First time triathlon experiences/tips please!

[ellesan]

I'd love to hear what your first experience was, things you wish you'd known, etc. when you did your first triathlon. I'm really doing this first one for fun and to finish, so I'm not that concerned with time.

Also what are the things that you can't live without?

Equipment/gear
Clothing
energy foods/snacks
Personal care products (chaffing creams, wetsuit spray, etc)

Any info helpful, thanks!

 

[bethj]

There's a great little book called "Slow Fat Triathlete" by Jayne Williams that has all that practical stuff you want to know (especially girl stuff), as opposed to the detailed rigourous training regiman type books out there. Its also very funny to read!
Beth

 

[Lynn M.]

Hi Sandra-

I did a couple about 5 years ago.. a sprint and an olympic. I trained with a group which was a really fun way to do it! Tris are great in that the training is so much less impactful on your body than training for a running marathon.

Most people feel that the swim is the most daunting part of the race and the bike is the easiest.

What distance are you planning on and when is the race?

Feel free to send me a message and I can give you alot more info if you'd like... there is a ton of stuff I can share w/ you, but its probably too long to do to on a post.

Take care, Lynn M.

 

[janie1234]

No advice here since I don't have the guts to even do a marathon but I wanted to wish you all the luck in the world. Please let us all know how it goes! I'll be cheering for ya! You go girl!

 

[irish196]

The biggest thing I can tell you is if you wear contact lenses and really need them to be very conscious of your goggle choice. You *will* be kicked in the face when you swim- not once but numerous times. That will likely make your goggles come off or loose. If the swim is in deep water (where you can't just stand up and fix your goggles) you will be treading water while you fix your goggles and at the same time trying to keep water out of your eyes so you do not lose your contacts. That is VERY hard!! I ended up trying to swim with my eyes closed the first time so I didn't lose my contacts and it did not work because every few strokes I would find myself veering off course (I would raise my head and open my eyes to look). That just screwed me big time because the swimming is my strongest and favorite part and I found myself exhausted from all of the stopping/starting/getting kicked, fixing my goggles, etc. So be really confident in your eye gear and pack an extra pair of contacts with your bike so you can put them on when you get on your bike (that is if you can find it ; )

Another tip is be really clear where your bike is. If you are there early and it is not filled up you can easily lose track of where yours is in the big picture. You don't want to waste time looking for your bike.

Also, think about what your are going to wear well in advance. Make sure that what you are wearing on your bottom doesn't totally ruin your skin. You will be wet for a while and having wet against your bottom while you are swimming and then riding the bike and then running is a long time (and a lot of friction) on wet body parts. You can get pretty chafed up if you do not wear quick drying things (or things that are too tight).

Also, do not waste a lot of time and energy when you first get there walking around and looking at others, etc. Know ahead of time what you have to do when you get there (where you check in, etc.)and do not leave anything to chance. Also, don't worry about anyone other than yourself. "Run your own race" and just enjoy it. It is a very good feeling to finish- quite empowering. I think you will have a very good time!