The intimidation factor

This may be a coincidence, but in the last two days I have run into two triathletes at two separate meetings in DC and in FL. I try not to think about my worlds merging together when my professional world and my sports passion cross--were I to ponder this I would not find comfort.

Nonetheless, in casual conversation the same response occurred. In the first instance, I noticed a guy with a certain sports watch and I was curious if his GPS system works more effectively then mine. There is nothing more frustrating then going out on a long run and having your GPS system continually lose its signal. When I asked him about his watch I first asked if he was a runner. He responded, "No, I'm a triathlete". Funny how I never assume that someone is a triathlete. Anyhow, I said that I was a triathlete as well and asked him his distance. He replied, "Olympic only". He asked what I was training for and I replied, "Lake Placid". Immediately, he repeated to me how his job did not allow him to train more so he could never do anything more than an Olympic. I get that, it's not for everyone--there are time issues, and distance issues, and personal sacrifice issues. He got really defensive and I remember thinking how it was odd. It was as if he heard me say "if you don't do iron distance you aren't a triathlete".

Fast forward to FL where I met a woman who is new to triathlon. She had a great first race and I encouraged her to do more races--who wins their age group first time out of the gate (or for some of us, ever). She also asked what I was training for and I said I was looking forward to Lake Placid. Again, more defensiveness. She expressed how work didn't allow her to compete at that distance.

What do I make of all this? While my survey is far from complete, it seems to me that people are intimidated to meet the crazies like me who are willing to put themselves to the test in an Ironman. In my view, I am no different then any other triathlete or any other average American. I think anyone can do endurance sports but I also know that not everyone wants to. So to my friends who like the olympic and sprint distances, more power to you. I am just not fast enough for the sprint and now that I have done a half-Ironman the Olympic distance is only exciting if there is some environmental condition that makes it difficult--like extreme heat. In my world, I think ultra-marathoners are a bit extreme because I never see myself doing it but I doubt if I ever met someone who was an ultra-marathoner that I would be defensive about my short mileage runs.