Equipment
Quite simply, most of do endurance sports because they're fun. Of course, we also want to be healthy, mentally and physically challenged and feed our competitive drive both against ourselves and others.
Does the right equipment help improve your training and racing? Yes. Are they all required? No (remember the "fun" comment above). Can a new endurance athlete slowly build their equipment "locker" over time? Yes. As a coach, I am sensitive to the cost of equipment and memberships and only use the "highly recommended" suggestion on items I truly believe will make a difference in training and racing immediately.
So below I will make recommendations for swim, bike and run and group them into three categories:
Essential - I think you should acquire these asap. They will immediately improve performance
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Recommended - Based on your budget, plan on eventually acquiring these as they will either improve convenience, efficiency and/or performance.
Wish List - If cost wasn't a factor, these would improve convenience, efficiency, performance and quality of your active lifestyle.
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While I may have some links below that connect to online stores as suggested places to purchase equipment, I always recommend considering buying out of a local retail shop if you're near one. Smaller, independently owned stores are often the leaders in our local communities in supporting endurance sports. :)​​​​​​​
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Swimming
Swimming is one of the most technically demanding endurance sports there is. Therefore, it's essential that we have a basic "bag of tools" that can assist us in improving our skills in the water.
Essential
Why: I recommend "longer" fins like these to the left and NOT short "zoomers". Longer fins help us improve our proprioception of what our feet are doing in the water, give us enough propulsion to execute many drills correctly and help loosen our lower leg muscles that are often exceptionally tight from running and cycling.
Where: SwimOutlet online (Team MPI discount)
Why: If we can "remove" our head turning during breathing, we often can focus on the three fundamentals of swimming (balance, rotation & propulsion). With a snorkel, you can hone in on each of these while you're swimming without feeling like you're "drowning"! ;)
Where: SwimOutlet online (Team MPI discount)
Why: Paddles can help improve the proprioception of the "catch" phase of our swim stroke. They can also reduce some bad habits while additionally improving our strength while in the water.
Where: SwimOutlet online (Team MPI discount)
Why: A Pull Buoy (PB) can often be used in conjunction with paddles (above). It also allows us to intensionally "disconnect" our lower locomotion (kicking) while providing buoyancy near our hips. We can also use this in place of a kickboard.
Where: SwimOutlet online (Team MPI discount)
Why: A mesh bag is helpful to carry all our pool tools. It helps to have the mesh so the equipment can dry naturally after you swim
Where: SwimOutlet online (Team MPI discount)
Recommended
Why: FORM Goggles are arguably the best and most affordable tech for swimmers that have ever come along. Real-time metrics (including strokes per minute, 100 pace estimate, elapsed time, rest time and so much more) provide automatic, customizable "heads up" info in one of your eye goggles. If you swim by yourself, it's the next best thing to having a coach on deck.
Where: FORM Goggles - Feel free to reach out to me with questions.
Wish List
Why: eo SwimBetter handsets will absolutely help you become a more efficient swimmer. I've got an entire page dedicated to this absolutely amazing product. Incredible hardware and software - honestly, I bought a pair and use them both on myself and athletes - weekly!
Where: Info Here
Biking
Biking is one of the most efficient forms of aerobic exercise - it's non-impact and doesn't require a huge learning curve. One of the keys to improved biking performance is consistency. It's the, "Every pedal stroke counts" mantra that builds a lifetime of bike fitness and performance.
To this end, if cycling is an integral part of your training program, then
Essential
Why: Smart Trainer. The Wahoo Kicker Core 2 (pictured left) is just one example of the smart trainers available today. These trainers allow athletes to train when they want regardless of weather, daylight or location at where they live. When combined with online apps, like Zwift or Rouvy, athletes can have tailored, structured training sessions on their own bike in their own homes when it's inconvenient or unsafe to ride outside.
Where: Wahoo Kickr Core 2