I try to be understanding of people who come from a non-swimming background and want to challenge themselves and do their "first triathlon", but this is idiocy. (This is not a joke)
"Ive been running and biking on and off for years so decided to sign up for sprint with some coworkers. I didnt have much time to train for the swim since this race was coming up but I thought, hey its only 400m, how hard could that be. The only time Im in the water I usually have a beer! We went to the lake a couple times before work and I found out just how hard swimming is. It will definately be an effort for me to make the 400m. I plan on doing alot of sidestroke and *** stroke. Im not very good at either one of them but they should get me out of the water. Next week im signing up for swim classes to teach me the crawl. Just figured Id write on here to help with my nerves"
And after the race he posts:
"Folks I did make it though I won't disagree with the people that said maybe I shouldn't do it. I was in the water forever but did fine on the bike and run. Saw 3 people wave for the boat to pick them up in the first 100m. I definitely thought about it halfway but just keep at it, resting for a bit on the buoys. Was a great time but I won't do another one until I can actually swim. Thanks."
And people wonder why there are deaths during the swim leg of a triathlon but rarely during the bike or run.
Former Member
Yeah, you sucked me in and I couldn't get out. I am also surprised, but I do chalk it up to a completely different mentality between swimmers and (new) triathletes, or people that do tris. There are a lot of very opinionated newbies over there that really have no right to be, IMO
I now require any participant in my clinic to be able to swim 800m continuously in a pool
I think that's a good threshold; and "continuously" is the key. Hopefully this encourages folks to think "wow, I can't even make it a few laps without sucking air and hanging from the wall, how am I going to make it a quarter mile or half mile in a lake without walls and/or a shallow end?"
I used to do triathlons, but I find Masters Swimming far more rewarding.
I used to do triathlons, but then I got a job, moved out of my parents' house, got married, had kids.
Triathlons take up so damn much time for training, not to mention the money, that it's just not fair to the family. It's bad enough that I swim a lot, and will be spending money on big swims in the next 5 years or so. But, I sold that to my wife by calling it vacation. Plus, she likes to tell people that she's married to a marathon swimmer. (She told me this once in a moment of weakness, so now I can use it to my advantage in the future. I remember it like it was yesterday, just like I remember the two times in our marriage when she's said "You're right, Mike." Yes, we've been married over 21 years. :)
Former Member
Here is the link to the discussion
www.beginnertriathlete.com/.../thread-view.asp
It now has 155 posts and nearly 3600 views since the original post on 7/7. I'd like to think I had a small part in generating the discussion.
:)
Interestingly, running discussion forums will sometimes feature posts in which the runner will say something along the lines of "I have a marathon in six weeks, and my longest run is ten miles. Do you think I have a chance?"
The discussion takes a very similar shape to the one Bob cited, with some saying, "Go for it!" and others urging the runner to hold off and wait until s/he has trained properly. So this situation isn't unique to swimming.
I'm curious why people do any event for which they're not just mildly undertrained but almost untrained, whether an open water swim or running a marathon or whatever.
There are reasons these events are described as challenges, and I wonder if there's a kind of perverse pride in defying common sense and/or safety rules.
There's a lot of talk about heroism in sports, and the feeling is that "doing" a swim or a marathon run puts one in a special category. In some senses, there's truth to this, but what people often get in the media is the glitzy race day excitement. What they don't get in those images are the hours, days, weeks, months of continuous training, when no huge crowds are cheering or giving out medals for finishing a swim or run workout (although in some group workouts, we do cheer one another on). There are days when it's a lot lonelier and less glamorous. There are days when the runner is faced with an 18 miler when the temps are close to a hundred or the swimmer is wondering why the heck she's getting up at 4:30 for masters' practice--and yet that's where the athlete is earning that finisher's medal or even podium finish.
(Actually for me workouts are fun too, but don't tell anyone or the pool will get too crowded!) ;)
Former Member
And it is with these "wanna be's" in mind that I created the "White Knuckle" division/category in the Search for Monongy swim.
Extra attention is paid to these folks to make sure they can make it. Giving them encouragement, allowing them to use their swim aids, giving them a chance to TRY the swim distance of a TRI before entering a TRI event. In fact, the Pittsburgh Triathlon & Adventure Race (sold out for months) happens on the same body of water in the same area in 3 weeks as my little event.
This is a great opportunity for anyone who is new to Triathlons and/or Open Water swimming. Safety precautions above and beyond are taken for all the swimmers.
2012 Search for Monongy
