While I do not believe injuries are an inevitable part of participating in triathlon they are certainly common. Running is the discipline most often associated with injury but injuries do occur across all three disciplines. One of the biggest risk factors for developing an injury is having had an injury in the past. The reason I bring this up is because as coaches it is important you talk to us about a previous injury or an existing injury if you have any concerns about your participating in a session.
I do not routinely ask the entire group if they have any injury concerns prior to a session. The reason I don’t do this is two fold. One, some people may not feel comfortable acknowledging that they have an injury in front of the group. Two, it is not practical to discretely ask every single person as an individual if they have an injury concern before we start.
My expectation is that if you have an injury concern you will approach me or Karl prior to a session starting or during the session should you feel any discomfort develop during it. That way you can be as discrete or open about it as you like and we are kept informed and can advise you accordingly. You can of course approach any of our coaches but Karl and I have specific training in this area. Ultimately whether you participate in a session or not or whether you stop participating part way through a session due to injury or not is up to you. Our role is to help you make that decision not make it for you. You are the one that knows your body best after all!
It is a little bit technical but if you are interested in reading about triathlon related injuries take a look here.
This week we will be looking at breath timing. The most common observation from the poolside with regard to breath timing is the tendency for people to breathe two late in the stroke cycle. This often results in a quick flick of the head after the body has started rotating. You might also try to lift your head to create more time for the breath in. Check out the blog from Swim Smooth here for some great pics to help explain what ideal timing should look like.
See you Sunday. Pool buoys and fins are a must for this session. See ya, Tim (LFTC Coach).