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Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities
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when someone learns that you do tris/are a triathlete - what is their first response back to you?

Please provide me with as much info and/or examples as you can.

IF you don't have any experiences to draw from, get this topic into conversation this weekend and let me knwo the responses (both verbal and physical). Sorta play a word association game with non-triathletes (not necessarily your family members who know you too well).

I have a reason for wanting to get at this info but not exactly sure why yet. I will post later next week with results and some ideas if I get an OK response.


http://www.clevetriclub.com

rob reddy
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Foolish Tri Guy] [ In reply to ]
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People seldom really get to know anything about me personally, despite the fact that I am easy to get to know and pretty simple.

They only see the surface, "party favor" stuff. They never understand or see that I was a fat kid with acne who started exercising. I'm still that kid. Always will be.

People rarely see beyond the sensational shit. Maybe that is fine with me, but it is pretty superficial.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Foolish Tri Guy] [ In reply to ]
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I think a lot of people are more impressed than they really should be. Unless you're doing an IM it's not that big a deal to merely finish a triathlon.

I think an IM is a big deal though. In June I'll do my first 1/2 IM and frankly I don't see it as being an awe inspiring event. It's something I want to do and hopefully will do at a fairly ok level.

I try to shrug off my triathlon participation as being something that's "lot's of fun" to anyone that asks.

That's my take anyway.
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Tom,

Don't sell yourself short. None of us see the fat kid.

We love you man.
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Foolish Tri Guy] [ In reply to ]
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First response is invariably - you're nuts.

They're probably right.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [beatnic_tx] [ In reply to ]
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"Unless you're doing an IM it's not that big a deal to merely finish a triathlon."

I'm actually a lot more impressed with a 9 second 100m than when somebody finishes an IM. I'm also more impressed watching somebody break one hour on a sprint tri than 17 hrs on an IM.

I guess we could start another thread again as to what's more prestigious - Kona or Olympic gold.
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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It could go like this.

So you do triathlons

yes

Ever do THE Ironman

yes

Where

Name any large cool sounding place

Neat how far is it?

well you swim 1 mile----bike 75 miles and then run 10

Man that sounds hard!

The average Joe would never know. They just don't have anything to compare it to!
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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Settle down, Fast-twitch. ;)

Actually, I'm inclined to agree though it depends largely on the individual and the situation.
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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That answer is easy: Kona. The media coverage difference between Olympic draft-fest "triathlon" and Kona is night and day. Kona is the big daddy in our sport. It's also where the humble masses aspire to someday compete. Very very few of us will ever toe the line at an Olympic event, but we can all relate to what the IM champion went through that day, as many of us have been there before, and hopefully will someday again tread the water in Kialua Bay as the sun peaks over the mountain showing that the morning clouds of the last three days are gone, and it's going to be another hot one.
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Foolish Tri Guy] [ In reply to ]
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Responses typically run: "Oh my gosh," "Cool," "You must like pain," "Doesn't that destroy your body?" "I couldn't run a mile, let alone do a whole triathlon"

Once in a blue moon I'll get "Wow, I've always thought about doing one."

Brett
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [beatnic_tx] [ In reply to ]
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I disagree, I think putting in the absolute minimal '18 weeks to your 1st ironman' training and then slogging your way to a 16 hour finish is not much of an accomplishment at all. That seems to be par for the course now though as we all bow to the mighty M-Dot.

I'm much more impressed when someone methodically trains over time and incrementally gets faster at all 3 disciplines, and their increase in race distances shadows their improvement.

The topic at hand though....I get introduced as a Triathlete, then the response I get is: "Oh so you run marathons ".... NO. Or they ask about 'that race in Hawaii'.

I don't really care to understand the 'couchpeople' though, and don't care if they don't understand me.


"The more you sweat today, the less you bleed tomorrow"
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [denewone] [ In reply to ]
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Up here in the Great White North are two responses that I've had more than once:

1) Oh, you race against Simon Whitfield. Have you ever beat him?

2) Oh lucky you. I wish that we could go to Hawaii for a holiday as well.
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Mark C] [ In reply to ]
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<<I don't really care to understand the 'couchpeople' though, and don't care if they don't understand me.>>

"Couchpeople" I love it! I'm gonna use that from now on.

Brett
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [jasonk] [ In reply to ]
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That's why I don't wear all the M-Dot stuff too much. I wore my fresh, new Nike ACG official Ironman New Zealand fleece jacket on the way home and the guys from the shop who picked me up were bustin' my chops in the car on the way home.

They were like, "Hey..... Are you the IIiiirrooooonMAHNNNN?"

Of course, having said that, I'm sitting here wearng my cool Orca fleece top. It doesn't have an M-Dot though.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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how do you train for one of those? [ In reply to ]
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I get that a lot and I"m sure you all do too.
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Foolish Tri Guy] [ In reply to ]
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IM IN THE UK , IM OVER 280LBS , I DO TRI AND NOT A MILLION MILES SLOWER THAN THE AVERAGE GUY , (IM LUCKY ENOGH TO BE VERY FIT FOR AN AVERAGE GUY LET ALONE MY SIZE) WHEN I TELL PEOPLE THEY ARE IMPRESSED AND THEN ASK WHAT ITS ABOUT THEY THEN EXPRESS THEIR OPINION IM MAD AND FINALLY WONDER IF THEY COULD DO IT AND MOSTLY THINK , HHHMMM PERHAPS NOT , OVERALL THEYRE RESPONSE FILL ME WITH PRIDE , I DO TRI TO MOTIVATE MYSELF TO TRAIN , I KNOW ILL NEVER WIN , I RACE MYSELF , AND PEOPLE WHO BELITTLE TRI AND THINK ANYTHING LESS THAN 1/2 IM IS POINTLESS , REMEMBER THIS..................

