I have my first sprint triathlon race this Sunday. I am very excited and anxious at the same time. I am doing the Manitou Sprint in Minneapolis MN and if anyone out their has any thoughts or quick advice to help for that morning I would appreciate it.
I just hope I do not hyperventalate or puke before the start of the race.
“I never saw a gopher run fast except when I was chasing him down the road in my car”
good for you it’s going to be so much fun! here is my advice to you: rack your bike and get away from the crowd…all of those people holding goggles in their teeth and swiming their arms is enough to make anyone feel crazy. don’t get caught up in the bike candy and fancy gear. so many people have so much…don’t pay attention to it. remember it’s a game of swim, bike, run, period. warm up on the swim…it will help you feel loose, get your confidence going and get you in the groove if you get punched in the head on the swim, don’t take it personally, just get out of the way. this one is personal–take toilet paper with you in the car, because you might have to use the facilities. it sucks to go with out toilet paper. remember you’ve got to run. so don’t blow yourself up on the bike. lastly and most importantly, have fun, smile, enjoy the scenery and take it in!!! yay for you!!!
Well, we learned from another poster that it is a very bad thing to show up late and miss the start, so… (and I’m sure you’d be bummed if you didn’t go under 1:00:00 on your first Sprint tri, so we’re here to help 
Use a checklist, and pack everything you need the day/evening before. Then have a nice healthy meal, and get to bed early.
Arrive at the venue early. Set up your TA, look at how others have set theirs up, ask for advice. Make sure your bike is in the right gear, skewers are tightened, all that good stuff.
Ah crap, I’m just reinventing the wheel here - Rich Strauss has an excellent writeup about this on his website. Check here:
http://www.cruciblefitness.com/etips/RaceDayBeginnersClinic.htm
Click thru the various pages, and everything you need to know is right there.
Good luck!!
Congratulations… It will be an experience that you will never forget!
My advice… Keep your cool at the swim start. Most poeple, experienced or not go out to hard in the first 200-300 meters. Just go out strong, but not to strong and build into it. You’ll pass 1/2 of the people who went out too hard.
I learned this in my first event. I expected to swim a sub 13:30. I found myself 200 meters from the start saying to myself, “I’m going to drown”. Finished 17:59. By my 3rd sprint in the same year I figured it out. My family all said at the beginning of the swim they couldn’t believe how slow I was compared to everyone else. They lost sight of me and were completely taken by surprise when I was 3rd out of the water 13:13 of the 50 people in my wave.
Have fun!!!
And report back.
Good luck and have a great race!
My advice:
Race within yourself, there WILL be people faster than you. Don’t worry about it, the point is to have fun and experience what this is all about for the first time.
Don’t change lanes on your bike without looking behind you first, there may be someone just about to pass you.
Always be alert on the bike and be aware of the people around you in general.
Unless you are a strong swimmer, don’t line up right in front because it is a washing machine and those in front are pretty aggressive.
When swimming, don’t climb up on or touch people’s feet in front of you. You could get kicked.
If someone starts to climb up on you, do a couple of strong scissor kicks and strokes as a burst to get away from them. (probably won’t happen unless you are right in front).
Don’t pull your trigger too soon before the race starts. Be patient, and visualize swimming.
Good luck! You’re going to have a blast!
The water will be cold
Don’t lose your water bottle on the train tracks
Don’t draft. Pass on the left. Don’t block either.
Go fast
Have fun
Go to the Nature Valley Stillwater Crit afterwards…
oh yeah!
my sage thoughts:
think smooth/think fast…
this one is personal–take toilet paper with you in the car, because you might have to use the facilities. it sucks to go with out toilet paper.
When our first kids came along a few years ago I discovered an amazing product that I now always make sure I have with me at the races: Baby wipes…
I put a handfull of them in a ziplock bag in my transition bag. When I use the facilities before a race I grab a few out of the ziplock and stuff them in my jersey pocket just in case.
They also do a great job of polishing up your bike before and after a race!
To add to smitty’s list -
Manitou is poorly organized… don’t let that discourage you from doing others. Also, I still do manitou because it is a good benchmark to see where you are.
Don’t crash on the railroad tracks. There are always serious crashes on this section. I have no idea why. Just pay attention as you head out on the course. Don’t do anything stupid like ride no handed over them.
The “1/2 - mile swim” or whatever it is seems to always end up being ~300m. My friend was out in 5 min one year.
See you out there.
If you use a wetsuit, I’ve found it very helpful to put it on so the zipper is in the back so the suit is on frontwards. If I hadn’t needed to pee so badly and I still had not overcome inhibitions about peeing in the wetsuit, I would not have learned the error of my ways in time.
Have a great race! That first one is over in a flash, even if it takes a long time to finish.
Hey, very good luck to you…remember that the nerves you might feel before the race will disappear almost immediately as soon as the gun goes off. I’m always amazed at how worked up one can get pre-race, and then as soon as we start swimming…poof, you’re focused on the task at hand.
Let us know how you do!
Oh, and one more thing: before the race, make sure you walk from where the swim ends to where you’ve racked your bike. It will look a lot different from that perspective than it does as you leave your bike to walk down to the swim start…and try to have something uniquely identifiable on your bike, or attached to the rack (without being annoying to others) so you can pick out your ride easier.
Even with a very short swim, it will be very easy to be disoriented coming out of the water…
Thanks everyone for the insights I know i will have a lot of fun. It is great to get small tips from people, because I am not certain what to expect. My main goal is to just finish and enjoy the race and people, i figure their will never be another first time
I will let everyone know how I did on monday, so check back.
Everything above, and thank the volunteers.