When people bring up that I am an Ironman athlete, I would never bring it up, I always say "Ironman is not as tough as everyone thinks it is, have you ever considered doing one?". I have really only been slightly offended once when someone said in a very specific negative tone, "why would anyone do an Ironman?". Clearly they had never crossed that line.

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At thanksgiving my brother in law asked me what my marathon time was (for my ironman)- then proceeded to tell me how much faster his stand alone marathon time was ..... (the one marathon he completed 20'years - and I would guess 50 pounds- ago).

I just congratulated him and took a bit more wine & turkey.

 
Nice NYT article about Imposter Syndrome today:
[http://www.nytimes.com/...ytimes&smtyp=cur]

I'm wondering if you might have the opposite of that? And if so, what might it be called?

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Sharon McN
@IronCharo
#TeamZoot
Clif Bar Pace Team 2003-2018

Love the connection here. The opposite of the Impostor Syndrome is Dunning-Kruger effect:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/...unning–Kruger_effect

I had to double check to make sure I wasn't reading an article in The Onion. Thanks for the excellent info! I had no idea there was a name for that.

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Sharon McN
@IronCharo
#TeamZoot
Clif Bar Pace Team 2003-2018

You are interrupting these statements wrong, you should use it as a educational session for non-triathletes. e.g.

"Ironman isn't as tough as everyone claims... right?"

It all depends were you are coming from, how old you are and what you are willing to overcome. It's a personal thing only the individual can experience. last race I was on pace till the run because I over biked to be on pace.

"You train when you feel like it... right? " {you don't actually have to sacrifice time}

That depends on your goals and what you think the challenge deserves. just like running a 5 km very fast takes more commitment then just finishing a marathon triathlon is the same. When I am not training though I spend lot of time typing on triathlon forums and looking at bikes that would make me faster if I was a better biker, so I am limited for time.

"You aren't really swimming because you wore a wetsuit"

of course a wetsuit makes you faster just like runners improve running over slippers or dress shoes. you have to have the right gear for the sport. That's why the top coaches tell you to train in rubber shorts and with paddles because it can get tough.

"You had a long day out there." {compared to everyone else}

Yeah it is a tough race with no guarantee I can finish. That's why it motivates me I have to deal with new adversity every time. BUT I GOT MY MONEYS WORTH.

"Your time isn't improving so why bother doing more"

It doesn't need to be, but improving helps people enjoy the pursuit more. this sport is a life style and every day I wake up with goals knowing I need to focus daily on maintaining health and the race is just a date to make sure I stay focused. If I wanted to get really fast I would get latex tubes and a disc cover, then I can train less and spend more time looking up bike aerodynamics.

"I am sure if I trained I'd finish one too"

YOU COULD and Believe me it will give you just as much pleasure every day making yourself healthier and goal oriented. The test of an Ironman isn't in the finish but in daily with the daily build and obstacles you will face because in a 8 plus hours day noting will go perfectly and you be challenged.

if you want to more about getting started I can help refer you to a great website where forum posters help boost beginners confidence and expand the sport to new athlete is call... and if you give your opinion they are very supportive if it doesn't match their own views.

Any others?[/quote]
Lots like how do you spend so much time on a bike. I am good at it how do you sent 3 hours in a mall or 3 hours watching crappy TV.
That sport is so expensive. NO it isn't, these sports are expensive golf, skiing, boating. I pay nothing to train daily.
I could never do that. That's what I thought but you have to look at is as small improvements that add up not at the big picture.

Please don't reply this is my opinion and I don't care what your opinion is..... this is meant to be funny and educational about including people into the discussion on your sport and helping people understand that anyone can do it and anyone can become obsessed with it too.

When someone asks you a question or makes a statement about triathlon and you blow them off like it's not important you are the elitist that is a jerk because you don't want to include them in the sport or discussion. Please want to know more include them and show them your pictures and tell your stories.

.

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Technique will always last longer then energy production. Improve biomechanics, improve performance.
http://Www.anthonytoth.ca, triathletetoth@twitter

It must be tough being that big of a sensitive sally.

Can you not tell the difference between wearing a race shirt somewhere and the situation I was previously discussing?

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Long Chile was a silly place.

I wear my race shirts anywhere I want, make sure you call me out on it next time I am signing in for the local sprint. Any other of your rules I should follow.

I even talk about my hobby without stressing about it, just like the guys who play golf have a chat about what they did on the weekend, and nobody stresses or cares either way

Mike Rossi?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Jeez, some of you guys are being real babies about this.

Wear your race shirts to a job interview for all I care. I wont call you out on it, because it really doesn't matter. I just think people who over do it look ridiculous and mainly do it out of narcissism. Do you 'call out' everyone you come across who you think is doing something that looks ridiculous, but is otherwise harmless? I sure don't. That doesn't change the fact that I still think it looks ridiculous though.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

Jesus Christ, thank you. It's amazing how people will take "I think it's ridiculous when people dress up from socks to hat in Boston gear" and somehow translate that in to "No one should ever wear race clothing or talk about their involvement in triathlon ever outside of an actual triathlon event".

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Long Chile was a silly place.

This thread makes you sound ridiculous

To people who are taking what I'm saying largely out of context. I can live with that.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

So race shirts are OK, head-to-toe gear is not.....can you please illuminate us as to the break even point so people don't offend you at your next event?

