Yikes.
Now that the initial excitement and celebration phase is over, the research and planning phase for my first triathlon has begun.
I’m going to need to learn to swim. That means I need access to a pool, and to find a swim instructor who can teach me lessons during preschool hours.
I’m going to need to get comfortable riding a bike on the road, not just in spin class. That means either borrowing my mother-in-law’s bike for a long portion of the summer months when she’d probably like to be riding it, or buying a bicycle. And a helmet. And triathlon gear that I can both bike and run in. Oh, and a wetsuit to go over that for the swim portion.
Besides all the logistics of just researching and accomplishing all this, I’m realizing that this is going to be expensive. $80 a month for a pool membership, plus splurging for some lessons so I don’t waste time with horrible form (I know some people teach themselves with YouTube videos, but I really, really don’t want to drown). Plus maybe a bike – that’s $300-$1,000 for a mid-range bike according to fitness.costhelper.com (who knew there was such a site?). And $50-75 for a bike helmet. Triathlon wetsuits can cost several hundred dollars, and while I could borrow one, it’d be great to have it for paddle-boarding and ocean swimming in Maine this summer so I’d love to have my own.
And did I mention that I need to raise a minimum of $500 for Tri for a Cure? That means I need to start sending out personal e-mails asking my friends and family to donate money to charity on my behalf, or stick Greg with the bill because I’m too embarrassed to ask for support. Since I’m definitely not going to ask friends and family to pay for my gym membership, wetsuit, bicycle helmet, and swim lessons it seems the least I could do to ask people to consider making one of their charitable contributions for the year via my Tri for a Cure donation page. I threw it out onto Facebook and here on my blog and received just one donation from a family member who is an experienced Tri for a Cure athlete…. so the impersonal approach hasn’t been very effective. The bottom line is that while Greg is incredibly nice about it being “our money”, if I choose to have our family front the charitable bill as well as all of the associated triathlon costs, I’m costing my family a pretty large sum. I’m also afraid I’ll look like I don’t care about spreading cancer awareness and encouraging people to be part of the cure.
Is that better than making my friends and family feel awkward about not wanting to donate $10 to my first triathlon endeavor for charity? Or is $5 or $10 not a big deal and people don’t mind being asked and having their name listed on my support page?
Would love to hear your thoughts – have you ever done a race for charity, and if so, how did you handle the fundraising portion? Do you typically donate to your friends endeavors when they run races for charity, and do you mind being asked?
Off to get in 30 minutes of cycling before I fold some laundry…
kelly
Hi Kelly! There may also be some hidden costs that you haven’t thought of yet. I’m assuming that your triathlon is an open water swim, so you’ll want to make sure that you have goggles that are suitable for the location. I was limited to prescription goggles for my first tri season, but I can now wear any goggles, so I chose some that are photochromatic so that I don’t end up squinting in the sunshine!
With regards to your bike, I would suggest that you find a friend who knows a lot about bikes and get them to help you search ebay or other second-hand places as you may find a bargain and get something that is much higher spec than you can get new.
If there is a tri club near to you, reach out to the members and see whether anyone can donate any kit to you because you’ll also need a trisuit. They may also give you some great advice.
I’m in a running club, two triclubs, a cycling club and a running group so there’s always at least one friend who is trying to race for charity. I can’t help all of them but I try to help if I know that they are raising money for a charity that has a special meaning for them. Most of my friends organise a big charity event to raise money, such as a quiz night with raffles. Good luck!
Thanks Tamsyn, these comments are so helpful. I love the idea of a second-hand bike! It feels a bit selfish to spend all this money on myself, AND I love the idea of re-using from an environmental perspective, and helping someone who wants to get a bike off their hands. I’ll have to look into that option!