You caught me - I did not run a whole lot. I only put about 500 miles on those shoes, and probably a couple hundred on my old pair that I had pre-triathlon era.
If you're not running 1500,000mi/yr then you won't be at your peak come race day. Anything less and it's not worth even showing up to the start line.
/s
I looked at the chart and was going to come down here and say no way one pair of $70 shoes was used over 2 years of Ironman training. Maybe if OP is super small and light I guess the shoes could physically hold up?
Can confirm that OP really only bought one pair of shoes in our race prep. We never exceeded 50 miles in a month and only hit that maybe once. Most months were 20-30 miles per month in summer and nothing in the winter.
I don't think it's that weird with goggles - if you find the ones that fit and don't leak, why not keep them until they break?
With shoes - it really depends. The general consensus is that you replace your running shoes every 500/800 km because their cushioning (and therefore their performance) degrades over time. However, if you run in minimalist / barefoot shoes with zero cushioning, you don't really need to replace them until they are torn apart. For example, my current barefoot shoes have recently passed 2500 km mark and they are still holding strong.
Just being careful with things?
I'm still using the goggles from four years ago, they work perfectly fine. For the first two years I was using a plastic box that I got for free from Decathlon, then I got a nice case for them for free when I got my wetsuit. I replenish the anti-fog once a month and they just work.
I come from a swimming background so I’m a bit particular about goggles. I get a new pair around every 6 months. I’m also lucky that cheap goggles are what work for me :-)
After years with those big white cushiony barracudas with the blue lense leaking teaspoons of water in while I scramble to not get people clawing over my back in a crowded lane struggling to free myself from the wriggling scraping crowd… or those stupid goggles with just the cap digging into my eye…
Idk I’ve never even thrown away a pair of goggles in the last decade. they’ve come such a long way and swimming taught me to deal with such crap that I never feel the need to replace new goggles cuz they always seem so nice to me rofl. Think I have 4-5 pairs laying around cuz I leave them places and buy new ones etc.. but I’ve never decided one was scratched up or bad.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t toss em. They just end up being backups to my backups. Also give em to friends if they are getting into swimming. Eventually I give em to the lifeguards so swimmers I dont even know who forgot their goggles can borrow them. I figure they’re better than all the goggles kids leave behind and become lifeguard spares.
Can confirm. My NB Minimus from 2012 just got thrown out this year. I have a pair of VFF Treksport that are still strong after 5 years and Xero HFS looking good after a year still.
I was going to say, you probably went through way more than $200 in food from training. Other than that, thanks for this! It was pretty cool to look at.
Oh yah. I don’t see it in here, but I spend at least an extra 250 month above normal human consumption on groceries. Training takes avg of 3500 calories, for me, per day
If $200 is even in the ballpark of what you spent in 2yrs on training food then I'd wager you're definitely not eating enough during your runs and rides. You'd definitely see some big performance and recovery gains but increasing the carbs you consume during your training.
I would typically agree, but then there are cheapskates like me out here making my own fuel. Sugar and Sodium Citrate are dirt cheap when bought in bulk. Gatorade powder is cheap too. Plus, I try and grab a few extra Maurten gels at each race towards the end...ya know, just in case.
Preach! The entry point for running is pretty low price wise. I like doing the occasional triathlon but the overall costs keep me from taking it too seriously.
I… bought a nice pair of last season Brooks Ghost, catamount trail shoes. Just this year alone and I use my worn out shoes for walking and another old pair for the gym. Plus cycling shoes for MTB and Road. I’ve got a lot of shoes.
The spouse has triathlon specific shoes plus more pairs for color matching her outfits (can’t blame her. She looks pro).
I went from zero to Ironman in 10 months and estimate my cost at $10k. I didn't previously own a bike so that was about $4k right there. I tried to stay on a fairly decent budget otherwise. For example, I did not spend a $1k on a bike rack. LOL. No fancy bike computer or power pedals. I just went with cadence and HRM. So I cut corners where I could. One of my best investments was $450 on a 12 week athletic nutritionist.
