Triathletes

I actually mulled over the idea of doing exactly that, for the excuse to travel among other things. But I just can't wrap my mind around traveling hundreds of miles (and spending a fair amount of time and money) to participate for less than a minute in events I have absolutely zero chance of placing in. And what would I get to say after the fact? "Woo, I swam 50m!! and came dead last." Almost anyone could do that. If that is your attitude, I can see why you would view this as wasting your time and money. I personally have little chance to place in national meets because I compete against guys who've for the most part swum in college. That doesn't stop me from trying. Swimming-wise, I go because I train hard all year and want to swim my best time in one of the country's best facilities against some of the best competition. So what if I am 80th out of 120 (like I was at worlds last summer). It was a personal best, and for that, I was very proud. :wine: Not-swimming-wise, I go to hang out with my friends/teammates, meet other swimmers, and tour a new city. A typical triathlon I can understand: You get to take part for hours; and if you're in any kind of decent shape, you might well not be the last to finish because there are hundreds of others just participating in order to complete. :dunno: There are plenty of zone and national meet participants just doing the same thing. Ask Rich (swimstud). Plus, with a tri, there's always some poor soul who ends up DFL because they got a flat towards the end of their bike race and ends up having to run 50% more than everyone else ;) It's not true of everyone obviously, but enough people seem to take swim meets very seriously for them to be too intimidating, I think, for much of the less-than gifted to participate. And that's probably for the best. I don't think serious masters athletes would want thousands of swimmers of my calibre to clog up the parking lots and change rooms, and otherwise get in the way to make those annoyingly endless meets last *even* longer. Unfortunately, I know many examples of this to be true, and it is, as I said, unfortunate that these people's intensity is viewed as intimidating. Everyone has different goals, and swimming means something different to everyone. Some folks still feel like they have something to prove. To these people, if they flop at a meet, it is the end of the world and they want everyone to feel sorry for them. However, bear in mind that they're missing out on all the fun you're having as long as they're sulking. We STILL make fun of the guy who threw his goggles at the sauna and scared the old ladies inside ;). There are plenty of us who are just happy to have woken up that morning. Bottom line on this is that you should remember that swimming is an individual sport. Don't let someone else turn you off. Be who you are!

I actually mulled over the idea of doing exactly that, for the excuse to travel among other things. But I just can't wrap my mind around traveling hundreds of miles (and spending a fair amount of time and money) to participate for less than a minute in events I have absolutely zero chance of placing in. And what would I get to say after the fact? "Woo, I swam 50m!! and came dead last." Almost anyone could do that. If that is your attitude, I can see why you would view this as wasting your time and money. I personally have little chance to place in national meets because I compete against guys who've for the most part swum in college. That doesn't stop me from trying. Swimming-wise, I go because I train hard all year and want to swim my best time in one of the country's best facilities against some of the best competition. So what if I am 80th out of 120 (like I was at worlds last summer). It was a personal best, and for that, I was very proud. :wine: Not-swimming-wise, I go to hang out with my friends/teammates, meet other swimmers, and tour a new city. A typical triathlon I can understand: You get to take part for hours; and if you're in any kind of decent shape, you might well not be the last to finish because there are hundreds of others just participating in order to complete. :dunno: There are plenty of zone and national meet participants just doing the same thing. Ask Rich (swimstud). Plus, with a tri, there's always some poor soul who ends up DFL because they got a flat towards the end of their bike race and ends up having to run 50% more than everyone else ;) It's not true of everyone obviously, but enough people seem to take swim meets very seriously for them to be too intimidating, I think, for much of the less-than gifted to participate. And that's probably for the best. I don't think serious masters athletes would want thousands of swimmers of my calibre to clog up the parking lots and change rooms, and otherwise get in the way to make those annoyingly endless meets last *even* longer. Unfortunately, I know many examples of this to be true, and it is, as I said, unfortunate that these people's intensity is viewed as intimidating. Everyone has different goals, and swimming means something different to everyone. Some folks still feel like they have something to prove. To these people, if they flop at a meet, it is the end of the world and they want everyone to feel sorry for them. However, bear in mind that they're missing out on all the fun you're having as long as they're sulking. We STILL make fun of the guy who threw his goggles at the sauna and scared the old ladies inside ;). There are plenty of us who are just happy to have woken up that morning. Bottom line on this is that you should remember that swimming is an individual sport. Don't let someone else turn you off. Be who you are!