As if the whole running thing wasn't enough:
Study: Triathlons can pose deadly heart risks
March 28th, 2009 By MARILYNN MARCHIONE , AP Medical Writer (AP) -- Warning to weekend warriors: Swim-bike-run triathlons pose at least twice the risk of sudden death as marathons do, the first study of these competitions has found.
www.physorg.com/news157482153.html
Chris - excellent post. I have to agree on many of your points but most notably on the fitness of the tri crowd. Couple that with all the flashy gear and I feel downright out of place when I bust out my ancient suit and swedes. It is a very buff crowd, ShePuff buff, if you will.
The completion versus competition is also something I see a lot. I don't understand the "I just want to finish" mentality of tris but it is quite evident. Obviously, a full IM is a notable exception. You finish that, you get a pass in my book. The only way I can explain it is that if you are a good swimmer you grew up racing and you understand what it means to race. Not many of us grew up doing triathlons so maybe there is less of a racing mentality. Who knows, although at the elite level, those guys and gals are animals.
Congrats on passing someone on the bike leg. That has yet to happen to me. I average about 17.2 mph and get passed by elderly people on those red scooter things.
Some even go just to check out the scenery. One time I gave a friend of mine grief when he asked one of our other friends to move because he was "blocking his view."
When I gave him grief about it, he replied, "If God didn't intend for us to look, he would have made everybody look the same." :laugh2:
Chris - excellent post. I have to agree on many of your points but most notably on the fitness of the tri crowd. Couple that with all the flashy gear and I feel downright out of place when I bust out my ancient suit and swedes. It is a very buff crowd, ShePuff buff, if you will.
The completion versus competition is also something I see a lot. I don't understand the "I just want to finish" mentality of tris but it is quite evident. Obviously, a full IM is a notable exception. You finish that, you get a pass in my book. The only way I can explain it is that if you are a good swimmer you grew up racing and you understand what it means to race. Not many of us grew up doing triathlons so maybe there is less of a racing mentality. Who knows, although at the elite level, those guys and gals are animals.
Congrats on passing someone on the bike leg. That has yet to happen to me. I average about 17.2 mph and get passed by elderly people on those red scooter things.
Some even go just to check out the scenery. One time I gave a friend of mine grief when he asked one of our other friends to move because he was "blocking his view."
When I gave him grief about it, he replied, "If God didn't intend for us to look, he would have made everybody look the same." :laugh2:
