Reasons why Beginnertriathlete is the best site (Page 3)

Since their race was referenced here, what would the BAA say of a 2:30ish marathoner?

Look you just proved bryans point.  As a professional marathoner you can put up a 2:30 against your fellow professional marathoners putting up sub 2:10 .. you are mediocre.. you change to triathlon and put up a 2:30 you are great.

Edited by slake707 2009-06-25 2:21 PM

Are you guys doing a letsrun.com parody or something?  Very ironic this argument broke out. 

If your argument is one of words, re-re-read what bryan said.

"What's funny is that there is a degree of truth to the joke that if you can't be outstanding in one sport, being mediocre in three sports can make you a great triathlete! "

Now the phrase 'there is a degree of truth to the joke' would mean that what the joke states is over exaterated, but is based off of truth.

I still lack to see what there is to argue about.. given I'm bickering too. ;p





So bryan.. how is the heat up over there?

Edited by smilford 2009-06-25 2:23 PM

Putting a 2:30 up against the Olympics results in 2008, would put that marathoner 70 out of 76 finishers.

You're right, that's not mediocre, that's bad.

edited for correctness: used wrong source initially.

Edited by newleaf 2009-06-25 2:28 PM

wall<-----------head. Repeat.

Well, look, we can't sit here bickering in a thread titled "BeginnerTriathlete is the best site"!

I referenced the BAA, so I'll repsond. For an AG'er, 2:30ish is blazing fast, but we are comparing the professional levels of triathlon vs. the professional levels of runners. This get's back to the thread Fred linked at LetsRun.com. One of them, and I qouted their thread, made the comment that we aren't that fast relative to true runners, or something like that. I thought it was interesting and at the elite level, had some degree of truth.

I agree you can't be mediocre or barley adequate at s/b/r to be a great triathlete, but that is relative to other triathletes. Swimmers, bikers, and runners use a different yardstick than we do. For the most part for them, to be great would be a notch above what we would consider great. That's sort of the point I was making.

Edited by bryancd 2009-06-25 2:40 PM

Well, at least for once it wasn't my fault, mmbrad started it!

Hey!

At least here when can be civil when we disagree.

You're trying to be pedantic, but failing.  "Mediocre" and "great" are relatives.  If there is nothing to compare to, they are meaningless. 

If the comparison is to elites in the individual sports, then elite triathletes will tend to be mediocre (at best) in comparison.  This isn't a slight on them.  One could absolutely be a "barely adequate" elite level swimmer, cyclist and runner and be a first-rate triathlete.

Hey, I didn't pick the words. They were presented and I bristled. Take it up with somebody else bryancd.






Edited by mrbbrad 2009-06-25 2:57 PM

Yeah, i saw this yesterday on st also...huge generalization...but don't you just hate the guy their talking about?

this joke sums it up:

Q: If you are at a party how can you tell who the triathlete in the room is?

A: You don't have to they will tell you

I can't stand the guy who has to tell you everything: "I am racing this race, I am running 10 miles today, I just changed a flat tire, I just took a dump, IIIIIIII...." you get the idea. 

I give up.......

never give up!!!!

It's not the WORDS!  It's your differing interpretation of the comparitive universe.  And it was a "joke" with a "degree" of truth.  You're trying to create your own context for the sake of argument.

Yes dear.

i'd prefer not to get in this but mrbbrad, it sounds like you're being difficult on purpose.  everyone gets/knows what bryan is trying to say and what the joke says.  just drop it

It's time......








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Then why are you?

It annoys me to no end when a statement is made, the meaning of the statement is questioned, and the response is "you know what I mean", or "everyone gets/knows what bryan is trying to say."

I like to take at face value what people actually say, not interpret what they mean to say or are trying to say. Both ways of operating have problems but I prefer the problems that come with my way than the problems that come with the other. In the original statement there were no comparisons made nor relativity established. Other posters subsequently chimed in with their interpretation of that information. I do not contend that elite triathletes are on equal footing with elite althletes in each respective sport. My issue was and is with the use of the words mediocre and great in the original statement. Absent any qualifiers or modifiers one must compare mediocre and great to each other. To that end, one cannot be mediocre at three independent things and be great at them when those three things are combined. I realize it's only the English language, and based on my relatively short time on BT it seems that's not a big deal to many people here, but it's kind of a thing with me. Yeah, I'm a blast at cocktail parties. But hey, I'm just pi$$ing away a slow afternoon at work by picking at a badly worded (and not funny) joke.

Edited by mrbbrad 2009-06-25 4:01 PM

wow.... has this thread derailed, or what???





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Pancake bunnies are another reason why BT is so great!

.....just saying.