I’ve just signed up for my first triathlon - help!

What exactly were the distances you swam-cycled-ran, OP?

Well done. How amazing you are!

Congratulations! You are a triathlete!!

Well done on your performance and time @BaronessOrczy.

Amazing well done 👏

With a pool based tri they send the fast people off first so you don't overlap on any of the parts

The one I did had multiple heats/waves with the slowest swimmers starting first. It meant I was the last to finish as I was in the fastest heat but my running is rubbish. I actually finished top third timewise.

You'll be fine, you really will. With a pool based tri they send the fast people off first so you don't overlap on any of the parts.
When I did my first tri I was riding a hybrid bike, had only just got up to swimming 400m, and it was great fun

Practice transition.

So when I get out the pool I take hat and goggles off as I'm running to transition. chuck them on the floor by bike

Rub towel over my head and face and then stand on it.

My socks are ready inside my trainers or bike shoes. with talc inside them. Socks on. Shoes on. Get some tri laces.

If it's cold I'll put t shirt over top of tri suit. May make you feel less conscious.

You will dry very quick

Race belt on

Helmet on ( don't touch bike until you have helmet on) glasses on.

Gloves on if you wear them

Grab bike and do that funny waddle ( cycling shoes) to the mount line.

Drink will be ready on your bike. If you need some gels etc have them either at transition or first mile on your bike.

Ride

Back into transition. Remember where to put bike. Hook bike. Take helmet off. Swap shoes. Cap on? Turn race belt round.

Go for it.

Well done, you will grand. I'd love to do a triathlon but I'm 55 fat and unfit!

Ate a full easter egg tonight !!!!

That's carb loading and protein. Excellent start!

sorry to jump on your thread I'm 52 and signed up for a sprint triathlon pool swim in about 14 weeks time found a 12 week program on line, I have down load , ok at swimming , have dogy knees but can run 5k and haven't been on a bike in about 3 years , to say I'm scared is an understatement !!! Ate a full easter egg tonight !!!!

Good luck, I think you'll be absolutely fine from what you've described. If you haven't had to give a time already, do a timed 400m swim so you've got an accurate time to put in. In the sprint tri I did it seemed there'd been a lot of guesswork, I managed to lap people multiple times in 400m despite the starts being in waves.

Oh meant to say watch some GTN videos on YouTube, I found them really helpful! Global Triathlon Network 👍🏻

Hooray for you! I did my first 2 last year and have 3 more this year the next is in 26 days and I'm nowhere fit as I was last year! You'll be absolutely fine with your level of fitness, I wear a sports bra under my trisuit and need to lose a stone! I am ridiculously slow but there we have it! You'll love it!

Honestly, with your level of fitness you can wing a triathlon. I did one aged 48, having gone from a 13st couch potato to a 10st amateur (pretty much bikram yoga twice weekly) in 6 months. I did ‘head out of the water’ breast stroke (note I can do a pretty good front crawl now!), bought a bike I did about 6 rides on and stopped smoking for two weeks 😁

my aim was to finish it and preferably in under 2 hours, both of which i did and had a fantastic time. The sprint triathlon is more of a. Mindset thing really. If your key aim is to challenge yourself to complete all the elements then focus on that and not the times. That can come later if you decide to do more

EVIL red wine!

Honestly, well done op. I wish I had half your level of fitness or even quarter. I wish I had your guts. Enjoy your journey

Nutrition isn't too much of an issue for a sprint triathlon as you're not out there very long but do practice whatever you plan to do. I carry tailwind in a bottle on my bike which gives both hydration and energy, though do practice drinking from it while cycling if you're not already comfortable with that!

They will normally send you off in waves of 3-4 to a lane roughly grouped by estimated swim time (which they'll probably ask for a few weeks before the event so they can issue a start time) so you'll be in a lane with people of a similar pace. If someone is coming up behind you the etiquette in the pool tris I've been in is that if someone wants to pass they tap your toes and you then pause at the end of the lane to let them pass.

I did my first in the summer and it was actually much waaier than I expected. I think you'll do better than you expect because most people are only really good at 1 or 2 elements, but you can already do all 3.

My 3 tips:
-Make sure you have 1 training where you cycle then run 2-3km immediately after, just to practise the feeling.
-Find a snack that doesn't make you vomit to eat on the bike (and that you can open whilst cycling!). I wear a marathon belt full of nibbles and water
-Read all the rules twice and make sure particularly your bike complies. They checked the brakes on mine gave my helmet a wobble.

A proper triathlete will be along soon. But from what I've seen if its a pool swim you dont all swim at once so you should be fine in the pool.

On FB there's a group called the Crap Tri Club - triathlon club for crap athletes.

May or may not appeal to you (lots of the posts are about what members are up to, rather than "how to do it") but I thought I'd mention it, as it might be good to realise that there are plenty who do them just for fun without any thought of high performance