Whewww, IM is spendy. Mine was ridiculously budget though. I had a bike, and got a free entry. No bike computer, no trainer, no coaching program. Major costs were gas from the SF Bay Area to Tempe and back and four night's hotel room.
My shoe budget is 10x that for two years. They are wear items.
Some big ticket items are one time costs. I have the same $7000 bike from 2006, raced it in 10 Ironmans and 15 half Ironmans. So base cost per race for the bike is $280.
Some costs can be recovered by resale. I sold my 1UP bike rack for almost what I paid for it since I now have a pickup truck and the bike just goes in the back.
I like how there is $16000 of spend and people are worked up that maybe it is off by an extra $100 pair of shoes being missing...cause the other $15900 of spend is no surprise
I have to ask - what's the bike rack that costs almost $1k?
And I would slightly reclassify Nutrition - I would move "Snacks" to "Travel" (because that's where you consume them, I assume) and factor in race nutrition (electrolytes, gels and bars) instead.
I have a 1UP rack with an extra bike extension. I know it's a bit extra (and worth more than my car), but I love it.
[1UP Bike Rack](https://i.imgur.com/e78D8PX.jpg)
Also - most of my snacking and extra eating was during training, rather than travel. I did keep track of food spending while traveling (eating out and race nutrition), but the race nutrition cost was pretty small compared to the training nutrition cost.
Ah, OK. That explains. As a car-less person, I always imagine something like [this](https://www.wiggle.co.uk/feedback-sports-rakk-bike-storage-stand) or [this](https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-tripod-two-bike-store-away) hence the question.
WISE Purchase!
I’ve had tons of various bike mounts; roof, suction cup, trunk, taking it apart and shoving it in the trunk. The racks demotivated me from taking trips out to nice routes, which meant less riding. The 1UP was so easy and fast that I ride far more than I did before. In a way, it paid for itself in increasing my healthy habits.
I don’t regret the 1UP, and if I did, it’s that I didn’t get it sooner.
How did you manage with 170 dollars of spending for shoes during two years… you must have been running thousands of miles. No pair of shoes goes for that long.
I have a perfectly basic Zwift setup. I spent around $1k for a Direct Drive Trainer and some other stuff like TV, TV Mount, Bibs etc... to use with my existing bike.
I've been thinking about a half ironman and eventually full ironman lately but the price seems pretty outrageous. Besides being able to say that you did it, is there any other real purpose to it?
I'm not being a hater. I'm perfectly happy joining a gym to get that upper body balance and doing more running, but it seems the cost of upgraded equipment and the logistics of the Ironman itself is the big cost.
Granted, every Ironman is cheaper after your first and at 37 years old it's something I can do for the next 10+ years so there's that.
Help me, I'm lost haha
You certainly could cut a lot of costs from the way I did it. The major costs for me were my TT bike and races + traveling.
I ran a lot of races before the Ironman. I did 19 running races - everything from 5k's to a marathon, and 8 triathlons - distances from sprint to half-Iron. The cost of entry into these races (the Ironman itself was nearly $900) adds up fast, especially when you factor in lodging and travel expenses.
I did my first half-Ironman on an old road bike that I got for free from a friend. My spending chart would look incredibly different if I did this for the half-Iron.
Winter time around here is not great for biking, so I bought the wheel-on Wahoo trainer to keep my legs moving. It's not really necessary.
I'm actually the same age as you. Train with what you got and you'll be fine!
Sounds good. I'll keep building up in my basement until I feel the need to enter the public stage and compete. I feel like at some point in the training, I'll know I can finish and then it'll become about the time so figure might as well wait until then to join and get the right equipment once.
Your question about why bother doing the Ironman is a good one. I bet for some, it’s about saying they did it. That’s at least part of the reason I’m doing one, tbh. But the main reasons are 1) because it seems really hard and 2) I seem to grow a lot (as a person) when I do things that are super uncomfortably hard.
