So I just got through registering at IMOO and looking around. I am always intimidated by the people walking around wearing all the IM stuff from past races and looking like they just got back from an easy 15 mile run. My sister tells me this is nuts and thinks its funny that everyone feels the need to wear IM’d logo’d stuff to prove they are a triathlete to all the other triathletes. But what we both really don’t understand is why are there men wearing one piece spandex tri suits who are just standing in line and then going to lunch and then just hanging around? No one wants to see someone in a full spandex suit unless there is a legitimate reason for it - and maybe it’s acceptable, or at least to be expected, if you live in South Beach, but this is Madison, Wisconsin - cheese country. Do these people not own some khakis and tee shirts? And I can already hear some of you defending them and saying maybe they road their bikes to the expo but I really don’t think that’s the case for the majority of the offenders I’ve seen.
Europeans
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sadly, no…triathletes
: )
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sadly…you’re probably right
sadly, no…triathletes
: )
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The days before a race you have to workout some. So it’s normal if you’re wearing workout clothes at least some part of the day. Are you proposing that people should dress up to go to the Expo?
There is no good explanation for wearing a one-piece tri suit anywhere except in competition.
I ranted about this last year–not on this forum but on the wmds website…Here it is:
"I’ve been in Lake Placid for just over 24 hours and I’ve seen at least 2 guys, 1 girl and a cat who will quite possibly beat me on Sunday.
I feel like complete ass.
The town is filling up with triathletes. And this annoys me to no end. Why must they parade around in Ironman XYZ finisher t-shirts and Ironman XYZ training clothes. Dude, it’s Lake Placid during Ironman week–if you’re here and you’re running through town while everyone is having dinner–we know exactly why you’re here you don’t have to wear that t-shirt. And those shorts. You can also leave at home the IM XYZ hat, socks and fuel belt for your 3 mile jog.
These types, of course, aren’t the athletes I fear will beat me (although the cat did have an “M-Dot” tattoo). The ones that walk very slowly in casual, comfotable clothing are the dangerous ones.
Only slightly less annoying than the tri-geeks with the stupid stickers on their cars is that everyone is checking everybody out…As though we’re actually going to race on Sunday. There’s only about 10 guys actually racing, really. Everyone else is just trying to hang on to their own pace for as long as possible.
Be that as it may–if one more dude checks me out as though I’m his competition I’m going to rip his legs off and feed his gonads to my dog. Actually I won’t. I’m tapering and I need to save my energy.
Which is also why I’m abstaining from sex. There’s actually many reasons for that…But it certainly helps with the aggression.
Today I ran 7 miles and swam for 45 minutes. The 7 mile run was fantastic. I started at about mile 2 on the run course and followed a road past horse farms, a rambling river and beautiful mountain homes. It was a perfect, peaceful morning run with only the sounds of the river and my feet tapping the ground.
Don’t think I’m getting soft with this nature stuff during my taper and losing my aggression (I was getting worried too). I ran into a barn, bit the head off of a chicken and drank its warm gurgling blood for good measure.
The afternoon swim was uneventful."
they should have a short race a few days before the IM where the participants wear their underwear in protest of such behavior!
I have eschewed as much as possible the wearing of race-related clothing anywhere near the race location. My official uniform is boardshorts, a wifebeater, and a hoodie.
Too many peacocks strutting around showing their purty feathers, whether it’s spandex or logo clothing from race XYZ.
They certainly don’t bother me, because as cdanrun points out, it’s the quiet relaxed ones who are most likely fast. I just think it’s unnecessary. It’s like taking the Ferrari to dinner just to impress the valets.
IM races are some of the best people watching places on earth.
Overall, great high quality people but there are just some entertaining sights.
I find that I mostly wear t-shirts from OTHER types of racing when I'm at a race venue. Not sure if it is a fear of feeling one dimensional or what. When it comes to the IM stuff, I have yet to wear any of it anywhere. I'm sure I'll get over it, but it just feels like it screams "LOOK AT ME!", and that's something that irks me in other groups.
ps. I really appreciate that the IMLou tee did not have “finisher” emblazoned across it.
We are dorks plain and simple.
Wow!
I have to say that I was guilty of that at a few races. Went swimming and then it was hot so I hung out in my swimsuit for a while. It never occured to me that anyone would care what I wore to line up for registration …
The bottom line is most people have the “look at me, validate me, let me justify me” attitude. You have a lot of highly competitive, but insecure people that need to feel better about themselves and one way they do this is to have other people (or at least perceive that other people are) look at them in envy. The one’s that need this the most are the one’s that are dressed in the M-dot clothing and spandex. Some of these people are to be feared, but in the end, the quiet ones that actually talk about something other than their training are the most dangerous. In law school we called the people that answered questions in class all the time, the Gunners. There are some high quality gunners, but most sound and appear a lot smarter than they are. For purposes of triathlon, take a look at the calf muscles. That will generally separate the good gunners from the wannabe gunners. The quiet types, or the Snipers as we liked to call them in school, are harder to figure out and the key is to not let them get into your head. At a big race, you won’t know if they are even racing and you probably won’t recognize them on race day anyway.
Of course, like Paulo said, those in spandex/m-dot gear could just be returning from a training ride/run or all their other clothes might be dirty.
Jeff
I don’t think anybody was complaining about the women in spandex, Just the hairy, slightly overweight men.
I wear the team kit for all race related activities, including lunch.
Sometimes just the jersey with my jeans, other times the whole thing.
Gotta keep the sponsor happy
You have a lot of highly competitive, but insecure people that need to feel better about themselves and one way they do this is to put other people down who may do things differently (and then go online and tell the world how much better they are than those people).
Or not.
good point. itry to stay away from insults. i hope my post did not come off that way
I mostly wear jeans and race t-shirts every day. I don’t wear these to show off I am just a jeans and t-shirt type of guy. I have tons of shirts from all the 5k’s I do. I donate a lot of them and keep the ones I really like. I really love my Ironman Loisville t-shirt and will wear it around. I am thinking though of changing it to 16.2 instead of 26.2 since that is a far as I got 
I love looking at the t-shirts that people are wearing at races. It is a great starting point for conversation to see someone wearing a shirt of a race you want to do.
OH yeah - I LOVE pre-IM people watching!
I don’t mind the race shirts, etc. Hey, we all have a million of them. I cycle through mine each year: new races to wear that year, last year - around house stuff, older = bike rags. I don’t wear any “finisher” stuff nor lycra/spandex pre-IM as I’m completely done training by the time I get to the expo except for some Gatorade morning swims and perhaps a light run.
I do notice the faster guys (not sure about women) do tend to wear more “normal” clothes though for some reason.
I went for a ride in Penticton and I finished it at the Expo. Good thing you were not there.