Newbie tri question

Triathlon Forum
1

I’ve done a little searching on this site and elsewhere but have not found what I am looking for.

I am doing my first tri in a couple weeks. I think I’ve got the training dialed in and my goal is to finish with a smile on my face … I’ll work on improving my time in the future. Its a 1,500 meter swim, 40K bike, 10K run.

Here is my question:

Are there any articles or tips on what to wear, what to bring and how to manage the transitions for a first timer. I would love to hear about what works well and what doesn’t.

I am assuming I will wear my bike shorts (I have a pair of tri shorts with lite padding) under the wetsuit and keep these on for the duration. I’ll probably throw on a bike jersey with some food in the pockets for the ride and then change into a t-shirt and hat for the run.

Any tips or links appreciated.

Thanks

2

You are off to a good start by having a good attitude and the wanting to have fun. I don’t have much time to go into detail but I would not suggest changing tops. It sounds fast and easy but it is not when you are sweaty, tired, and rushed. It will end up eating a lot of time. Tape your gels and what not to the top tube of your bike, that way you can rip them off and they will be ready to consume. Will post later in more detail.

3

Keep the transitions as simple as possible. Find the minimal amount of “stuff” you need and go with that.
Bring a towel to put beside your bike to mark your spot, to wipe feet off, put bike & run shoes, hat etc.
Find a tri jersey w/ a pocket, wear that under your wetsuit, stick a couple of gels in the pocket at t1. Keep the top on for the run. Race belt for your number put on as you leave t2.

4

From one newbie to another. A few things I have learned this season…

  1. Open water swimming is something you need to test and get used to before the race. I had a terrible first open water swim due to a panic in the open water. I was successful however, last weekend with a 1500 meter swim by going out and swimming in the open water until I was comfortable. Now I can focus on the speed.

  2. Spend more time on the bike including hills. This is where I got passed, and where I had realized that having strong leg muscles does not make you a fast biker. I got passed by guys that I would have never thought would have had a chance. The key is they trained seriously and on hills.

  3. Just because you are a runner (in my case) does not mean you are an instant triathlete. I came in 4th from last in my age group due to the attitude of “Hey I can run, I will catch the fast swimmers on the run.” Well it was the bike that killed me.

  4. Experience pays off. I had a series of events take me out. I stepped on a rock and bruised my foot coming out of the water ( watch your step even if its carpeted ), I was very sick from swallowing salt water and spent ten minutes puking after pulling over on the bike, I also lost my timing chip in T1 and had to go back to get it. All in all I cant blame the bad luck on my terrible time, just a lack of training.

Since you are going to finish, train for the distance so you dont get out there and start feeling miserable because you are undertrained.

Bottom line, even if you are racing for fun, train like you are going for a win.

Getting ready for IMFL 70.3 and am thinking about moving my bike into my office. No seriously.

Dave

5

I’ll probably throw on a bike jersey with some food in the pockets for the ride and then change into a t-shirt and hat for the run.

It can be surprisingly difficult to get a cycling jersey on after the swim. At least for me, when I’ve tried it I’ve ended up in a real wrestling match. Try it first when you are wet (eg after a shower) and see how it goes. You’ll probably be better off just wearing it under your wetsuit and keeping it on for the run. If do want to put it on after the swim, it helps alot if you roll it up such that once you get your arms and head in it, you can just roll it down your body, if that makes any sense.

For food, if you are using gels, you can tape them to the top tube of your bike. Tape each one individually by the top (the part you rip off to open it) then you can just rip them off the bike and open them in one motion.

Practice your transitions several times. It will help you learn what works for you in terms of organization. A set up that looks good might not work for you in the heat of battle. There are a million ways to set up your transistion area but all that matters is finding a way of laying your stuff out so you aren’t fumbling around dropping stuff or, heaven forbid, having to search for stuff.

6

as the others have said - keep it simple.

I wear my tri shorts and shirt under my wetsuit. T1 i put on socks and bike shoes. Don’t worry about drying off, it’s unnecessary - unless your feet are really really covered in stuff, you won’t notice. pre tape some gu/gel to your bike top bar. have a water bottle on the bike. Once should suffice.

come out of the water, strip your wetsuit, put on your helmet, sunglasses (optional), socks (optional), bike shoes, and go…

T2 - For the run, cap or not your call and go, if you need to take a gel with you do so (they may have some at the aid stations). water is available at aid stations.

