the athlete with greatest level of efficiency will get the most return for the effort they put in - the most 'productive' athlete. Think of a race being made up of as many efficient minutes as it takes to complete it, which takes into account both your equipment and your level of physical preparation...and your tactics in combining both of these to maximum effect. Efficiency is developed and practiced during training, from being streamlined in swimming, aerodynamic while riding, and efficient when running, and should become a lasting skill you practice al the time.

5. Passion
Last but certainly not least is an essential attitude you simply must have in order to experience – and achieve – the most from your sport. Passion. Have a passion for training, for knowing your body, for pushing yourself, for learning about performance, for racing, for the people, for being fit, for being outdoors, for your body, for being part of the sport. Immerse yourself and have passion and you’ll never grow tired of it all.

5b. Perspective
A supplementary tool box addition is a healthy perspective about your involvement and participation in sport. Keep it in perspective and keep it real.