I have always liked doing the hard things, taking on the difficult challenges, doing what other people say cannot be done, and it gives me some satisfaction when they say "you're crazy!" just because I decided to swim across the lake or something unusual but rather than think I am weird, I prefer to think that they, "the muggles" simply haven't wakened up to what the human spirit and body can really achieve when you cast off the shackles of your peers and those who say, That just isn't normal behaviour!"
To them, I say, "Pfui!"
Back off and get out of my way.

People who say it can't be done are usually run over by those who are doing it.

PoC

I have an ex-wife who wanted me in the rocking chair at 40.
I have a new love who cheers me on, says things like:"Have you signed up for your IM yet?" and thinks I'm a god.
Weird is perspective.

I think it is cool that you live in a place where EVERYONE is doing triathlons. :)
the absolute numbers don't bear that out, but it is a nice thought anyway.

Being influenced by popular thought is what makes living in a society possible because conformity to law & order say, keeps us safe. Plurality, or the independence to do what you like providing it doesn't violate the laws of God and the rights of your fellow man enables us to kayak whitewater or climb mountains or ride our bikes weird distances and seek to stand out from the crowd, to excel as human beings in at least some aspect of our lives.

The New World was founded by non-conformists, yet we teach our young to do the things of which society approves: to do well in school, to drive on the same side of the road, to step aside for pregnant women and old people, etc. I hope we will forever strive to distinguish ourselves in healthy ways but never to shun the motivation that comes from our culture whether it is playing the blues or running from sun-up to sunset.

peace, brother,

PoC
"when the going gets tough, the tough get weirder.." - Hunter S. Thompson
R.I.P.

I am not just doing triathlons for the shock value . . . I have been mountain biking since i could walk and just this summer i bought a road bike and fell in love. Then on some hot days durring the summer i went over to the local pool and decided to swim some laps and really enjoyed that, so i then began swimming on a regular basis. Durring my swimming sessions i thought about racing in a triathlon but never really got my act together and plus i was a horrible runner. So i set a goal for myself to participate next year and work on my running. No one told me to do this. This was all my own doing. Its just that when i tell people about my goal they think i am nuts. Sorry to ruffle your feathers . . . but where i come from/the people i know, they don;t find it to be normal. Even if they did, I would still be planning on participating.

I guess that makes you a "god of weird"

I think I am normal and everybody else is weird.
because it is, all a matter of perspective.

You got that right!

I don't think of myself as wanting to be either normal or weird. I remember growing up, especially in high school, I would vascillate in the amount of attention-seeking activity I engaged in as I "found" my personality. Sometimes I would want everyone to notice me and think of me as normal or weird and sometimes I wanted to be invisible. Now, I'm old and I know what I like and do what I want and don't really care much about what people think of it.

Hahah. That was pretty good.

I don't think i'm weird. I think i'm normal. People think im weird.
I dont make a point to be weird, but i like doing things my own way, and others find it weird.
Whether its stretching any chance im given, wall sitting for 10 minutes, going running bare-foot when its raining(my family actually sat down and had to "talk" to me about that), or going outside in minus 20 in a shirt while eating a popsicle. I do it because i feel like doing it, because it feels good and it feels right.
I'm definitely weird to other people .Hell, even my own parents have said "something is wrong with you",and "you're so weird".
Makes life more fun doing what you want. I think thats why its weird for some people. Im always happy because i do what i want when i want.
So to answer your question: why does it matter ?;)

If you made a post in the "You know you are a hardcore triathlete when..." forum, aren't you just a little weird?;)

hmm, interesting question. I think we all fall somewhere on scale of weirdness. Like jmruns, I grew up in the Midwest, and, as boring as it was, I didn't get into the drinking and party scene....so naturally, I was "weird" in that setting (sports and music were a fantastic outlet). I was called "weird" a few years ago when I took up kickboxing...and not that tae-bo junk either...I mean kick your @$$ kickboxing. Now, doing tri's my friends and family don't call me "weird"...I do hear the word "crazy" a lot though :p

I like the term ''eclectic'',
but to my kids I am a ''weirdo'' or ''goofy''.

However, they hate when I 'act' normal.:D

Thanks, Jess. I paraphrased the gonzo-one.

It was gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson who said: "When the going gets tough, the weird turn pro."
from his 1983 book about the Honolulu Marathon: The Curse of Lono, I think.
so allow me a little poetic license, if you will.
:)

PoC