If you look at past results for the event or other events where transitions times are listed it you’ll see a HUGE difference in transition time between the fast guys and the slow guys… i mean, some of them easily give up 5 - 10 minutes in transition.

A good transition is free ($$ wise), very easy (doesn’t require months of conditioning) - meaning anyone can have fast transitions regardless of how fast a swimmer, runner or biker they are. Though - they should be practiced. You don’t want to be figuring out what to do. Before the race, practice your dismounts, your run into transition, changing, and getting going as soon as possilble. You don’t want to be fumbling around or looking for stuff. Practice this, seriously.

Bring the minimum you need and make it quick.

I can’t stress the importance of good tranistions… I’m not the fastest swimmer, cyclist or runner, but I try. And I’ll be damned if I lose 2 minutes in transition when I’ve spent all winter trying to impove my 10k by 2 minutes.

Good luck

7

There are definitely some books on this subject that you can get on the cheap that will explain everything in detail. The one thing they won’t be able to do is help with that first race fog. You’ll probably feel a little lost no matter what you do on that first race and having a great attitude and low expectations are the best way to insure a successful first race. Don’t give yourself a time goal if possible. Just use this race to gauge where you are starting from. I know people who go in thinking they will finish top ten in their first race and are very dissapointed when they don’t.

I would also advise you to practice as many open water swims as you can befor ethe race. Swimming in open water under race conditions barely resembles what we do at the pool and is difficult to simulate. Your balance in the water will be off most likely unless you get a few sessions of open water swimming under your belt. The mass start will likely cause some level of anxiety but just stay calm and focus on your stroke. Some will advise that you start in the rear or off to the side but I find that if you are a decent swimmer you will be much better off in your first swim starting right in the middle front of the pack. The good swimmers will easily navigate around you and you can draft off them which makes a HUGE difference. If you start in the back or rear then you will undoubtedly get caught up in the pack of mediocre/new athletes and expend a lot of energy getting around them or have to deal with someone who panics and starts thrashing about. I started in the rear for my first tri and a group of 5 swimmers basically just stopped right in front of me 5 minutes into the swim and then again at the buoy (the buoy will be another cluster fuck if you get caught behind poor swimmers). Trust me on this and try to start up front if possible.

You asked about transitions but for your first tri I found that the swim is really the only thing that will feel foreign. Once you are out of the water everything else will come together. Just keep a smile on your face and have fun. You’ll learn more that first race than you can imagine.

One other piece of advice… thank whomever comes to the race with you profusely and always keep in mind that the people supporting you are sacrificing to be there and may not share your passion for the sport. If you want to do this again and again and again you will ultimately need that support so make sure that they have as much fun at the race as you do and don’t let them feel your stress on race day.

8

Another tip on setting up your tranisition area: It will be crowded and there is basically just enough room to put bikes right next to each other handle bar to handle bar. Don’t be deceived if you show up early and think you can stake out a spot 3’ wide, your stuff will be moved and disorganized as others show up later and squeeze in. So, however you set your stuff up, try and keep it handlebar width and be careful about balancing stuff on your bike since it might get knocked off.

9

(from someone whose first triathlon was either 1985 or 1986…)

Tip #1: don’t do anything at the race that you haven’t done in practice.
Tip #2: don’t try to put on clothing while wet, unless your goal is to provide amusement to onlookers.
Tip #3: short triathlons are not camping trips in the wilderness: you don’t need to carry food.
Tip #4: find a shirt that you can wear on the bike and the run, and wear it under your wetsuit.
Tip #5: have fun.

10

I love socks and they are a must for me on the run. However, when I come out of the water and use them on my bike all of the water from my tri suit runs down my leg and my socks get wet. I no longer use socks on the bike portion. I also would suggest slipping out of your bike shoes prior to comming into the transition so you don’t have to run in your bike shoes. Later you can work on leaving your shoes on the bike at all times but getting into them takes some pratice.

Best advice I can give you is don’t change anything on race day. Train the way you plan to race. Make a list of everything you need to take with you and make it as stress free as you can.

