This is the time of year when you can read quite a few articles on what I triathletes should be doing in the off-season. The articles correctly bring out how this is a time for rest and then to begin preparation for the new season. There are many recommendations given on how this should be done.
For example one of the most frequently seen recommendations is to work on your weaknesses. This is a good but very general recommendation. On the surface it sounds great but what does it really mean?
In your examination for weaknesses, if your weak sport is swimming then it is recommended that you spend two-three extra weeks working on swimming. However, what the weakness is, how it can be determined or what you should be working on, is not spelled out. This is left up to you.
Understand that this is an ability that most athletes do not have because you are not trained to identify weaknesses or corrections Because of this you are usually unable to fix the weakness if there really is a weakness, in technique or your physical abilities or both. In regard to physical abilities, this applies most often to specific actions that combine technique with the physical ability.
Of the three events in the triathlon, there are many articles that deal with technique training in swimming and on the bike. In regard to the latter the articles usually revolve around adjustments on the bike, new equipment, positioning on the bike etc. We do not see articles dealing with training the muscles to do the work that is necessary to improve pedaling technique.
In addition, we rarely see the results of such recommendations if the triathlete makes adjustments in his technique on the bike as for example, how much time did he gain in the race?
In regard to running, it appears that this event is taken for granted as there are very few articles that deal with running technique or specific training for running. Those that do appear are very general in nature.
The time has come for more specificity. We must have specific recommendations and specific solutions if we are to see progress in the development of triathletes (and other athletes). In addition, it is necessary to know the level of athlete since the training for high and low level athletes should be different and follow a different periodization scheme.
For more information on training and improvement of technique and the physical abilities see Build a Better Athlete