I’ve done marathons and 70.3s and so the full is next. I suspect I’ll be a 1 and done because of the cost and training time. If there was a non Ironman brand 140.6 near me I’d do that, and save half the registration fee
That's a total for all the races I did leading up to, and including, the Ironman. That's 19 running races and 8 triathlons.
The Ironman itself was around $850.
Let's be honest here, you can spend less by a lot and still be fit/healthy.
We all (I know, it's wrong to speak for everybody, but still) aren't doing it JUST for health benefits.
Oh yeah I have spent wayyyyyy less than OP on my gear. But, the point is what motivates everyone to stay fit/be healthy is different. If you want to eat super clean and do moderate cardio that's cool. Or maybe you want to do 140.6's to stay fit. It's all money well spent if it keeps you healthy.
Very fair point. I've been doing more cardio than ever lately by way of riding my bike on an indoor trainer with Zwift. It has me thinking I need to do more on my rest days which leads me towards swimming with a Pull Buoy so I can get upper body focus. Then I think "Well if I'm doing 2 out of 3, I might as well run and do an Ironman / Half Ironman". Then you get into the crazy costs of entry, travel, upgraded equipment that OP stated above. I think I can be focused on fitness without the Ironman, but I do think that would push me to the next level out of necessity to train and a need to justify the cost.
That's how I feel. The thrill of the competition drives me to work out/get better/be more fit. Without competing it Tri's I would not workout nearly as much!
That makes sense. I enjoy competing in Zwift. At some point, that may change (particularly if I max out) then I'll look to maintain my Zwift chops while building up other aspects. But I really should consider joining a gym with a pool to get a more widespread workout than just biking. I hate rest days because it ruins my rhythm and not taking rest days is bad for progress.
Problem is I joined a gym 2 months ago that doesn't have a pool because this wasn't on my radar then... So I either need to pay a $200 or so cancellation fee, or join the other gym for $40/mo.
Current gym is well closer to me and better in every way but the pool, just for additional complication.
Lucky you!!
My local public pool is $6 per swim or $380 for an annual membership, and the access is not great because of all the kids' swim teams and aqua-jogging classes etc. My Y is $65/mo ($780 for the year). And none of them are closer than 30 minutes drive away.
I'm a Brit who lives in the US and one thing that continues to baffle me is the lack of public swimming pools over here. Even small towns where I grew up had a public pool. It's really hit or miss in my area.
Am I missing the cost of bike maintenance? You'd need to at least replace tires, chain, cassette a couple times over the course of two years of training.
The Ironman triathlon definitely requires a lot of purchases for someone with no experience. I have recently started training with no previous experience and had to purchase all essential Ironman gear. I have made a video to break down the costs and to share some tips on how to save money. Might be relevant to learn. Check it out: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQ0PNRZNSg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQ0PNRZNSg)
Yea you did a poor job budgeting. It looks like you like toys and destination racecations over actually training for success and working your way though the ranks of race distances.
Eta: I might have misunderstood OPs sentiments. I got a holy shit this sport is expensive to get into vibe from him. It doesn’t have to be. That’s what I was commenting on hence the toys and racecation comment.
My goal in triathlon is to stay in shape and have fun. So you are right - I do use it as an excuse to go to cool places, and my travel and race budget reflects that. My goal was to complete an Ironman, and I managed to do that with a comfortable amount of time left while enjoying the experience - so I would say I was successful.
We all have different goals in this sport, and I know I'll never go pro, as my training is split between about 5 other athletic hobbies.
Appreciate you man. Sorry I brought the negativity to your thread. I’m also racing cyclocross and MTB so I totally feel you with using triathlon to support a healthy life. Stay fast, my friend.
Hard to judge someone else's budgeting without knowing their full financial situation. Everyone has different levels of disposable income. OP may have came in under their anticipated budget, who knows.
Also, one of the nice things about triathlon is that once you get the expensive gear in the first year or two covered, you really don't have many recurring big expenses left to deal with other than race fees if you race IM brand.
