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Wednesday, 27 March 2013 01:10

Training Partners by Luis Vargas

If you ever wondered why is it that you can keep up with certain training partners in training but they always finish ahead of you in a race then read on. I will offer a possible explanation.

When I joined the sport I was just like any new athlete to the sport. I became friends with triathletes who apparently had been around the block and knew what to do. I was always asking questions and joined them in their training sessions. I figured if it does not kill me it will make me stronger. This strategy worked for a while. I was determined and I felt like I had talent.

My body was very good at assimilating training and improving, it did over my many years of swimming and of high school running. This strategy worked to get me to the finish line of my first triathlon the Bud Light USTS Houston 1986 but my big improvements came once I moved and luckily I found some great training partners that I was more compatible with. By the...

way, Dave Scott won my infamous first Olympic distance race. Dave gapped the competition in the 2-mile swim never to be seen again. The swim buoys drifted overnight and no one noticed until after Dave completed the swim in 45 minutes. First time the swim took longer than the run I am sure. This was great for me given my swimming background.