Triathlon - Did you cry/sob after finishing a tough tri?

I did. Can't quite figure out why. This happened at Wildflower (1/2-Iron) and Big Kahuna (also 1/2-Iron) this year. I am thinking that it's because they were painful? That didn't happen at my Oly's, and nor at my marthons (other than my first ever Marathon). It's not like I broke down and just cried for a good minute or two, but more like I just found a corner, sat down, put a towel/shirt over my head and let it rip for 10 seconds. Emotional release?

(Yeah, I just proved how tough a triathlete is by weeping like a little boy! :) )

Wondering if others experienced this, or if it's just me. Thanks.

(p.s., I'm doing a full-Iron toward the end of this year, and wondering if I need to bring a full box of Kleenex!)

Umm, just don't do it until you finish. You wouldn't want to dehydrate yourself.

not sure if your alone on this but I haven't ever been moved enough to cry. I have been seen with a goofy ear to ear grin after a big race but not tears.

Not during just on the way home when i had to walk into the gas station to pay for gas because there was no place to swipe a credit card.:cry: :cry:

I cried watching the Kona coverage of last year.

You could say I was crying after a 5k once, I had the worse pain in my leg for the last half. Worse time I've ever had too.

Probably not many men man enough to admit it but I am! Just yesterday, down here in Santa Cruz, not full on cry just emotional release and *almost* a couple tears. Actually it was my reaction to my time.. I finished 10 minutes faster than last year (my goal) on top of having to stop during the bike due to my chain falling off once, and the run being an "extra" half mile due to foul up... so really just a very happy emotional response after a lot of pushing.

BTW, how was the kahuna? I would love to step up to a half iron next year but that does seem like a hellofalot more pain than the olympics...

I have those 'emotional releases' sometimes. They are healthy.

I haven't been able to, I've felt it coming at the end of all of my ironman races, honestly, I think I was just too dehydrated for tears, though I felt all the welling up and all of that.

Probably not many men man enough to admit it but I am! Just yesterday, down here in Santa Cruz, not full on cry just emotional release and *almost* a couple tears. Actually it was my reaction to my time.. I finished 10 minutes faster than last year (my goal) on top of having to stop during the bike due to my chain falling off once, and the run being an "extra" half mile due to foul up... so really just a very happy emotional response after a lot of pushing.

BTW, how was the kahuna? I would love to step up to a half iron next year but that does seem like a hellofalot more pain than the olympics...

Thanks for the response, Citabria. Sounded like you did the Sentinel? Congratulations on the faster time, given the mechanical difficulty and the mishap. Imagine if you didn't have them: you'd have gotten another 10 to 15 minutes faster! That's true accomplishment. I've not yet done a repeat of my previous year races yet (this is my second year, and my first year of doing 1/2-Irons), but I'm looking forward to doing them.

I'm suspecting that my release is indeed due to the ecstatic (sp?) feeling of having completed the race the way I've envisioned it: the training and mental imageries finally all came together. I wasn't sure because I didn't see anyone doing the same thing, but it sounds like I'm not the only one (for better or for worse!). :)

Big Kahuna was fun. I also had a mechanical of the most boring nature: flat. Except it's a flat that I can't fix. My spare had a hole in it, unbeknownst to me. What made the entire situation more comical is that my buddy and I lamented about how much it would suck if one of us should get a flat because we suck at fixing the flat. Nevertheless, it motivated me to have a good run, and I ripped there with a PR. The beach finish was harder than necessary, but that's what makes it memorable, I guess.

By the way, if you can do an Oly, you can do a 1/2!

Yes it was the sentinel; mechanical was the chain coming off during a shift; no big deal but cost at least 30 seconds. The volounteers manning the run turnaround point were in the wrong spot; everyone ran that extra half mile... so for me that was an "extra" 4 minutes right there. My goal was to shave 10 min off, and I surpassed it.... I am going to shoot for 2:20 or so next year; will have to step up the training though.

On the half: funny thing, about where the run started to hurt a bit I thought "this is why I'm happy doing an olympic distance event" to myself... can't really say for sure though until I try the longer distance.

nope.

I've seen others do it... Maybe some sort of hormonal thing with all the strain??

I tend to just fall over and cough.

I got a little emotional after my half-iron in Colorado, as the course beat me down like a red-headed stepchild. No offense to red-headed stepchildren out there!

Similar after my first sea-swim: I got about one mile on the bike, stalled on a hill and had to have a quick blub. Then got back on and finished in some amazingly slow time ;) I wasn't particularly sad, just totally spent, and all that cool focus got a bit raggedy for a moment.