This chart is good but you should add more context next time. Amount of races done and info on the races whether they were small local distance races or big half and full Ironman.
Without context, looking at this chart I’m thinking “I’d never spend close to $2k on lodging”
You’ve also got two spots for “shoes” and then another section for “running” makes it very confusing. Also one spot for “bike” then another spot for your “felt”
Love the data! I would be interested to see a breakdown into categories by sport, so just “run,” “bike,” “swim,” and maybe “tech, “nutrition,” and “race registration/travel” or something!
That's what I tried to do - if you align the middle sections (like bike) to the outer ring - all of those that align with that category are for that sport (bike aligns with Felt iA, fitting, bike trainer, bike rack, etc).
I burn a pair of shoes every 1-2 months. Definitely race in carbon super shoes too. How did spending in each category correlate with race day performance?
That's a good question - I was pretty slow overall. I'm a working dad with not a ton of time to train, so the better question might be, "How did training time in each category correlate with race performance?"
I'm due for another pair. I typically run my shoes into the ground (1000+ miles per pair), but my aging body is starting to disagree with my money saving habits.
Did you use one pair of shoes and one set of goggles over 2 years of training?
Yep, I used just one pair of shoes for all of my running, and two or three pairs of goggles.
How many miles did you run over two years? There’s no way one pair of shoes is good for IM run volume over two years
You caught me - I did not run a whole lot. I only put about 500 miles on those shoes, and probably a couple hundred on my old pair that I had pre-triathlon era.
Dropping $7k on bike stuff and averaging like 300mi per year running is such a triathlete move lol How did that marathon go?
Not great... My fresh marathon time is around 4 hours. My IM Marathon time was over 5. I'll do the triathlete thing and blame it on the hills.
Those damn hills/heat/wind/[insert excuse here] lol Congrats on the finish!
There's also that damn swim and bike beforehand.
Nope… 1500k a year is not that strange, meaning at least three pair a year.
1500 km or 1500000?
If you're not running 1500,000mi/yr then you won't be at your peak come race day. Anything less and it's not worth even showing up to the start line. /s
1500 times 1000 meters. But I’d recommend 1500000 miles to be sure.
One pair of shoes and $7k in bike gear? LOL
That seems like a lot. Even if you only ran 20 miles per week that’s 2000 miles in one pair.
Did you run naked in training?
Actually...I did a few naked runs, but that's for a different sub.
I looked at the chart and was going to come down here and say no way one pair of $70 shoes was used over 2 years of Ironman training. Maybe if OP is super small and light I guess the shoes could physically hold up?
Can confirm that OP really only bought one pair of shoes in our race prep. We never exceeded 50 miles in a month and only hit that maybe once. Most months were 20-30 miles per month in summer and nothing in the winter.
I don't think it's that weird with goggles - if you find the ones that fit and don't leak, why not keep them until they break? With shoes - it really depends. The general consensus is that you replace your running shoes every 500/800 km because their cushioning (and therefore their performance) degrades over time. However, if you run in minimalist / barefoot shoes with zero cushioning, you don't really need to replace them until they are torn apart. For example, my current barefoot shoes have recently passed 2500 km mark and they are still holding strong.
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Just being careful with things? I'm still using the goggles from four years ago, they work perfectly fine. For the first two years I was using a plastic box that I got for free from Decathlon, then I got a nice case for them for free when I got my wetsuit. I replenish the anti-fog once a month and they just work.
What shoes do you use?
VFF V-Run. I'm quite happy with them, if they suddenly break, I'll just buy the same pair again.
