What is 'fun'?

So what is fun?

I've been asked so many times if I 'enjoy' the pain, suffering, physical and mental fatigue I put my body through training and racing. First, I am not a very competitive person but I do like to compete. Over the last 18 months I've done 25 triathlons, a marathon, two half-marathons and around a dozen other 5K and 10K races.   I may not win much of anything but that's not really why I'm out there.  If by some highly unlikely event I DO actually take home some hardware (like at the Athens Tri this year) I like to feel that no matter what I do, I always put out my maximum effort. I get an uncanny sense of satisfaction when I put forth a hard effort, pushing my body to its limits, just to see what I have deep down in the tank. This painful experience my friends, is not "fun". It's like I am putting my body through a grinding series of torture tests just to see what my limits are. The awesome reality is that quite often, I am surrounded by many like minded individuals who are doing the same. We gaze back and forth at each other looking for weakness, looking for that moment when you have the opportunity to sink the dagger in deep. All you have to do is find one extra surge, one more hard push to crack the competition. This is not fun, this is painful... this hurts...  this let's me know I'm ALIVE!  And I friggin' LOVE it!

So, I guess I can honestly say that triathlon, to me, is the MOST fun I can have while I'm not actually having fun.

Have a great weekend and train safe!

Chad

www.team464.com

 

sounds like fun to me!  i enjoy the results more than anything (i..e, the journey) and reflecting on how far i've come in the past 8 months....

That's an interesting question because I think it's really important to find something active to do that you find to be fun.

I actually find tris to be fun. Maybe I'm just weird and like pain.

 Well said -- my parents have come to really enjoy going to the races as they're AMAZED by the people that are walking around.  Granted my 2nd tri had MANY, MANY people out there where just getting to the finish line was their goal.  For them watching these out of shape people working towards the finish line is just as impressive as the leaders flying by everyone else.
I'm hoping to get my brother to bring out his family to the next Wed. night tri.  It's a great park where they'll be able to picnic and go swim in the lake (it won't be wetsuit legal next time :( and take in the experience.
What I like is that we're all out there doing our thing and cheering everyone on.  Might not be like that for the leaders but when I see somebody struggling on the bike I always give them an "atta boy/girl" and when I get passed running I also tell them they're running strong and keep it up.  
--Dan

Fun is taking on a challenge and beating it.

Succeeding is fun, overcoming is fun, competing is fun, hopefully some day I will get to experience winning as fun too.

I'm a horribly competative person, hell I don't even like to let my son win.  It's not hard to let him win, but I actually have to consciously do it.

For me Triathlons were the absolute opposite life choice for me.
441 pounds, sitting on the couch, eating any and everything I could.  Stopping to get a meal on the way home, powering down the burger/fries/tacos whatever, then having dinner when I got home.  That was my life.

But for me the fun changes.
I wanted to "Swim/Bike/Run" emphasis on run a triathlon, it was like a badge of honor.  Something to let me know I was alive and that I had made a change.  So I did a sprint triathlon, I almost drowned, I had to walk the run, etc. etc.  Yeah I did it but I was disappointed.

Like I said I don't like to lose, and I didn't consider that first triathlon a success, was quite disappointed in myself and was not happy, it was not fun.
So I signed up for another sprint.  This one started off better, right up until I put my face in the ice cold water and it took my breath away.  I ended up having to almost dog paddle my way acros the river, I couldn't put my head in that icy water.  My feet were so frozen it hurt to walk, and the bike ride only made it worse.  By the time I got to the run, I couldn't feel my feet, What I felt was sharp little needles stabbing me somewhere below my ankles.  I ended up walking that race as well.  This again produce another unhappy, not fun experience.

So now I'm pissed, I have tried to "run" two triathlons and IMO failed both times.  But if nothing else I refuse to give up.  Moving on to triathlon number 3.

This one went so much better, I finished the swim, didn't almost drown, had no frostbite or frozen extremities.  I managed to run the entire race without stopping.  This was a success and I actually have fond memories of this event.  This was fun.

But I'm not satisfied.  Now the challenge will be a couple half marathons later this year, an olympic distance triathlon and a 70.3 triathlon next year, and hopefully a full Ironman the following year. 

I hate running, I am enjoying riding, and I'm struggling with swimming, but you know what I'm not going to give it up.  I enjoy the challenge too much.

Oh yeah and fun is getting to talk with all of you and see your successes and share mine with you as well.  You are all inspirational and full of help and support.  I can honestly say I am addicted to doing this. 

Scott

I want to do a triathalon SOOO bad, but I haven't found any nearby. I was a competative swimmer from age 8-18. (I'm 25 now) but I'm not such a great runner, anyhow, I think it would be amazingly fun.

Have you tried searching on www.active.com ? That's where most of them are listed.

Also-KS has an Ironman 70.3 distance race. something to think about for next summer.

www.findaraceevent.com/genericsummary.aspx 
Here you go, I have no knowledge of Kansas or where you are located but the above came from a quick google search of KS triathlon. You may want to try the same search for border states.
Good luck, they are a BLAST!

awesome, thanks for the tip!