Do You Have To Be Obsessed To Be A Good AG'er?

If by good you mean fast, then I think you need the gift of genetics plus some training.  Lacking that genetic gift, I think you can train tons and improve yourself, but where you end up in the pack depends on what your body is ultimately capable of delivering.  The other trick as an AGer is staying healthy.  If you come at this sport as an AGer who is a good runner, then I think you are miles ahead of others, because chance are pretty good that you can become competitive on the bike and swim by training lots without hurting yourself.  If you are trying to gain much on the run, chances are that it's going to be a more difficult road to improvement because of the much higher risk of suffering injuries as you increase run volume.

nope, just do the work.  with IM distance, its a bit tougher because that workload is usually longer longs.  thats not being obsessed, thats just getting the job done.  however there are plenty of gains to be had in understanding appropriate intensities of workouts and how to structure, consistency, recovery, diet.  a lot of time time training is the only consideration people look at, but its learning to do all of these things well, knowing your limits/body and working with what ya got.  'Obsessed' is a relative term too.  For those that choose endurance sports as a component of their lifestyle and choose to be competitive with it, 6-7 day weeks are the norm.  To much of the populous that seems like overkill, so is that obsessed or driven?  Define completely obsessed i guess too.  I train, eat healthy and browse this a bunch, but outside of that have other interests, a family and a job.  Not tri all the time, but its a part of my lifestyle for sure and influences decisions on a daily basis.

Like I would know anything about this....nevertheless, I will opine. 

I'd say it depends:

1.  on the race and how many people show up.

2.  on how genitically gifted one is. 

3.  on one's definition of 'obsessed'.  One man's obsession is another man's disciplined training and is another man's hobby.

~Mike

Define obsessed.

Most people define obsessed as training x hours, and x times per week. 

but I'll take a stab at this.

first off, your success, if defined by where you place in your AG, will constantly change from event, mainly location and size of the events.

I can place in my AG in a good amount of local races.

IMO, the difference between me and the person who does not, is not training time, but having workouts with a purpose and definition. It is crucial that these workouts have a "non-negotiable" status. I read that from Gordo. His training is "non-negotiable." Meaning, he wont alter his workout based on a group ride's pace, or getting passed in the pool, or the ego of a running buddy. your training must too be "non-negotiable."  You'll find trainnig alone is pretty much the only way to accomplish this.

Also, you must trust your workouts and their definitions and your plan. You cannot get a plan, and start saying, "I'm a really good biker, so I'm going to cut out x rides per week." That defeats the purpose of the plan.

Also, genetics have little to nothing to do with your ability to place or win your AG in a large percentage of races around the country. IM branded races, maybe. Kona, probably. The Olympics, most definitely. 

so PLEASE PLEASE do not limit your potential to win your AG at your YMCA triathlon due to your genetics. It is simply not true in the least bit. After a few years of non-negotiable workouts that have definition and purpose you can even win your AG at events that draw 300-500 people on a regional basis.

Take me, my only athletic background is football in high school, where although I had the size of a TE or LB, I played Center and nose guard because I was slow.  too slow for TE or LB in high school is so slow its not even funny.  Its like, "dude, maybe you should be consider golf" slow.  I loved playing baseball, but the fact that I throw like Paris Hilton precluded me from playing the sport past the 7th gade.

so, you do not have to be obsessed about hours trained, and how many miles you ran and biked and how many yards you swam.

you just need to obsess over the definition of your workouts, assign them a specific purpose and do not alter them for anyone, including yourself.

good luck and go get it!!

Hey, what about us obsessed BOPers?!  Are you starting another class war between the FOP and BOP?! 

~Mike