ridiculousness of tri's

I have always been a runner but have some tri friends that are always mouthing off. They have often tried to get me to do one. Here's what I did. A runner friend of mine talked me into doing a 2-man team "Adventure race". (Kayaking, mountain biking, and running)

I never kayaked or mountain biked before and did not do any of this type of training before the race. Do to running related injuries I cross trained on a stationary bike 6-7 times during the month leading up to the race. I rented a $2,000 mtn bike the night before for $30. I rode it for 5 minutes the night before to get used to the gears.

Well, the next day we won the race in just under 2 hours.

The race only had about 200 entrants but it was fun to win.

There is a duathlon coming up where I plan to do the same thing. This one will be much more competitive however. I will purposely not train on a road bike (only a stationary bike in the gym) and rent a bike from a bike shop the night before. As a decent runner it’s a fun sport in itself to try to beat these guys at their own game without doing much specific training. I am thinking about wearing cut-off jeans and a stained wife-beater t-shirt when I compete. I may get a sharpie and write something on my shirt. Any ideas ??

Maybe “I like BEER” or something lame like that.

Cycling is only slightly less ridiculous than triathlons.

I recently did a sprint triathlon and got third winning 150 dollars. I'm 18, I bought a 1000 dollar Trek 1500 a month before, and I don't know how to swim. I was extremely surprised that I beat semi-professionals. Guys who have done it for years and so on.

I should probably go on to a tri message board and ask for some advice on whether or not I should take them seriously.

I'm really thinking about it though. I can see myself do a lot better at them than running.

I'm going to be running DIII in the fall. But I'll probably just do tris over the summers.

Any ideas from runner guys?

Well, here are the questions: what's your time for a 1500m swim? And what can you do time for a 40km bike?

Coming on here and saying you came third in some race is as meaningless as me saying a won a local 5k last week. Your competition , frankly, was probably a joke. With tris it's hard to tell, because EVERYONE has insane gear...but if you do a 1500 swim in anything over 20 minutes and are still in the mix, you're not in a real race.

Let me start with this: "semi-professional" doesn't really mean anything. You are or aren't. Next, "semi-professional" triathletes, if they exist, don't race sprint triathlons seriously. If they are serious, and are racing that distance, then they should be laughed off the course. If you are doing a sprint, wear some regular clothes, like a dri-fit t-shirt top and whatever else. I still suggest something with a chamios, as any bike seat feels like a fence post after a while. But guys and chicks that show up like they're ready to bring some serious heat need to be laughed at and brought back down to earth. I laugh now at the tri guys who get all geeked out and go crazy to qualify for boston. I thought it was tough from hearing everyone talk about it so much, then I ran my first marathon in Chicago and qualified by almost 30 minutes. It was the most anti-climactic accomplishment of my life. Now when I hear some guy making a big deal over qualifying for boston at a race, I know I'm going to stomp the sh!t out of them in the race.

I started out doing this sport with a $600 bike and a surfer's swimming experience, no racing. I was a colliegiate runner at the time and didn't have money falling out of my pockets. Yoy don't need a ton of money or cool gear to HAVE FUN. I race at a high level and I wouldn't consider myself top-tier, but I am a good second tier athlete in running and cycling. Obviously every poster here is Ryan Hall, Alan Webb, Meb, Abdi, and maybe even Kenisia Bekele, so you are all making livings off your running. I'm just having fun competing at a high level while I'm still young and don't have kids.

And I'll race you over any distance and be competitive. Don't think all of us tri-guys are pushovers. I win more money on the roads than in Tri's. But I consider myself a triathlete now, more than a runner.

400: 48.8

800: 1:50.17

1500: 3:45.6

5k: 15:01

10k: 31:13

10m: 55:25

1/2 Mar: 1:15:14

Mar: 2:40:01

Oly dis Tri: 1:59:51

1/2 Iron: 4:28:18

Nothing spectacular, but next time you see a guy pass you on a TT bike, don't think he's some schmuck who isn't good at anything. He could kick your ass in a road race but might be looking for the next challenge.

I was a decent swimmer in HS, dropped it and got into running. In my best year i had PR's of 29:14min 10k, and 13:57/ 5k. Due to injury I had to swim a lot again last summer, which then lead me to the idea of doing a few local tri's. I owned a 500$ road bike back then.

Anyways, even though I was not in sub 30 shape (more like 31 min) I didn't even had the best running splits in a few tri's. Point is: running off a bike ride is freaking hard!, and there are some triathletes that are better cyclists which can then hand my ass in running, even though I could probably drop them in a single 10k by more then 3 min.

yo... wrote:

I was a decent swimmer in HS, dropped it and got into running. In my best year i had PR's of 29:14min 10k, and 13:57/ 5k. Due to injury I had to swim a lot again last summer, which then lead me to the idea of doing a few local tri's. I owned a 500$ road bike back then.

Anyways, even though I was not in sub 30 shape (more like 31 min) I didn't even had the best running splits in a few tri's. Point is: running off a bike ride is freaking hard!, and there are some triathletes that are better cyclists which can then hand my ass in running, even though I could probably drop them in a single 10k by more then 3 min.

BS. you are in no "local tri's" (unless you live in Hawaii) and are not the best runner if you actually have those running prs.

you are not a very good liar.

rabbittruns wrote:

because of this, i have always percieved tri's as a bastion for mediocrity in sport where the people who suck at swimming and running turn to when there is no more hope. i'm not saying its easy by any means, but i do believe it is dominated for the most part by third rate athletes at best.

This could characterize some of the tri athletes but I have also observed very good runners who have reached a peak with their racing times and want a new challenge. They have done the marathons and even some ultras and then turn to tri's for a new challenge.

But to echo an earlier post, I do get a little tired of their bragging about how expensive their bikes are and how much money they spend on the sport. I also think those multi-colored bike pants/shirts they wear are pretty stupid - expecially when they look like a riding billboard.

I will give tri athletes some credit though: the ones who do the Olympic and up distances appear to be in great shape. Those who brag about doing the "sprint" distances are usually fat.

sp!kes wrote:

I know, I know, another tri bashing thread. I just want someone to explain why it is not totally ridiculous.

Because triathletes can actually get laid....???

Now run along, you scrawny little moron.

All sports are equally futile - there is no fundamental point whatsoever in undergoing strenuous physical activity that is not strictly necessary to keep us alive - we do it because it's enjoyable. on that basis running is as equally futile as triathlons and baseball etc etc - and i say that as a runner myself....

So I've been reading this thread and it occurred to me that they should simply reverse the order of the events to make it really interesting. Run a marathon, cycle however hundreds of kilometres and then swim for a bit. I'd like to see them try that one.