Why more runners don't do triathlons?

because i just love running that much more than anything else. i dabbled in triathlons when i started to 'lose my speed' and found that i actually enjoyed the swimming. was ambivalent about the biking. it was fun for a bit to have a different type of focus, training regimen, and competition. what eventually got me was the feeling that i was compromising my running ability(albeit diminishing ability)and lessening the pure joy i got from running by having to spread my time out over three disciplines instead of just one. in short i didn't like the feeling of being a "jack of all trades, master of none". i respect u for becoming 'competitive' in triathlons. just wasn't a good personal fit in my case(plus, got married, children, mortage, serious job etc.), fwiw. i also agree with you in that i think a lot of strong runners can probably make a good transition into becoming solid triathletes.

I will start training for triathlons when they make the bikes one standard model for everyone.

The fact that biking is so reliant on the gear turns me off. I tried biking a few years ago, bought a decent bike, started training pretty hard, but really didn't like the "gearhead" aspect of the sport.

Every time I turned around I needed something new, and I am not ever the type of person that likes to buy stuff.

If they made it so that a triathlete had to use a single fixed gear bike, I would take it up I think. I just hate all of the gear, tuning, oiling, primping, fixing, buying, updating, upgrading that goes into it.

No offense to people who like it, but I think that is why more runners don't like it.

Hemi wrote:

Every time I turned around I needed something new, and I am not ever the type of person that likes to buy stuff.

Correction, I meant to write "I am not even the type of person that likes to buy stuff."

I am not cheap, I just am not the type of person who would hang around all day in a bike shop looking at components for hours, but I found myself having to do that stuff to keep up with the Jones'

Damn, you're an ass.

Oh I know you type so well.

You are part of the "dig me" and listen to me talk about my tri training crowd.

I hear your type all the time bragging about placing in their age group and a tri. And I notice that a lot of tri's have awards 8 deep in age divisions just to keep the people coming back and giving up there $$$$.

Lame!

And I all reality, if you really want to be good at a tri, you cannot have a full time job. It does not work.

The most egotistical runner I have ever known does not come close to the "dig me" triathlete's over inflated view of their own self importance.

So you sir can go eat a dick!

hmm,

Not so true: I have seen guys with down-tube shifters do extremely well in elite races....those bikes must have been at least 20 years old!

Run, drink beer,get a leg up on the wife = the correct way to be a three sport guy.

i know this is pointless, but what the hell. Triathlon and running are different sports. If I liked bike riding or swimming I might think anout doing triathlons. But I don't; so much so that I'd rather be a mid pack runner than a front of the pack triathlete. If I gave up running for another sport, or if I were to expand and do another sport seriously, I'd look for an over 50 baseball league to play in or just sign up for a recreational basketball league because I enjoy doing those things.

You like to swim and run,I gather. You've found your sport. But if you're there to win and ebcause the competition is easier than it is in running, why the heck are you trying to talk people into switching?

mequonman wrote:

I workout now 12 hours a weeks, not much.

I do 4 swims - 15,000 yards, 5 runs 30+ miles, and 4 bike 120+ mile workouts per week, not much.

Doesn't that answer the question? You have to workout twice as much -- for the marathon I probably didn't run much over 6 hours in any week -- to reach the same level in the other sport, or somewhat higher because that other sport is self-selecting by those who can devote that much time to training.

I've thought of doing duathlons (run and bike) to see how I'd do with minimal bike work since I wouldn't want to take away from my running training, but they're really expensive.

Note to all running specialists:

mequonman does not represent most triathletes. We respect runners, bicyclists and swimmers. If someone only enjoys one of three sports, that's cool!

The gear, time and expensive races gets to be a pain and sometimes I wish I just stuck with running.

Have fun out there!

Mequonman,

So you also post on Slowtwitch under Mequonman. Are you really swimfan?

Here is Meqonman's cross post on slowtwitch:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1199280

;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;guest=10869624

YOU GUYS ARE MISSING THE POINT ..

If you are a runner looking to get that competitive, WIN advantage back that you had when you were in school running XC, then GO TO TRIATHLONS !!!!

SOME OF THE TRIATHLETES ON SLOWTWITCH ARE AFRAID YOU'LL CROSSOVER AND SMOKE THEM ALL.

Lance Armstrong was right...."it's not about the bike"....It's about the run.

Plus the sport of Triathlon needs some clarity put back into it. Too many bike obsessed, faties out there. For example; I would be able to run a 5K portion of a triathlon in 20 minutes and still be considered an elite triathlete. 20 minutes for a 5K is by no mean elite.

STOP BEING SO CHEAP,RUNNERS. It's not that expensive.

JPGarland wrote:

for the marathon I probably didn't run much over 6 hours in any week

If you only trained 6 hours per week for the marathon I can guarantee that you did not reach anywhere near your potential in the sport.

I think most people seriously about training for the marathon would be training at least 11 hours per week (including only time actually running).

Thus, he's a MOPer. Nothing wrong with that. But 6 hours,... I do that in one day sometimes.

Hail Mequonman......

If you weren't a pussy you'd be a decathlete. You're just too lazy to train for all ten events.

check out what they are saying about you guys.....

"Give him a break.

The guy's on letsrun are just like the palestinians. LOL"

It's sort of true....

I would do that except there is no venue for 30 something guy to do decathalons. Trust me, I'd be there.

Nice name, Harry Cooter.

My most time running in a week: 6:42:01, about 60 miles with one day off (I'm 50 so I always take a day off). No question I could have done more, but the point is for me (and for a lot of people) that was a lot of time. So no way could I nearly double it for another sport.

And to give mequonman his due, he did say, "If you are a good runner, you'll smoke em all."

mequonman wrote:

SOME OF THE TRIATHLETES ON SLOWTWITCH ARE AFRAID YOU'LL CROSSOVER AND SMOKE THEM ALL.

I don't do my sport because someone else might be afraid I'll be beat them.

Lance Armstrong was right...."it's not about the bike"....It's about the run. [/quote

In ITU -yes. In tri-s with no-drafting rules -- it's hugely about the bike

[quote]

STOP BEING SO CHEAP,RUNNERS. It's not that expensive.

It is ridiculously expensive. It's a sport where the money makes a huge difference.

If I spend $100 on a pair of shoes, I'll get some benefit, call it "X". If I spend $200 on a pair of shoes, odds are I'll get little, if any, added benefit. And there's not much more I can spend on shoes beyond that. Certainly nothing that's going to make a difference. Regardless, I'm not spending more than a couple of hundred bucks on this sport total

For tris- if I spend $1500 on a bike I'm basically at entry level. If I spend $5,000 on some carbon-fiber machine, Zipp Wheels, etc, it makes a MASSIVE difference. And don't forget the wet-suit. How many hundreds is that?

Note: I'm talking NEW stuff here now. I don't have to buy running stuff used so I shouldn't have to buy the other stuff used either. But even if I do, I'm still spending a fortune

And we haven't even spoken about the insane entry fees. They make road race entry fees look like nothing.

No thanks.