Is it just a single piece of garb that is deemed acceptable, but anything over that is uncool? What if they mix-and-match....an IM shirt and a Boston hat (or vice versa)....what's the ruling there?

/pink

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

It depends:
1 piece of IM gear is ok
2 is a stretch
3 is a NO NO

Now, I have not BQ'd or KQ'd so, in my eyes, Kona/Boston branded stuff is ok to wear up to 2 pieces (each individually) 3 or (mix/match). Any more than that, and there is a risk that the room may spontaneously combust because of the wearers awesomeness.

On one hand I am a believer that a real gangster that doesn't need to flex nuts because a real gangster know he's got them.

But then on the other hand you are pretty much drawing a line in the sand under the premise that people who do this are narcissists and I don't need to do this because i'm all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Which is a bit narcissistic in its own right, you can't understand everybody's motivations nor can you just make blanket statements that put you on the side of being well rounded without it being a bit self serving. And I'm not giving you crap about it because its pretty normal to do so. I have one friend who has to let facebook know he went to the gym every single time he goes. I judge, I ignore.

Side note, I did an IM and I bought a shirt, a baby hat (this was an inside joke) and a decal at the expo. Since then I have received a hoodie, lanyard, and a running beanie as gifts. Now, my son seems to have claimed the shirt and my wife has worn the hoodie on numerous occasions so I have no idea if I'll get either of those back but the point is some people buy themselves a ton of stuff and for some its gifts. And really, if I show up to my local sprint with M-dot backpack, which I will because its nicer than my current back pack, thats ok I think. It'll hopefully draw attention from my m-dot tattoo which I only have because other mother fuckers need to know. They need to KNOW!

I wear my ironman backpack everywhere I go to uni so it's just my backpack don't wear anything else but I did deck out head to toe in im gear the first day so I could meet athletes in my class.. Worked now a cute girl sits next to me in my math class and talks to me about endurance !!! So fuck all of you it's all good discussion over I talk to people about triathlon I'm swagged the fuck out I'm awesome I crush the im inflate my ego plz thanks we're a superior breed just accept it

Glad to hear you don't actually openly make snide comments at packet pickups to people who look ridiculous but otherwise harmless. I like to see people celebrate their sporting achievements (up to the point they become boorish 'poor winners'), but each to their own.

8.75/10

(the extra .25 is for quoting the Geto Boyz. OTOH, real gangstas cain't [sic] run fast.)

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_____________________________________
What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

I actually don't get this very much. I hear way more of :

"Oh ironman. That's so hard I don't know how anyone could do it"... And "I could never ride (swim / run) that far..."

I actually find myself saying stuff like what you hear back a lot. As in:
Well anyone could do it if they train for it... And
It's a long day but it just takes a commitment to get ready if you want to do one.

Do you see the irony in your response to a complaint that people belittle the accomplishments of endurance athletes by you belittling the accomplishment of other endurance athletes?

Just like triathlons, 5k's, and any other endurance event, there's a difference between completing and competing in obstacle races. I have some athletes who do a combination of running training and strength training specific to the obstacles with the goal of racing as fast as possible. For them, obstacles aren't a "rest break". They're part of the race. They train to blast through them without losing rhythm. Their objective is the fastest time start to finish. It's like a steeple chase with a greater number and variety of obstacles. Try truly racing one some time, and you'll find them on par with other endurance events. No harder or easier. Just different.

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Don Larkin
Reach For More
http://www.reachformore.fit/
USAT Lvl1 Coach, NSCA-CPT, NASM-CPT, BS Exercise Science

Fill in the blank:

The length of this thread is directly proportional to __________________ .

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Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

My intent was not at all to belittle the accomplishment, I did one, had a blast, and am proud of the fact. I'm already signed up for next year's, since I had so much fun doing it.

My point is that the perception of what's involved in a Tough Mudder is a lot different than the reality of what's involved, mostly due to hype and slick marketing. The physical ability necessary to complete one is significantly less than a lot of other, less "exotic" activities...(half) Marathons, Triathlons, Century rides, etc.

The TM is difficult in its own ways, but the challenge is more between the ears than in the body. It is intentionally NOT timed, and entrants do not compete for time. There's no penalty for skipping obstacles (you could run around every obstacle on the course, and turn it into essentially a 10-12 mile trail hike), and most of the obstacles are bottlenecks, where you have to wait your turn, sometimes for several minutes at a time, depending on how many are there at the same time.

It's mostly about working as a team, and overcoming mental obstacles, rather than physical ones. There's nothing physically challenging about getting muddy, getting hit by dozens of cattle prods, or going down a slide into a dumpster full of ice water, it's just extremely unpleasant, and getting over that is a big part of the challenge. Most sane people have at least an aversion to these things, some are probably near phobic, but sucking it up and pushing through is to be congratulated.

Again, I'm not slamming or criticizing the event itself...it's probably got more people off the couch than triathlon ever will, and it's a TON of fun to do with a group of friends. I'm just expressing my frustration that the LONG hours I've invested into training for more run of the mill events seems to be trivial when it comes up in conversation, and the event that requires the least amount of training and preparation (physically) makes people think that anyone who finishes is an Olympic tier athlete.

Ask yourself how much harder an IM would be if the last leg were a 26.2 Tough Mudder. It doesn't matter anyway. After all is said and done, the only person that an event's results are important to is the person doing that event. No one else cares.