Tri-ing times

I’m currently on Amazon, my cursor hovering over the Checkout button on a pair of elastic laces and a sports bikini.

Those who have been round to my house lately will have tripped over the growing amount of sports kit and equipment – the racing bike set up next to my dining room table on the turbo trainer. The foam roller also acting as a nice foot rest. The four pairs of running shoes lined up next to the back door. The piles of laundered sports kit ready to be worn again.

I’ve developed a new … obsession. No, perhaps obsession is too strong a word, with its negative connotations. Perhaps addiction would be a better word. Maybe not.

But what on earth has this to do with Operation Threadbare?

Well, lately, instead of clothes, I’ve been fulfilling my shopping urges with purchases of sports kit. A new road bike to be precise (see my previous post), and this week, a tri-suit. I’ve been spending my weekends doing sports, instead of spending them in town, clothes shopping. You already know I’ve signed up to a marathon to give me something to focus on. And last week I also signed up to my very first sprint triathlon.

My new tri-suit

So back to the tri-suit then. A friend of mine asked the question – is a tri-suit allowed on Operation Threadbare? Well, here’s my justification of it:

The arguments for:

1) I’ve signed up to a triathlon to give me something to focus on. Training is taking my mind off shopping. Surely this is a good thing? I can’t compete in a triathlon properly without the correct kit – the key to triathlon is all about transition. I can’t be faffing about getting changed after my swim by running to the changing rooms in the opposite direction to all the other competitors, while they gain 5 or 10 minutes on me. And I can’t change in the transition area. The rules state very clearly: “No nudity allowed”.

2) The tri-suit was also technically a gift. I bought it with an Amazon voucher given to me by my employer. I didn’t hand over a single penny of my own money for it. The Rules clearly state that gifts are allowed.

 

The arguments against:

1) I don’t technically need a tri-suit, despite what I’ve just said above. I could – in theory – just wear a swimming costume, then get dressed in my cycling/running kit over the top of it. It would be quite uncomfortable, as I wouldn’t dry off as quickly, but I could do it. Have I just signed up to a triathlon to give me an excuse to buy new kit? Money does burn a hole in my pocket, after all.

2) Is the tri-suit technically a gift if I chose it myself?

In conclusion:

Operation Threadbare was never about saving money. It was about me stopping senseless purchasing of clothes and shoes I don’t need. The tri-suit is different, because it’s a specific piece of kit that will enable me to take a new sport seriously. Training for new sporting goals is giving me something to really focus on, so I think this is a good thing.

Now, if I buy another three tri-suits, then when you should start to worry.

So yes, I maybe do have a new addiction. But I think it’s healthy, and doing me more good than clothes shopping ever did.

So, back to Amazon for those laces and the bikini…