It's a dance

You don't expect triathlon to be considered a choreography or a dance. Sometimes you will see the absurdity of gigantic NFL lineman being led through an aerobics class by some small, well trained instructor and the juxtaposition of the her well rehearsed moves verses the unwieldy, clumsy excuses put forth by football player make a funny visual.

When it comes right down to it, we triathletes have a similar choreography. The gracefulness of good swimmer. The body may be 85% underwater with just heels, side of the face and of course the arms being seen, but there is no mistaking someone who is so damn good at it. When watched they move so fast in the water and yet it looks as if their arms move in slow motion out of the water.

Cycling has its own choreography. A cyclist who has a near perfect pedal stroke does not look considerably different than someone who just learned how to ride. The power of a good cyclist is the obvious indicator. However the speed of the rotation, the angle of the body, the lack of sway, all work in concert for smooth movement through the environment. While I personally don't enjoy being passed by anyone on the bike, the parallax of the disc wheel humming past me is like a symphony. Who says music isn't allowed on the bike course?

Running is not so much a choreography. Let's be honest about that. Running is completely different than cycling and swimming. Running in a triathlon is more about the capacity for enduring infinite pains than anything else. You can see a swimmer or cyclist and even at the fastest, break neck speed you can say, boy are they smooth and smooth equals fast. When you watch the best in the world run a marathon or a 5k, their is a this incredibly frenetic movement that blurs the precision of movement with kinetic energy. When brought down to the level of the average age grouper, we seldom feel we run with perfect movements; we lead with the heel, run too far bent over or too upright, gasping for air or wondering where the speed is.

The ballet of T1 and T2 can make or break even the best race.

There is no doubt that in every sport there are routes to be run, plays to be executed. Triathlon though a solitary sport although incorporating three different events is the same. I think to an affirmation I use quite a bit, "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." Next time you watch the best of the best do what you love to watch don't forget to appreciate the choreography of their movements and not just the score or the time.