Tell me about your first triathlon!

[northstar]

Hi Ladies!

I'm turning 30 in August, and have decided to do my first triathlon the week after. (Three decades, three sports!) My younger brother has committed to doing the event with me. It's a small event - the sprint is 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and a 3 mile run, in a town near where I grew up.

I would love to hear about your first triathlon experiences: what made you decide to try one, what event you did, how it went, how you felt about it, what you wish you would have done differently in preparation or during the race, how it's changed you, if at all. I don't really care about my time...I will feel like a winner if I don't walk any of the run.

Reading the threads here has been really encouraging. I can't wait for the snow to thaw here!

[Veronica]

I wrote all about in a thread "How hard Can it Be" in the tri section.

You can also follow the link to my website to see pics and my write ups.

I had a great first season lst year and I'm looking forward to doing more.

Veronica

[kelownagirl]

Oooh, your first - how fun! I did my first last August. Here's a link to my blog race report if you wanna read all about it.

http://kelownagurl.blogspot.com/2008...ce-report.html

[badger]

I'm seriously contemplating doing a triathlon in March. I did't realize how expensive it was, though. The Olympic length is $49, and sprint (800m swim, 20K bike, 5K run) is only $5 cheaper.

At this point I'm tempted to do the Olympic, but my biggest weakness will be the run portion. I'm a swimmer so I don't worry about that, I figure I can just stay on the bike and be able to do 40K, but I've never ran 10K in my life. I don't doubt my finishing it, it will be more like in what shape I'll be in afterwards.

How are you training for yours?

[alpinerabbit]

At your first race, the primary objective is to finish and not worry about times and place (rank that is. You should know where your bike is )

You've got the swim down, so you're not sweating there. Just swim it and don't overexert.

Cycle - lots. 40K should be a joke for you by the time you race.

The 10K - it doesn't matter if you're not a "runner".
I was semi-injured all last year. I think I ran 10 K twice before my race, at a slow pace. Just work your way up to the distance. If you have good cycling fitness, you'll compensate. But do some bricks. Very important. Just run 20 mins off the bike, a few times at least.

And think about transitions too. Practicing that is not a bad idea. Again just to know where your stuff is.

I had my first oly last year - swim seemed easy, I just gave in to the facts of life that I would be swimming for half an hour.
Gave way too much on the bike and paid for it on the run but gritted my teeth and finished.

March is really early for a tri.... I'm just thinking. Mine was in August.


You're worried about entry fees being pricey - just wait until you accumulate all the accessories !! - wetsuit. aero bottle. aero bars. tri shorts or suit. you're not in need of swim classes etc, but I was.
it can be done without the above, but somehow the "goodies" are fun too.

[Iris616]

Your first tri! That's exciting. I did my first last September. Here's a link to my blog post about it.
http://tris3kidsandlife.blogspot.com...ri-report.html

A few posts before that one talk about my training. I chose a sprint tri for my first race, it seemed the least intimidating.

Ditto on what Alpine Rabbit said about bricks. They're really hard, but if you do them, the run will be easier during the race.

Also, check out http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/
It's a great source for information and support.

As for why I decided to do a tri, I think it was because I had turned 40, and was looking for a way to challenge myself. It's something I wanted to be able to say that I did, but now I'm pretty hooked.

Good luck and have fun!