THE OLYMPIC HOPEFUL

ANY HARD TRAINING A WEEK OR SO BEFORE THE BIG RACE DOES NOT CONTRIBUTE TO RACE-DAY PERFORMANCE

Triathletes come in all shapes and sizes and Victoria’s Matthew Shape is size large. At 6'5" and 168 pounds, Sharpe, a veteran of the Canadian national team, is a short course specialist and aiming to go to Tokyo next year to compete in the mixed relay and individual events. In contrast to Ironman and 70.3 distance athletes, Sharpe races more frequently. He knows the value of a good taper. He views tapering as an opportunity, and elaborates that “after a big, focused block of training, typically I am carrying a lot of fatigue and I feel like I am in a bit of a hole. It’s an opportunity to get out of that hole and elevate myself to new heights. Over the years, the most important thing I’ve realized is getting to the start line and having the opportunity to compete. Any last-minute panic training can only hurt the race and could potentially result in race-threatening injuries. In the past, I’ve definitely left my training out on the Tuesday or Wednesday before the race due to lack of patience and self-confidence. I’ve had some amazing swim, bike, and run workouts three days before a race that I could not replicate when it actually mattered. Any hard training a week or so before the big race does not contribute to race-day performance.”

Sharpe also employs positive thinking to help him during the taper. Even though he cuts back on his training, he doesn’t obsess over what he eats. He simply eats until he is satisfied – there’s no weighing food or counting calories. Since many of Sharpe’s races are on the ITU circuit, there’s a lot of foreign travel involved. He and his team-mates use these opportunities to visit local coffee shops to distract themselves from the pressure of their races.