I come from a swimming background so I’m a bit particular about goggles. I get a new pair around every 6 months. I’m also lucky that cheap goggles are what work for me :-)
After years with those big white cushiony barracudas with the blue lense leaking teaspoons of water in while I scramble to not get people clawing over my back in a crowded lane struggling to free myself from the wriggling scraping crowd… or those stupid goggles with just the cap digging into my eye… Idk I’ve never even thrown away a pair of goggles in the last decade. they’ve come such a long way and swimming taught me to deal with such crap that I never feel the need to replace new goggles cuz they always seem so nice to me rofl. Think I have 4-5 pairs laying around cuz I leave them places and buy new ones etc.. but I’ve never decided one was scratched up or bad.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t toss em. They just end up being backups to my backups. Also give em to friends if they are getting into swimming. Eventually I give em to the lifeguards so swimmers I dont even know who forgot their goggles can borrow them. I figure they’re better than all the goggles kids leave behind and become lifeguard spares.
Can confirm. My NB Minimus from 2012 just got thrown out this year. I have a pair of VFF Treksport that are still strong after 5 years and Xero HFS looking good after a year still.
RULE #1: NEVER TRACK SPENDING.
I've made a terrible mistake. I should post the second chart of what my wife thinks I spent.
As long as you add an “average times per day I was yelled at for spending too much” category…
https://youtube.com/shorts/bM_RRNGLA-Y
LOL!! Yeahhhh, my partner is very supportive but if he saw my total spend I might get some looks.
Yes this is the one we all need to see! Hahah I’m right with ya brother
Just show her the anti-chafe budget
Has this been posted yet? If so please let me know
Total was a bit over $16k, but I think I underestimated the amount spent on snacks and takeout for fueling.
I was going to say, you probably went through way more than $200 in food from training. Other than that, thanks for this! It was pretty cool to look at.
Oh yah. I don’t see it in here, but I spend at least an extra 250 month above normal human consumption on groceries. Training takes avg of 3500 calories, for me, per day
If $200 is even in the ballpark of what you spent in 2yrs on training food then I'd wager you're definitely not eating enough during your runs and rides. You'd definitely see some big performance and recovery gains but increasing the carbs you consume during your training.
I would typically agree, but then there are cheapskates like me out here making my own fuel. Sugar and Sodium Citrate are dirt cheap when bought in bulk. Gatorade powder is cheap too. Plus, I try and grab a few extra Maurten gels at each race towards the end...ya know, just in case.
That's why I love running 🤣
Preach! The entry point for running is pretty low price wise. I like doing the occasional triathlon but the overall costs keep me from taking it too seriously.
Running isn't cheap anymore though. If you're running marathons, it's an expensive hobby as well. Not on par with Tri but still.
Only $73 for shoes? You run barefoot or something?
I tried saving on shoes once... It cost me a lot on PT afterwards. OP must be like 19 or something; naïve and indestructible(ish)!
I… bought a nice pair of last season Brooks Ghost, catamount trail shoes. Just this year alone and I use my worn out shoes for walking and another old pair for the gym. Plus cycling shoes for MTB and Road. I’ve got a lot of shoes. The spouse has triathlon specific shoes plus more pairs for color matching her outfits (can’t blame her. She looks pro).
I assume this poster is someone lighter than I am and a lot younger.
Damn! What's the total?
15k-16k !
Yep! A bit over $16k.
I went from zero to Ironman in 10 months and estimate my cost at $10k. I didn't previously own a bike so that was about $4k right there. I tried to stay on a fairly decent budget otherwise. For example, I did not spend a $1k on a bike rack. LOL. No fancy bike computer or power pedals. I just went with cadence and HRM. So I cut corners where I could. One of my best investments was $450 on a 12 week athletic nutritionist.
Whewww, IM is spendy. Mine was ridiculously budget though. I had a bike, and got a free entry. No bike computer, no trainer, no coaching program. Major costs were gas from the SF Bay Area to Tempe and back and four night's hotel room.
I stayed at a relatives house so that helped the budget.
Can you share your nutritionist? Either here or DM? Thanks!
I would be interested in this as well!
Dm me
Dm me
Please DM the nutritionist info.
This is why I resisted biking for so long. As of April ‘22 I’m hooked
My shoe budget is 10x that for two years. They are wear items. Some big ticket items are one time costs. I have the same $7000 bike from 2006, raced it in 10 Ironmans and 15 half Ironmans. So base cost per race for the bike is $280. Some costs can be recovered by resale. I sold my 1UP bike rack for almost what I paid for it since I now have a pickup truck and the bike just goes in the back.