11

As always there is some great advice for you from the previous posters.

Although I’d suggest getting a tri top to wear for the whole race. It will help simplify your transitions a lot more and will be one less thing to worry about. But if you’d rather change into a bike jersey and then a running shirt, that’s fine too. Just realize that it will take some time and that it isn’t always that easy to pull on a bike jersey when you’re all wet. But if you’re not worried about being fast and just want to enjoy the race, then your plan sounds good.

12

You can change into a cycling jersey in T1 if the jersey has a full zipper, i.e, you put it on like a shirt and do not have to pullit over your head. Otherwise, you do not want to pull a tight jersey or shirt over your head when you are wet and/or sweaty.

If you can watch a tri this weekend and watch the veterans handle their transitions, that would be a real bonus. If not, go online and see pictures of the transitions so you can imagine in your mind what it will be like.

Good luck.

13

thanks everyone … great tips. will let you all know how it works out.

14

Hi all! I’m getting ready for my first tri in 2 weeks, the south beach tri in miami april 5th.

On the topic of clothing, I’m planning on wearing just a tri-bottom for the duration of the event (no wetsuit, topless, i’m a dude), and throwing a racebelt with number on for the run. From what I understand this is acceptable in most (?) non-ironman branded events. The event is run under the USAT rules, and I didn’t see anything stating otherwise.

Thoughts?

15

That’s what I do. I just roll the number around the belt, tuck that in my shorts and then untuck for the run. Pretty quick…

16

Hi all! I’m getting ready for my first tri in 2 weeks, the south beach tri in miami april 5th.

On the topic of clothing, I’m planning on wearing just a tri-bottom for the duration of the event (no wetsuit, topless, i’m a dude), and throwing a racebelt with number on for the run. From what I understand this is acceptable in most (?) non-ironman branded events. The event is run under the USAT rules, and I didn’t see anything stating otherwise.

Thoughts?

I prefer to race topless in ‘speedos’ (wetsuit for swimming) unless temperature is under 60. I recall, the USAT rules have changed a year ago and require to wear a top. However, it seems to be up to a race director to make a final decision. Therefore, I normally ask a race director if racing topless is okay (well, for a guy). It was okay in all my races (incl. NYC triathlon) last year.

17

Practice getting onto and off the bike repeatedly.

18

Great advice so far in the thread, just a couple tips to add:

  1. Place your helmet upside-down with the straps hanging out. It makes it easier to just plop on your head and buckle up.
  2. Before the race make sure to know where the bike-out and run-out exits are so you’re going the right way…also practice finding your rack slot from the swim-in and bike-in (I have a brightly colored gear bag that I place at the end of my rack to help me find the right row).
  3. Post race massage ($1/min at most races)…worth it so you can walk down stairs the next day.
  4. Scrub off your race numbers in the shower (they won’t come all the way off, but will fade quite a bit), otherwise they’ll imprint on your bed sheets!
  5. Sunscreen (try kenesis, works great and non-goopy…but $$)
  6. Bodyglide is your friend (wetsuit collar, wrist and seams, underarms, inner thighs, nipples , shoe heel), just don’t put it on your privates (burns there).
  7. Don’t use Vasalene on a wetsuit (damages the rubber). It’s fine for other friction areas, but hard to wash off.
19

alcohol will get most marker off. 100%…not diluted.

20

The night before my first race, I had no idea what to expect in transition. No practice, no research, no nothing. But there were some good videos online (TriCal TV) so I could at least see how people did it. With time before your race I’d research that way first. Then go through each step in your mind, as you will with the race itself, I suspect. The easiest time savings I’ve noted have been from a race number belt and from “strechy” shoelaces…T2 can be well under a minute if you can just slip into your shoes and then put your number on while you’re moving. And regarding changing clothes in transition, you’ll be stunned how long it can take just to put on shorty socks when you’re wet, much less a jersey. And don’t forget to start your watch :wink:

Also, if you can, scope out as much of the bike and run courses as you can in advance. This is best done on bike or foot, but in a pinch, you can do it in a car. It will go a long way toward eliminating the unknown on race day if you can say “hey, I’ve been here before.”

Good luck and have a blast!