THE AVERAGE GUY DOESNT RUN AT ALL

THE AVERAGE GUY THINKS A 10 MILE BIKE RIDE IS A REAL BIG DEAL

THE AVERAGE GUY THINKS THAT 20 LENGTHS IN THE POOL MAKES THEM A SUPER HERO

WE ALL WORK HARD AND ACHIEVE BY COMPETING , TRI IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE ULTIMATE GOAL MANY START WITH A SPRINT AS THEIR GOAL AND THEN OLYMPIC AND SO ON ,



THATS WHAT I THINK ANYWAY

JUSTIN

Justin
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Foolish Tri Guy] [ In reply to ]
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Them: Wow, do you do the ironman?

Me: No, shorter races for now

Them: How long are the races you do?

Me: 1/2 mile swim, ~15mil bike, 5K run

Them: Hmmm, I could do that (tone of voice indicating they might like to try one)

or

Them: Hmmm, I could do that (throroughly unimpressed, even though they would never bother to train for one

or

Them: Fast-twitch Canuck elitist poser! (And I'm not even Canadian!)

I'm glad I'm doing Oly races this summer. The average Joe definitely respects distance over intensity. I agree it's not that hard to finish a sprint or Oly race (provided you can swim a little) but it's a different sort of pain to race one. I've finished a marathon but I'm much more impressed with the guy or girl who runs a sub-15min 5K.

_______________________________________________
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Hey, I remember you Tom. You're that fat kid with the nice bike.

I was on a Schwinn Varsity, and you were riding carbon fiber. I always hated you.

What was the question again? ... Oh yeah, people's reactions. When they find out you do IM races, or other long distances, they either think it's awesome, or they think you're nuts. I'm sure some people think I'm an egomaniac. I tell people I'm not very fast, but they are just enamored with how far the distances are. They don't seem to listen when I tell them I'm not any good.

Mostly I think we all get the similar "I could never do that" response.

-- Big EE
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [jhc] [ In reply to ]
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Most people know i do triathlon, my favorite is when they learn the distances. Im currently in 1/2 IM mode, and trying to smoke it, so when i tell someone i just got back from a ride they say something like, "oh yeah, i went on a bike ride last weekend, did like 6 miles" my reaction, "cool, yeah.... mine was like 80 miles, but thats cool too" They usually ask me why i do it, to which i respond, "its fun". I get mostly blank stares. If its a lady, they are usually intrigued at my high level of fitness (running/biking stregthens the hip flexors), but then i usually get an odd reaction when they learn i shave my legs...
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [cmetri] [ In reply to ]
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"The media coverage difference between Olympic draft-fest "triathlon" and Kona is night and day"

You're darn right it is, but opposite to what you think, at least in Canada. When Simon Whitfield won Olympic gold it was front page news, and not just front of the sports pages. When Reid/Bowden did their double at Kona it barely made the back pages of the sports pages.

I think a lot has to do with Whitfield's on camera persona that makes him a more marketable item, but there is little doubt in my mind that Olympic gold is a bigger ticket to celebrity status.
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Foolish Tri Guy] [ In reply to ]
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Q. Oh you do that triathlon thing

A. yep

Q. What's its like to Bike for a few hours then get off and run for another hour? That seems hard?

A. Just Saturday Morning

Q. And you swim also right?

A. Saturday afternoon

Q. So you only workout Saturday

A. Nope just about everyday.

Actually I am only the shell of a triathlete, a torn soleus has got me to the point of being a swimmer and occasionally having a pleasant conversation with Old broken down fat people while I am Aqua Jogging at the local Health Club. At this point I envy the guy who thinks his mile jog or 6 mile bike ride is hard. My friends now call me a relay specialist. "Have speedo and goggles will travel"
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [Foolish Tri Guy] [ In reply to ]
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couch people actually do talk smack.....

Lead ass #1. How far do you have to run?

me: about 6 miles in this race........

Lead ass #1. 6 miles?!! I couldn't run 1 mile!!

Lead ass #2. Hell man, I couldn't run around the block.....

Lead ass #3. Crap, that's nothing, I couldn't even run from here to that door over there.

Lead ass #3 proves why he's the king with his bold statemant..
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [cerveloguy] [ In reply to ]
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Ooops, that shows my American-centric NBC footage that we get of the Olympics. If an American is not winning, they show us a human interest story on tape delay broadcast.

I'm still of the opinion of Kona. Think of the pros making a living wage in the sport, how many are Olympic distance athletes, how many are IMers. But there again, that's probably just my USA view of the world. ITU racing is more publicized in other countries so there's likely a bunch I'm unfamiliar with.

At the other end of the spectrum of stature is the new US Half Iron Championships. Oh boy! (sarcasm extraordinare) A qualifying series with not one race in California, and only one cute little (less than 500 finishers) half West of the Rockies. The person who wins that title may be something in the mid-West, but a "US champ" is a big stretch. Much less to announce it now that most folks have their calendar set. Sorry, I saw that story and had to share what a lame a$$ idea I think it is.
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Here's one I got today... [ In reply to ]
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Them: You did Ironman?

Me: Yep, last November.

Them: In Hawaii?

Me: No, the Florida Ironman.

Them: Oh. (Then change the subject as if the Ironman in Florida is less of an accomplishment.)
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Re: Freaks, Geaks & other assorted oddities [The J-Man] [ In reply to ]
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280lbs!! you're doing very well running in tris at that weight, good on you. I've seen some big units over the years and some move along very well. Good endorsement for a bike company, if you can't break the bike with your power, it will stand up to a sub 70kg rider easily.

i agree with you, my focus is primarily olympic and below and couldn't be bothered with some clown who walked half the ironman course and thinks he's a legend.
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