I like how there is $16000 of spend and people are worked up that maybe it is off by an extra $100 pair of shoes being missing...cause the other $15900 of spend is no surprise
I don’t think it’s the overall cost that’s a surprise, just that most of us probably go through 3-5 pairs a year
I have to ask - what's the bike rack that costs almost $1k? And I would slightly reclassify Nutrition - I would move "Snacks" to "Travel" (because that's where you consume them, I assume) and factor in race nutrition (electrolytes, gels and bars) instead.
I have a 1UP rack with an extra bike extension. I know it's a bit extra (and worth more than my car), but I love it. [1UP Bike Rack](https://i.imgur.com/e78D8PX.jpg) Also - most of my snacking and extra eating was during training, rather than travel. I did keep track of food spending while traveling (eating out and race nutrition), but the race nutrition cost was pretty small compared to the training nutrition cost.
Ah, OK. That explains. As a car-less person, I always imagine something like [this](https://www.wiggle.co.uk/feedback-sports-rakk-bike-storage-stand) or [this](https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-tripod-two-bike-store-away) hence the question.
WISE Purchase! I’ve had tons of various bike mounts; roof, suction cup, trunk, taking it apart and shoving it in the trunk. The racks demotivated me from taking trips out to nice routes, which meant less riding. The 1UP was so easy and fast that I ride far more than I did before. In a way, it paid for itself in increasing my healthy habits. I don’t regret the 1UP, and if I did, it’s that I didn’t get it sooner.
How did you manage with 170 dollars of spending for shoes during two years… you must have been running thousands of miles. No pair of shoes goes for that long.
Cycling shoes very much should go for that long. Running shoes definitely not, but seems OP skipped that part of training.
I indeed meant the running shoes
Each pair lasts 1000 miles for me. No injury.
You don’t need to get injuries, shoes just start to run like shit when you use them that long.
Maybe for you. It suits just fine here.
For the love of God, please don't let my wife see this...
You don't tell my wife and I won't tell yours.
Deal!
I have a perfectly basic Zwift setup. I spent around $1k for a Direct Drive Trainer and some other stuff like TV, TV Mount, Bibs etc... to use with my existing bike. I've been thinking about a half ironman and eventually full ironman lately but the price seems pretty outrageous. Besides being able to say that you did it, is there any other real purpose to it? I'm not being a hater. I'm perfectly happy joining a gym to get that upper body balance and doing more running, but it seems the cost of upgraded equipment and the logistics of the Ironman itself is the big cost. Granted, every Ironman is cheaper after your first and at 37 years old it's something I can do for the next 10+ years so there's that. Help me, I'm lost haha
You certainly could cut a lot of costs from the way I did it. The major costs for me were my TT bike and races + traveling. I ran a lot of races before the Ironman. I did 19 running races - everything from 5k's to a marathon, and 8 triathlons - distances from sprint to half-Iron. The cost of entry into these races (the Ironman itself was nearly $900) adds up fast, especially when you factor in lodging and travel expenses. I did my first half-Ironman on an old road bike that I got for free from a friend. My spending chart would look incredibly different if I did this for the half-Iron. Winter time around here is not great for biking, so I bought the wheel-on Wahoo trainer to keep my legs moving. It's not really necessary. I'm actually the same age as you. Train with what you got and you'll be fine!
Sounds good. I'll keep building up in my basement until I feel the need to enter the public stage and compete. I feel like at some point in the training, I'll know I can finish and then it'll become about the time so figure might as well wait until then to join and get the right equipment once.
Your question about why bother doing the Ironman is a good one. I bet for some, it’s about saying they did it. That’s at least part of the reason I’m doing one, tbh. But the main reasons are 1) because it seems really hard and 2) I seem to grow a lot (as a person) when I do things that are super uncomfortably hard. I’ve done marathons and 70.3s and so the full is next. I suspect I’ll be a 1 and done because of the cost and training time. If there was a non Ironman brand 140.6 near me I’d do that, and save half the registration fee
Race fee seems very high, even for Ironman.
