No one understands my obsession.

[froglegs]

I am about 3.5 weeks deep into my official triathlon training (which I am counting as having started when I began swimming a few weeks ago, since I was already running and cycling). So of course now that the prospect of doing triathlons has gone from "something I could possibly do in the future" to something I am actively training and planning for, I am fiendishly compiling my race schedule.

So far, this is my plan:

12/9/07 - Tinsel Tri (sprint tri in Hemet, CA)
1/20/08 - Carlsbad 1/2 marathon (not a tri, but a good reason to bump up my running)
3/22/08 - March in Motion (olympic tri near San Luis Obispo)
5/4/08 - Wildflower olympic tri
sometime later in 08... half IM? who knows...

Everyone in my family thinks I am crazy, and my husband and sister (the two people I talk to most) are getting really annoyed. My husband is polite about it and doesn't tell me I'm irritating the crap out of him. My sister, not so much.

No one understands my obsession!!!

[light_sabe_r]

froglegs. Do what I did to my DF and make him a coach!

Get him to hold your feet while dooing sit ups. Crunch weights with him and have competitions to wee who can open a bottle of jam quicker. :P

DF rides with me too. He refuses to swim but that's okay. And my running is me time!

So why are your DH and sister getting all riled up about again?? I'm excited for you too and I'm excited sitting here thinking about my next one! AWE! It's less than 2 weeks away!!!!

Oh yeah. Hate to say it, But you are crazy... ABOUT TRIATHLON! (that pun was so bad I could hit myself with it!)

[wemoon]

I think people get upset because they are jealous! They want to be the ones that can do that to their body, they want something that means so much to them that they spend hours upon hours working on it, they want to be healthy and strong... I think trying to get others involved would really help them to be more supportive!

I know that when my GF first started training for tris, I was jealous. I thought that I could never do it and was amazed by how strong she was to be able to. Well, here I am with 2 duathlons under my belt and training for my first tri next season. Also training for a century ride and a 1/2 marathon. I remember telling her that I had no such desire to run more than a 5K. Ha! More like my brain trying to tell me that I wasn't good enough to do it.

[HillSlugger]

Why are your husband and sister "annoyed"? Do they feel that you are "neglecting" them or family so that you can train? Is triathlon all you can talk about now? I know that I tend to get very wrapped up and self absorbed with all things triathlon and it's easy to let it take over everything. To be "fair" to my family I try to train so that it has the least impact on others. I try to restrain the spending. I don't forced anyone to go to my races, etc. If I'm somewhere in the right ballpark about your situation, then like most things, triathlon and triathlon training is all about balance. Let your family know that this is important to you but also do your best to prevent it from getting inbetween you and your family events and responsibilities. Try to get them involved, either in training with you or in supporting your training. Handled properly, this can be a very rewarding experience for everyone.

[rocknrollgirl]

Hmmmm, I can only speak for myself, but I know when I am in the thick of it, I am very single minded. I have to really restrain myself from randomly telling people my splits in the pool.

I am very lucky that so many of the people in my life are competetive athletes and we can just drive each other crazy.

I think the simple fact of the matter is, that my friends and family that are outside of the run, bike , swim circle really want to be supportive, but I am probably boring the stuffing out of them. So I try to keep my tri chat to a minimum and then just come post on here.

So just come tell us, we get it.


Ruth

[Kimmyt]

You've found the right place! I know that if it weren't for the internet and my various communities, I wouldn't talk about anything but my various passions to my friends and family. It's nice, because I can get my fill of [insert passion] chatter online and then I come home and talk to my regular friends about normal stuff. Its like two different lives.

But you have to understand, to most people who aren't involved in this stuff, they really don't care about how you had a really good 3 mile run the other day or that you finally dialed your nutrition plan. Just keep the little triumphs to yourself and share the big ones with them, they'll appreciate it and you'll appreciate their lack of frustration with you too!

K.

[froglegs]

I suppose I should have been more clear.... they are annoyed because it's all I've been talking about. Plus I've been trying to get my husband into cycling (not happening) and my sister to do a tri next year (which was her idea, but I don't think that's happening either).

As far as time is concerned, I'm only training about 7 hours a week at the moment, and my husband is working evenings right now, so it's not a big deal (we have no kids). Unfortunately, none of my friends are into any of the triathlon sports. I searched online to see if I could find a triathlon club in my area, but the closest one is 40 miles away, and as it is I spend enough time commuting to my job. I enjoy working out alone, but I think it might be good for me to do some workouts with other people.

My sister, despite her annoyance with my constant triathlon talk, used to be a competitive swimmer, and fortunately she is willing to provide me with excellent swimming advice and workout plans.

Fortunately, my mom is great about my obsession. She is in excellent shape and is very into fitness and nutrition. She has said she'll fly down for my first olympic tri next year. I suppose I should restrain myself from trying to convince her to do one with me (although I KNOW she could)!!

Thanks everyone. It's nice to have a place where I can freely express my excitement. Today is swim & bike day!!!

[Kathyrides]

I've been obsessed for 4 years and it is getting worse as I'm signed up to do my first IM next year.

You will find others with same interest and in time almost all my friends are triathletes and my old friends I don't see much.

Keep looking around as there are often little tri groups all over the place. Sometimes at Y's or pools or join a Masters program and you'll find other triathletes.

Enjoy the journey as it is a wonderful lifestyle

[Bron]

Well there are plenty of people here to talk to

Would your husband and sister do a relay with you just to get them feeling involved? I did this with my two sisters - they were coming to visit and I thought that watching me do a triathlon would be boring for them, so I changed my entry to a relay; baby sister swam, little sister ran and I did the cycle leg.
This year, little sister came out to visit, did the whole triathlon and beat me, grrrrrr.

[froglegs]

A relay is an excellent idea. I'm sure I could get my sister to do the swim leg. However, I don't think I could get my husband out there. He is a big weight lifting type and manages to dislike all of the triathlon sports.