Newb question

[e.e.cummings]

If the water is dripping into your shoes, do you wear your bike shoes? Or old shoes that you don't care about getting wet?

Is there a real sense of panic in the transitions? And how do you keep track of your stuff?

One thing I need to do, I guess, is time myself at swimming. Have not done that yet. I can swim across a pond, but I have never timed myself!

[Bike Chick]

I didn't have too big of an issue with wet, drippy feet. The transition area was probably 100 yards from the pool and they were pretty dry by the time I got to my bike. I set everything up in transition on a towel and wiped my feet off like you would a welcome mat while I put my helmet and bike gear on. The last thing on was my socks and bike shoes. By the time I was into my 5th mile of the bike ride, I was almost dry all over.

[HillSlugger]

If the water is dripping into your shoes, do you wear your bike shoes? Or old shoes that you don't care about getting wet?

Is there a real sense of panic in the transitions? And how do you keep track of your stuff?

One thing I need to do, I guess, is time myself at swimming. Have not done that yet. I can swim across a pond, but I have never timed myself!

No, I wouldn't say panic. However, many people are well organized and methodical while others are rather less so. Some take a very leisurely attitude while others are quick like a cat.

It can get a bit chaotic especially when people are poorly organized or clutzy.

Try to take the time to practice your transitions: set up your stuff outside the pool and have someone watch over it. Go swim, run outside all wet, get on your stuff to ride, go for a bit of a ride, come back and get ready to run, go for a short run.

Try to take as little as possible into the transition area and set the stuff out in the order you will use it.

[Tri Girl]

Yay, e.e.!!!
Congrats on taking the plunge. It's a great sport!!

[e.e.cummings]

I have been out of the game for almost two weeks - I had an infection which put me out of commission as far as training goes. I am only just now starting to get my energy and wondering if I should go ahead and do the tri anyway from a total newb point of view, to experience it. It's this coming Sunday. It has been so disappointing not be able to train. I don't have to train for the cycle part, I could do that in my sleep - the distance is less than one way commute to my work - but I am not the strongest runner and my stroke could use my work. I took a swim coach for an hour and she said that I was pretty good, I just needed to work on a few basic things to get even better. But I have not been able to practice. Anyone else go into a tri without lots of training?

[HillSlugger]

I have been out of the game for almost two weeks - I had an infection which put me out of commission as far as training goes. I am only just now starting to get my energy and wondering if I should go ahead and do the tri anyway from a total newb point of view, to experience it. It's this coming Sunday. It has been so disappointing not be able to train. I don't have to train for the cycle part, I could do that in my sleep - the distance is less than one way commute to my work - but I am not the strongest runner and my stroke could use my work. I took a swim coach for an hour and she said that I was pretty good, I just needed to work on a few basic things to get even better. But I have not been able to practice. Anyone else go into a tri without lots of training?

Lots of people do it every weekend; I'm too OCD to do that myself. What are your goals?

[e.e.cummings]

My goal for this tri is just to get through it and learn the drill. There are so many basic things about a tri that I am not familiar with because I have never done it that doing it without feeling a big pressure to go fast may be a good thing.

[HillSlugger]

My goal for this tri is just to get through it and learn the drill. There are so many basic things about a tri that I am not familiar with because I have never done it that doing it without feeling a big pressure to go fast may be a good thing.

So, as long as you won't be in danger during the swim, then go for it!

[sfa]

Anyone else go into a tri without lots of training?

Depends on what you mean by "lots of training." Last year I did a "super-sprint" tri several months before my "real" tri, just to have the experience of a short triathlon as practice for the longer one. I had been in training for the triathlon for a few months, but hadn't gotten serious about the training, and I was one of these people who couldn't make it across the pool even once when I first got in the water a few months earlier. The "super-sprint" (short pool swim, 10 mile bike, 2.5 mile run) was a great experience, both to prepare me for the longer race and to let me know where I needed work (um, running. I thought 2.5 miles would be easy, but I had done all of my running on a treadmill up until then and needed a lot of work to get up to running on pavement and hills!).

I think you'll be fine. You might not be as fine as you would have been without being out of commission for those weeks, but you sound like you're in good shape for all parts of the race, and it'll be a good experience even if you dog paddle through the swim and walk the entire run!

Good luck!

Sarah

[Veronica]

Anyone else go into a tri without lots of training?

Yep! I did my HIM last year after crewing RAAM in June and getting REALLY sick with a bronchial infection. I missed like 4 weeks of training between RAAM and being sick.

Veronica