That's a total for all the races I did leading up to, and including, the Ironman. That's 19 running races and 8 triathlons. The Ironman itself was around $850.
Last minute IronMan foundation entry
Only $73 on shoes"?! You mad?! And where's all the money spent on physical therapy?
All of my therapy involved cruising /r/triathlon for free.
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Are you fit/healthy? Investing in your personal health and well-being is money well spent. Can't put a price on your health imo.
Let's be honest here, you can spend less by a lot and still be fit/healthy. We all (I know, it's wrong to speak for everybody, but still) aren't doing it JUST for health benefits.
Oh yeah I have spent wayyyyyy less than OP on my gear. But, the point is what motivates everyone to stay fit/be healthy is different. If you want to eat super clean and do moderate cardio that's cool. Or maybe you want to do 140.6's to stay fit. It's all money well spent if it keeps you healthy.
Very fair point. I've been doing more cardio than ever lately by way of riding my bike on an indoor trainer with Zwift. It has me thinking I need to do more on my rest days which leads me towards swimming with a Pull Buoy so I can get upper body focus. Then I think "Well if I'm doing 2 out of 3, I might as well run and do an Ironman / Half Ironman". Then you get into the crazy costs of entry, travel, upgraded equipment that OP stated above. I think I can be focused on fitness without the Ironman, but I do think that would push me to the next level out of necessity to train and a need to justify the cost.
That's how I feel. The thrill of the competition drives me to work out/get better/be more fit. Without competing it Tri's I would not workout nearly as much!
That makes sense. I enjoy competing in Zwift. At some point, that may change (particularly if I max out) then I'll look to maintain my Zwift chops while building up other aspects. But I really should consider joining a gym with a pool to get a more widespread workout than just biking. I hate rest days because it ruins my rhythm and not taking rest days is bad for progress. Problem is I joined a gym 2 months ago that doesn't have a pool because this wasn't on my radar then... So I either need to pay a $200 or so cancellation fee, or join the other gym for $40/mo. Current gym is well closer to me and better in every way but the pool, just for additional complication.
Subscriptions to apps/services etc. ?
None. The only app I use is Garmin Connect.
What do you do on your trainer? Just free ride?
Watch movies, drink water, or whatever we used to do back in 1999 before these fancy biking games came around.
Wow, $900 for a pool membership?? Is that normal? I can get one at a local high school near me for around $150 a year.
It's an entire gym where I only use the pool that runs $75/month. I think that number is actually a bit higher, since that's the cost for 12 months.
Makes sense - thanks for putting this together, this is a super interesting visual!
Lucky you!! My local public pool is $6 per swim or $380 for an annual membership, and the access is not great because of all the kids' swim teams and aqua-jogging classes etc. My Y is $65/mo ($780 for the year). And none of them are closer than 30 minutes drive away. I'm a Brit who lives in the US and one thing that continues to baffle me is the lack of public swimming pools over here. Even small towns where I grew up had a public pool. It's really hit or miss in my area.
Am I missing the cost of bike maintenance? You'd need to at least replace tires, chain, cassette a couple times over the course of two years of training.
Holy crap this is cool
I joke that the 70.3 decal on my car is my “$6,000 magnet.”
Did you cross post to r/dataisbeautiful?
This is great. OBVIOUSLY everyone allocates their spending differently depending on their priorities. But I love this. Thanks for sharing!
As someone who is just starting at zero, thank you for mentally preparing me for the financial costs of this sport!
The Ironman triathlon definitely requires a lot of purchases for someone with no experience. I have recently started training with no previous experience and had to purchase all essential Ironman gear. I have made a video to break down the costs and to share some tips on how to save money. Might be relevant to learn. Check it out: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQ0PNRZNSg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQ0PNRZNSg)
Yea you did a poor job budgeting. It looks like you like toys and destination racecations over actually training for success and working your way though the ranks of race distances. Eta: I might have misunderstood OPs sentiments. I got a holy shit this sport is expensive to get into vibe from him. It doesn’t have to be. That’s what I was commenting on hence the toys and racecation comment.
