LazyEP wrote:
(Been in the sport for 36 years)
I explain to anyone contemplating doing an IRONMAN to budget $10,000 in actual expenses as well as opportunity costs...
- Food (& not just groceries). There are gong to be times after a big, or week, where you can't be bothered making a meal.
- Medical: physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractic & god forbid doctors.
- Equipment wear & tear. Replacing tires & tubes, running shoes, training gear & clothing, etc. Not to mention those shiny new must haves you'll discover.
- Entry fees: Not just the several hundred $$$ one for your M dot but also the hundreds for tune up races (think 70.3 as one example).
- Training camp (or at least a weekend get away to just swim, bike & run).
- Time off from work...whiter planned or unplanned (see Medical).
- Coaching/lessons.
- Self-imporovement: books, videos, subscription services.
- Oportunty costs are to be determined. Loss of traditional interactions with family & friends. Missing activities because it's your century day.
I'm sure I've missed more items.
Almost everything you listed is optional outside of wear and tear items and the obvious entry/travel for race day.
Unless you're injured, you don't
need PT, massages, or chiro. A simple foam roller and a LaCrosse ball will work fine.
Food is general laziness -- either prep on the weekends (like a huge crock pot worth of food) or just count on going out 1-2x/week. Many adults go out 1-2x/week anyways.
Training camps and coaches are luxuries. You don't need either one of them to be successful. There's enough information online and if you have any kind of athletic background, a lot of it will just be following an outline. You might not compete at your best, but you can be plenty competitive on your own with your own training plan. If anything, finding a training group will be significantly more beneficial than a coach to have others push you during workouts.
Coming from a running background, I find it quite funny how much triathletes *think* they need to spend to be successful. There are so many sub-elite (and all other level) runners out there that don't have a coach or any of the things you listed above. They somehow are perfectly competitive without all of it.
Assuming you already have a bike, I'd say realistic costs are closer to $2000 than $10k, most of that being travel and race entry fees. And if you don't have a bike, an entry level $1500-2k Tri bike (less if used) will suit most just fine. The sport doesn't have to be expensive if you don't make it expensive.
As for the OP, sunscreen isn't that expensive. I grab the $1 bottle from Dollar Tree for SPF30 and just apply once before my ride and once halfway through. Race day I'll use SPF50 spray-on stuff.