What's the deal with Chrissie?

[brucew01]

Seriously, what's different about her?
Does she train more than the rest of the girls? Is it "genetics"? Is it her time mountain biking in Nepal?
Or is it not really her but the rest of the girls that self "box" themselves to a time range? Sort of like: "Ok, I'm a woman, and to be a top iron distance athlete I should finish between 8:50 and 9:30 depending of the course". And the result is that they train for that; and that's what they get.
Or is it all of the above?

[EspenW]

Very interesting. Guess doc will give a good insight on this.

The "world record" set by PNF, that Chrissie crushed last, year was set in 1992 remember. So it is about time we got some development among the girls. And comparing here swim, bike, run times with whats done in those 3 single sports it absolutely doable.

Will be interesting to see when we get the same leap among the men. With more and more ITU boys coming over to IM its bound to happen soon.

And guess Craig Alexander will have his work cut out for him in Kona, with 2xRaelert and Henning brathing down his neck...?

[Matthieu O’Halloran - "M@"]

Hey we talked about her this morning before our swim.

Its super cliche to look for awnsers physicaly/geneticaly with Chrissy...

Mentaly she's super focus when training/racing, you could throw rocks at her head, and not even get a response! More independent than the average woman (she travel across afrika in her early 20's) more adventurus and fearless than the majority of men.

And most importantly, she doesn't get caught up in the technical and materialistcal pit thats a huge crutch in our sport. She's got the get her done attitude!

I got in a few arguments with her, and well, you know................................

[doc]

what a terrific answer from matt , as iwas just sitting down to write something on it ,
and yes to go with that , its a body built for ironman .
great job matt .
ill not write yet ,as i think you got it right .

[Plasma]

Not knowing enough about the technicalities in terms of running stride, swimming stroke or pedaling precision...

Is Chrissie's pace a result of 'Absolute Efficiency', perhaps? Does she find an efficient pace that allows her body to 'never really slow down'...??

[running-geek]

I don't think there's a single "magic bullet", it's a whole combination of factors that have all come together in the right place:

• Sure, she has the right genes, you can't do it without them. Not the deciding factor, though, since plenty of other girls have good genes too (though maybe not grandparents who live past age 100).
• Self-discipline
• She's not afraid of pain, she seems to love it. If you want to be a top-class athlete, you've got to be able to take the pain.
• The bit about altitude in Nepal probably helped lay a good physical base, but the really important part was the mental training for the long endurance.
• A bloody good coach who got her started on the right lines. She recently said "I believe 100% in the training he gave me." All she has to do now is tweak it a bit, and she's got the self-discipline to do the right sort of tweaking.
• Triathlon isn't the most important thing in her life. She's totally focused on it for now, but it's only a stepping-stone for what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

Just compare the videos of her finishing Roth and Kona last year. At Roth she obviously had bags of energy left, at Kona you could see she had pretty much given everything to break PNF's course record - mentally physically and emotionally. So it's not surprising that she had the reserves to improve the Roth record significantly. And I bet her sponsorship contracts have something in them about records and championship wins. I think her enforced break early this year following her bike crash is also a long-term benefit, since even the best need an occasional break from the intense physical and mental training. But this is all small detail, what matters is her attitude, as described by Matt, and as I outlined above.

[brucew01]

OK, so basically a good chunk of the difference is mental toughness.
Doc, as a coach, how do you get the other girls to change their mentality? To actually "believe" and push harder.

[doc]

ill write something but chrissie is  mentally strong but she is also an extroadinary
athlete of  great physical ability.

[Sugar]

doc,

must be nice to be the catalyst. love your work.

[doc]

sugar
posted a note , trying to get hold of you .
send me an email
or more basic here , is next week , is our only week when most if not all the team are not in camp in leysin
we got im swiss then the guys ride to alpe du huez  for a wed race fri they ride back
then im uk
so this year nobody at home
hope this helps

chrissy  , makes me proud cause i thought  the ironman  was soft in the performance department
the man who does the same will also make me proud
because  you may be sugar but the men
are as soft as butter .

[Sugar]

i did send you an email, the same day.... 

[DamienC]

So Doc, the big question is, where do you think Chrissie's weakness is?  Clearly, physically she is (currently) in a league of her own, especially on the bike, but Karin Thurig could ride the same sort of times.  Her swim has improved, but like you say, Bek let herself down with a poor swim, and should've been out the water with her.  And looking at Bek, I'd say she has what it takes to run faster than Chrissie is now, probably low 2:50s.

So where is Chrissie weak?  She has never really been put under any real pressure for any length of time in a race, so would that be the place to open up a crack?  She is still so new to the sport, and she can obviously focus herself, but can she handle someone close?

I hope Chrissie is around for a very long time, but my one worry is that she doesn't have a coach to "hold her back", keep her from looking for the magic bullet to go just that little bit faster, too quickly.  Too many gifted athletes overstretch and never reach their potential (Sam Maglone is top of my list), and I worry that Chrissie might fall into the same trap.  Only time will tell.

Personally, Bek, I think you have what it takes to be the first lady to unseat Chrissie.  You have proved your ability in the past, but it is that same past that is holding you back.  Let go of that, and you'll be free to fly.

[doc]

hi ,
yes chrissie is beatble but it will need some people to bite the bullet and train to ride like her

it will take a hard arse to unseat her , and one with ability .
hoper and wishers will get destroyed because chrissies biggest advantage is she prepares meticulously and there is no sacrifice  she wont vhappily do .
so that rules out 90% og most pro triathlétes .
even in my squad , they just think chrissie and the same mind set with bella ,
they laugh as they tell me , they dont have a life , i bite my tongue and walk way
they just dont get what it takes to be a champion
because bella and chrissie are the happiest people i know with their life at present
mean while the others are getting slaughtered by these 2
and go out to have a drink and talk about how they dont have a life
hihii
mate
it will take one with their mind set .

at present ill be honest only a couple of might bes in my group , they could develop into a hard arse ;

but it takes time

[MichaelaMike]

I am not a triathlon athlete so it's maybe not my part to write an answer. The only thing I recognize when watching her swim/bike/run is her extreme focus and her love to that sport. She's smiles all around and that's what I absolutely admire. It's not only the "I have to beat the clock" but the "I have fun beating it" attitude.

[doc]

she loves winning ,