Do You Ever Get Tired Of Talking About Triathlon?
When I was new and with other tri geeks I was totally into chatting about supplementation, comparing training plans, going BIG year-round, pushing the training limits, etc. But I think I am getting tired and quite frankly bored with the conversation topics as they really don't change.
I do have a ton of friends outside the tri space, so I do have a life. 
But does anyone get bored with talking about triathlon?
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I do too, have other interests; travel, cars, music, movies, etc. But unfortunately, most of my social circle seems to be those same tri people, so it all seems to circle right back to tri this-tri that. Constantly trying to find non-tri people to hang out with.
While turning your hobby into something you make money doing is cool, it is still a job. I see this all the time w/ volunteer firefighters who become professional firefighters. It seems cool at first, it is a great gig, however it is still a job.
In 2007 the blogging world was opening up and there was a large tri-blogger community that posted virtually everyday. This great group would also post comments on each others blogs as well. I was an active member of that group and 40 or so of us had a great time meeting up as weird internet friends at 2008 IM CDA.
This was pre Google Reader and we relied on the Tri Kahuna out of LA at trigeekdreams.com to see a listing of all the active tri blogs. Each day I would visit his blog and dutifully click on each blog on the list to see any new postings. Everyone had their own created blogger name.
Most of those blogs have gone silent or dark since then as they either checked the IM and triathlon off their bucket list, or moved on to perhaps a better balance of interests. Some continue to post, but not with the same frequency nor devotion to the singular topic of triathlon.
This was pre Facebook which I think probably caused much of the decline. Slapping a one-liner on Facebook is much easier and quicker than crafting several paragraphs of thoughts on a blog post. One must enjoy writing to continue blogging in the post Facebook world.
I continue to blog, but have gone to once or twice a week or sometimes less frequent postings, and try to blog about other stuff rather than just listing my latest wonderful training and racing results.
In the beginning it was all about the toys and secret sauces and did you read this or try or eat that? to attempt gain an edge. Plus, much like rock and roll in the sixties, we felt we were a part of a special, select group who were marrying the internet and technology with triathlon and were pretty danged excited to be a part of this great new world.
So utterly sick of it. I understand that while in the middle or the final build up to a race it's almost unavoidable. Especially if you're doing an IM as the training becomes all consuming at the end. However, I am looking forward to being a "normal" person again and having more time to engage in "normal" hobbies. At least until the pre-season starts but even then I'd like to engage other aspects of life.
I am enjoying talking about cycling a lot though...which wasn't the case before this summer.
All of my good friends are athletes. Either serious about triathlon, reforming, have moved on to other stuff, etc but we all share "endurance as a lifestyle." As such, they don't feel a need to talk/ask me about triathlon constantly, though probably 90% of our time together is spent on a bicycle
. I don't really train or do much social stuff with my tri club anymore, especially not this summer with IM training, but there are a few folks who seek me out and ask for training and racing advice...at a friggin' XMas party.
In the end, most of the conversations I have about the sport are here inside EN or inside my head
. But I'm sooooo looking forward to riding my dirtbike after the race. I'll probably take it to the shop this week to have some work done on it so all I need to do is throw my leg over it and go. Though my Sat/Sun rides are my primary social opportunity, I'm very much looking forward to not putting on cycling clothes, going up into the mountains, playing in the dirt and having lunch next to a stream...
To answer your question, I really, really don't like talking about triathlon in social settings, unless they are my friends. In that case I want to share what I know to help them out.
John,
For me I really enjoy the conversation around triathlon but I agree the is typically not much new if you don't go looking for it. I still have lots to learn about power, bike fit, nutrition, and even like to read the injury section as I find out how/why people got injured. Beyond that I hope that I can help out, especially here.
Having said this I do ususally unplug from tri-space several times a year. This is usually when I am travelling with my wife or just before the OS in September for a couple weeks.
Gordon
Like Rich, I *hate* talking about triathlon with non-endurance people. I started feeling that way after about the fifth time I'd had this conversation.
Al, I don't really have conversations with non-endurance people as I don't have interactions with civilians on a regular basis
When I do, it's usually with other dirt biker types who are most certainly not endurance types, at all. I lay very low on the triathlete, triathlon coach, former Marine thing as I prefer to be just another guy in these situations. When it does come up, especially on discussions about professions, I get a lot of blank stares and "whaaa??"
Since joining EN- all of my long course friends are here or we are in touch via e-mail or FB. If I don't want to talk tri, I call someone I have known since pre-EN.
I get embarrassed when DH talks about my tri life to others. Mostly because I know they could care less and don't have any concept of what we do. I am low key about it all. Our vacations do not revolve around the next race- I would be single if that were the case. Vacations are for scuba diving in gorgeous locales (this year) tri and hiking (next year) with maybe one dive trip. But I try to talk about scuba diving, pretty fish, dolphins, and sharks- folks find that more fascinating than an all day sport.
Great Post Al!
As much as I get tired of talking about it, I feel even worse for Theresa as she gets stuck hearing thing over and over and over.
I seem to have a pretty clearly deliniated group that I know I can have detailed tri conversations and those we don't even venture there (and they probably don't even know its my hobby). Too much of anything is rarely good and kind've takes some of the fun out of it. I do personally love hearing about other people's races / events. Triathlon is something I do - its not who I am.
But I do find it odd that some long time friends of mine can't even bring up the subject just in passing - like its too foreign or odd or they don't really think I'm THAT into triathlon and it'll just pass (even after 5 yrs?) .
Then again, this isn't really limited to triathlon. When we get a big group of lawyers together, we tend to talk about a lot of lawyer-ly things (or law school). Some groups of friends just have a built-in go-to