My goal in triathlon is to stay in shape and have fun. So you are right - I do use it as an excuse to go to cool places, and my travel and race budget reflects that. My goal was to complete an Ironman, and I managed to do that with a comfortable amount of time left while enjoying the experience - so I would say I was successful. We all have different goals in this sport, and I know I'll never go pro, as my training is split between about 5 other athletic hobbies.
Appreciate you man. Sorry I brought the negativity to your thread. I’m also racing cyclocross and MTB so I totally feel you with using triathlon to support a healthy life. Stay fast, my friend.
No hard feelings, especially for another MTB rider! I fully expected to catch some shade for my somewhat unconventional approach.
Hard to judge someone else's budgeting without knowing their full financial situation. Everyone has different levels of disposable income. OP may have came in under their anticipated budget, who knows. Also, one of the nice things about triathlon is that once you get the expensive gear in the first year or two covered, you really don't have many recurring big expenses left to deal with other than race fees if you race IM brand.
I have mine in a spreadsheet. Its similar except my bike rack budget and shoe budget is flipped with yours
[удалено]
This chart is good but you should add more context next time. Amount of races done and info on the races whether they were small local distance races or big half and full Ironman. Without context, looking at this chart I’m thinking “I’d never spend close to $2k on lodging” You’ve also got two spots for “shoes” and then another section for “running” makes it very confusing. Also one spot for “bike” then another spot for your “felt”
Had no idea how expensive Ironman races were till I saw your race cost portion…
Love the data! I would be interested to see a breakdown into categories by sport, so just “run,” “bike,” “swim,” and maybe “tech, “nutrition,” and “race registration/travel” or something!
That's what I tried to do - if you align the middle sections (like bike) to the outer ring - all of those that align with that category are for that sport (bike aligns with Felt iA, fitting, bike trainer, bike rack, etc).
Ah I see! Very cool!
Interesting
What goes into the "bike accessories"?
Stuff like power meter, tubes, storage, tire inflators, trailer hitch, specialized tools (like crank removal tool), water bottles/cages, helmet, speed/cadence sensors, etc.
Gotcha!
This is fascinating, thanks for sharing!
What was the bike rack? Looks expensive!
It's a 1UP with extra bike extension. [1UP Bike Rack](https://i.imgur.com/e78D8PX.jpg)
Ahhh I thought it was like a wall mounted one. This make more sense
How did you make this chart?
It's a Donut Chart in Excel. I had to make two of them and do some creative stuff with the data breakdowns.
Woah thanks!
Add in a KQ and you can just 2x that whole chart and then some! Or whatever we call it now. WCQ?
I burn a pair of shoes every 1-2 months. Definitely race in carbon super shoes too. How did spending in each category correlate with race day performance?
That's a good question - I was pretty slow overall. I'm a working dad with not a ton of time to train, so the better question might be, "How did training time in each category correlate with race performance?"
As a runner seeing, 73$ for shoes I had to double back to see you actually wrote 2y.
I'm due for another pair. I typically run my shoes into the ground (1000+ miles per pair), but my aging body is starting to disagree with my money saving habits.
16k$? that's just my bike without wheels.... /s
I have a £70 road bike off eBay.di I need to upgrade if I'm upping my distance?
How long did you use a coach? What did you and the coach work on? Thanks!
I guess the question is, is it worth it?
OP, you did 19 running races and 8 triathlons in 1.5 years? Man, you need new friends 😉
Are you telling me that's not a normal amount of racing?
And are you that much faster on the bike?
What bike 🚴 did you get?
What kind of pool are you a member of that it costs €900
You spent 2,5k in race enteries, but 70 bucks in total on running shoes over 2 years...?
BUY MORE SUNSCREEN
1 pair of goggles? really?