Buy if if: You or a loved one is on the fence about competing in a triathlon and wants a push towards the affirmative
Don’t buy it if: You’re a hardcore wattage junkie who only cares about things like rolling resistance and the relative merits of a 79 degree STA.
Best known as the author of Frazz, a Calvin & Hobbes-meets-Zits-meets-Tour de France-style comic strip, Jef Mallett, a longtime triathlete himself, takes a stab at explaining the oddities, perversities and general weirdness inherent not just to triathletes, but triathlons themselves. Equal parts sports memoir, how-to guide and sermon, Trizophrenia is a light-hearted look at what is – almost unbelievably – one of the fastest growing sports in America.
Neatly divided into three parts (with more than a bit of overlap between them) the book offers a look at what makes a triathlete, what makes a triathlon and the essential (and existential) experience that is the meeting of the two on the field of competition… And he makes fart jokes. In short, this might actually be the most comprehensive book on the sport since The Triathlete’s Training Bible.
Of course, being comprehensive in less than 200 pages (of which a 1/3 are filled with illustrations and excessively copious, but still very humorous, footnotes of digression) provides little in the way of details. Basically, if you’re looking for FTP testing protocols and/or interval workouts, you need to move on to something both bulkier and more narrowly focused. But if you’re feeling intimidated about an approaching first race or simply looking for that last bit of motivation, Mallett nails it. His self-effacing style transforms the daunting into the accessible. As a theme, Trizophrenia is book-length paraphrase of a medical school adage: “What do you call the last finisher? A triathlete.”
Not that the book’s acceptance of all comers will turn off the hardcore racers out there. It may even help mediate some of the do-or-die-or-I’m-worthless vibe that seems to permeate the uber-serious elite ranks. The author is an amateur athlete and professional writer, but he’s quick to remind readers that fun in each is not dependent on levels of success. Plus, as a bonus gem, Mallett’s wife contributes an afterword on being the spouse/support crew/#1 fan of a triathlete that is almost worth the price of admission on its own.
Ironman or Ironwuss, this one’s worth a read.
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