Triathlon on the cheap

Triathlon on the cheap

In my new and continuing mission to bring useful information to the masses on how to triathlon on a budget, I'd like to present a great alternative for first-timers on how to have a great first experience for very little money.

I am continually under pressure to come up with funds for race entry fees. In a tough economy like today, it can be difficult to justify spending a couple hours' wages on a Saturday morning activity where the main take-aways are a good calorie burn, maybe some free string cheese and orange wedges, and a shirt that you can probably only wear while doing more exercise. Oh yeah, and maybe a little trinket to hang on your wall. Okay, and bragging rights that you did it. Add to that the fact that you have little or no experience doing it and don't really know if it's a hobby that you want to pursue afterward, and you're likely to go spend your money on something else more tangible. And that's okay.

But my local gym provided to me a great way that I could test my mettle against the rigors of triathlon in a low-key way that wasn't hard on my wallet. For the meager sum of $5, they put on an "informal triathlon." A sprint-distance event that started in the pool, and continued out in a small lap for the bike and run portions around the local neighborhoods.

Benefits:

1. At $5, it's a great way to see if you even like doing triathlon enough to dedicate more resources to it.
2. The field is limited to just as many people as can fit into the pool, so you can really relax and test your swimming ability, without risking a kick to the face or getting lost in the open water.
3. Most of the people there are likely to be beginners, so there's never a need to feel self-conscious about ability or experience.
4. The top benefit, in my opinion, is experience in getting to know the mechanics of transition - how and where to lay out your stuff, how to rack your bike, how to navigate the transition lanes, where the mount/dismount line usually is, etc.
5. If you do already have a couple of races under your belt, this is a good measuring stick for how your training is going for the next event.

Drawbacks:

1. There are a few points that you miss out on, like swimming in open water in a crowd, or transitioning in a very small space next to complete strangers.
2. Your gym may not have such an event organized, or may not even have the resources (a pool) necessary to do so.

If #2 is true, I think that the informal tri is such a good idea that any gym with a pool and an employee with a bit of initiative would be wise to set one up. Go and check it out and maybe suggest it to your local gym associate, offering to assist, of course. Heck, the snowball might just keep rolling and if you keep yourself involved, you might end up organizing your own yearly event, complete with t-shirts with your own handsome mug on them!

If your local gym doesn't have a pool, the even better (and rather more obvious solution) is just to get a bunch of your friends together and do it, yourselves, on a Saturday morning. Loser buys breakfast, or whatever. Rumor has it that there's a very famous race in Kona, Hawaii, every year, that started out that way...

End Transmission.