You must learn from the best and learn to apply that knowledge and skillset you gain from other professionals in order to truly make gains in this sport.
History and experience drive knowledge and desire to grow
Over the past 20 years, I’ve been blessed to work with many great athletes, take part (and podium) in many different events, and now act as a Triathlon Coach, Builder, and Dad.
Starting over 20 years ago, I began my journey as being first in my age group at my first ITU World Championship in Perth – where I finished 6th in the standard distance (swim 1500m / bike 40k / run 10km). From this point, I had the opportunity to participate in many other events and podiums. From 2002 – 2012, I completed and podiumed in a handful of professional 70.3 Elite races – including, Auckland 70.3, St Croix 70.3, and over half a dozen ITU Oceania and Asian Cup podiums – with 2 respective wins and numerous top ten u23 Elite world championship results. During this time, I cracked the magical top 10 ITU WCS multiple times.
In 2013 I pulled the pin on Elite Racing. I figured in order to grow further in this sport, you must change your mindset and be like a knowledge sponge first and foremost – by learning from the best, and most importantly applying what you learn from other professionals to truly make large gains in this sport.
Surrounding yourself with the best to gain and build your knowledge
During my 20+ years in Triathlon, I’ve had the privilege of working with some incredible people over the past several years. Over the past several years the knowledge I learned and applied from these people has truly empowered me with the knowledge and skills I have today. Below are just some examples of the incredible people I have met over the past several years:
Name:Yannick Borseaux
Multiple Paralympic and world champion in ITU AWAD World Championships. After a horrible crash in Alpe Duhuez decent that left his right arm 70% paralyzed he went from a French Pro Triathlete to multiple Olympic Gold medallist, world champion, and Paralympian conquerer, the heart of a lion! He also housed me while in Europe.
Name: Daniel Hofer
Fellow teammate with me at Mulhouse racing French GP, multiple Italian National elite triathlon champion, qualified Camaderie Italian Police officer, amazing gentleman, and a pleasure to share 2 seasons of racing French GP with this man at Mulhouse
Name: James Elvery
James Elvery entrepreneur, fellow elite and multiple French GP and Bundesliga top 10 athlete, school lads from AGS Grammar school, and now owner and brain behind Race Ranger.
Time management and balance are key in Triathlon
Triathlon is a constant roll of the dice and/or balancing game. If you are like me – working full-time, have kids, a wife and/or Partner, and outside commitments – there are many things you need to juggle. These things are juggled and need to be managed weekly, daily, and hourly sometimes to give you a better balance in this sport we love and call triathlon.
Triathlon knowledge is something that can be applied to everyday routines and life. While participating in this sport, I’ve traveled to over 25 different countries, had five internationally recognized coaches, worked with mentors from around the world, and embedded myself in France – where I raced in the French Grand Prix. These experiences helped me to gain a skillset, routine, and knowledge that I believe in and have applied to myself and the athletes I coach. I’ve learned that Triathlon knowledge and experience can’t be downloaded on chat GPT, Google, Instagram, or YouTube. To get good at this sport you have to get really good at daily routines and prioritization since you will be juggling multiple sports while making sure you have proper life and sleep balance. This is when you will start getting really good at Triathlon!
Application of knowledge – embracing and doing…
This sport is incredibly addictive – the endorphins you get, the highs you experience, and the people/community you meet are incredible. But there are lows or difficulties, and they aren’t always easy to deal with… a bad race, technical issues, sickness, job loss, and/or financial hardships to afford the basics, being fed well daily, getting 8 hours of sleep, affording a coach, and the list goes on.
If I can leave you with one thing from this post it is to gain knowledge or seek time with those who have been there before. There are many different ways to go about learning the sport (trust me I know), and I’m so thankful I did this sport my way and surrounded myself with knowledge and experience. Because of these practices, I have become more effective and authentic for my athletes, qualified from Max Fitness College, and have been able to apply this knowledge to build a coaching program that applies these globally learned practices to support my athletes in growing and becoming successful triathletes.
Surrounding yourself with others better than yourself may be hard – but it’s a MINDSET! This is something I’ve learned after spending time in Training Centers in Germany, France, the USA, England, Asia, and Australia. It may not be for everyone, but it will stretch you to a new level in your own personal ability and is something I will continue to preach as a coach.
Those who have the humility to fail and be vulnerable are those who will always find a stronger self and grow. As an example, blowing up in a 3-hour ride because you haven’t ridden past 2 hours all winter is growth, pushing into your first 1.5-hour run and having your legs feel like jelly the next 2 days is growth, needing a nap because you just realized you can swim 4k in one swim session is growth – in each of these examples you are not afraid of pushing outside your comfort zone. This resulted in growth in the mind, body, and soul.
Success doesn’t teach you anything, failure does. Making mistakes and learning from those mistakes is the fastest and easiest way to get better.
In closing…
While as a builder, Dad, coach, and part-time athlete, I still welcome competition as an age-grouper triathlete. I still have big goals to win national championships as an age grouper today and also go on to world championships. How will I do this? By simply practicing what I preach and leading from the front as well as the back – especially as I’m coaching half-ironman and ironman athletes to be better. Additionally, continuing to learn from others and applying those learnings on a continual basis.
This sport has so many variables to gain knowledge, make sure its source is authentic, has credibility, and limits your circle of influence to 5 people max that matters in your world to truly grow, learn, and be better in this sport.
So next time you take on some advice from anyone in this sport ask yourself why should I listen to this person?
- What have they done in their life to make their opinions valid?
- Why are they sharing this information with me? If it is genuine and validated with authenticity 9 times out of 10 it’s worth listening to.
- Is it critical? Are they really helping me? Or is it just a Facebook or Instagram comment that lacks any substance, it’s probably best to be deleted, shelved, and an opportunity to refocus and apply newfound knowledge of your weaknesses.
It’s one thing to observe and obtain knowledge, it’s another thing to apply it and make it a habit daily that helps you be better, healthier, fitter, and stronger for life. Find your strength with the right influence, apply it well, and start establishing routines and habits for growth. Remember it’s these habits and approaches that will leave a legacy to your friends and family for the future.
Train hard – Clark