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

[BaronessOrczy]

What on earth possessed me?! Am I going to be outrun, outswum and told to get off the course for being too slow? Will other people laugh at me?

it’s a sprint triathlon in 8 weeks time.

I’m fairly fit (can run 10k, Swim a mile and yesterday cycled 35k) but have I bitten off more than I should have? I’m not fast, I’m a plodder. The red wine took hold of me and before I knew it I’d booked!

Any hints or tips on what I need to know to not make a fool of myself very gratefully received.

I think you will be fine. All sortsnof people compete and are very supportive of each other. The only bit I really know about is the swim. Have you ever done a mass start swim before? If not and you don't like the idea of getting kicked in the face or swam over the top of then start at the back. If you want to be more competitive you could try starting at the front but at the sides rather than the middle.

With that base level of fitness you’ll smash it

the main thing you need to practice is brick runs which is basically when you get off the bike and immediately start running your legs can feel like lead

you need to learn a few rules and regulations
like putting your helmet on in transition before you get your bike
When you rack your bike have it ready in a low gear for when you set off
also check when you can mount and dismount your bike get that wrong and your disqualified

good luck you’ll definitely get the bug this won’t be your first and last

Triathletes are generally delighted to see someone take up our crazy sport so I am sure they'll be friendly and welcoming and you'll be fine. Well, apart from picking up a new addiction!

There is obviously more to think about when doing a triathlon triathlon than any single sport so it's worth putting some thought and practice into where to put your kit and how to get from one discipline to another, particularly bike to run as many people find their legs feel really weird when they start the run. When you get to the course on the day make sure you walk through transitions so you know where your stuff is and where to go.

Kit wise, most people wear a trisuit so they can wear it for the whole race. To avoid spending too much you can wear a normal sports top with tri shorts as that's the important bit - it needs to dry quickly and have a pad that isn't too bulky for swimming and running in.

Do you have a training plan? There are loads out there if you search but the essentials are time in each discipline with a few sessions where you go straight from bike to run. Try to practice in the same sort of environment as your race e.g. pool/open water, trails/tarmac, hills/flat ground for the run and swim.

Most importantly, enjoy it - there's a unique buzz from doing a multi sport event.

Oh gosh thank you! Already feeling a bit better about it 😂 that’s all so helpful, thank you.

it’s a pool swim, sorry, I should have said.

I don’t have a training plan (other than to stop drinking and try and lose a bit of weight!) so will make sure I find one. Also will need to look up nutrition.

On Vinted looking at Trisuits now - do you wear a sports bra underneath? Stupid question, probably, but do you swim in it as well?

Brick runs sound awful, I’m not going to lie 🤣and crikey, you can be disqualified for getting on your bike wrong??? It’s a whole new world. Lots to learn.

OP, if you move this into the Exercise topic, you will get a lot after advice and support from knowledgeable people without it getting lost on Chat.

Well done on taking the challenge! I'm not doing a triathlon myself, as I am mainly a runner - now in taper for London Marathon, and a leisurely cyclist.

Good luck with the training.

I didn’t even KNOW there was an exercise topic 😂 thank you, I’ll ask HQ to move it if possible

Bra under trisuit definitely a good thing to do, and better that it’s a pool swim for your first one as you don’t have a faff about with a wetsuit.

Note I said first one … it is weirdly addictive! And the staggered start of a pool swim means that it doesn’t really matter how fast / slow you are - everyone is at their own stage in their own race. Unless you’re at the really pointy end of course, but who cares about them!

Goid luck, and enjoy it.

Practice your transitions. Put everything out for each stage.
Remember where you left your bike
Put helmet on before you touch the bike.
Do some short runs after you get off your bike so you can feel the jelly legs.

I started with a sprint one and now do 70.3 s.
You'll love it. Which one is it?

No booze for at least four weeks pre event will make a difference 😬

We've moved your thread over to our Exercise topic, as requested.

Best of luck, @BaronessOrczy

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

This is all super helpful, thank you! Just back from a 36k ride - felt yesterday a bit but enjoyed it. The friend I rode with today is going to come and do a pre-tri ride round the route with me. I’m worried in case it’s very hilly.

I just bought a trisuit on Vinted for £8 😂 I’m going to look like a chubby eejit, I shall embrace it!

very conscious I need to look at my food and nutrition- if I can get half a stone off I figure that’ll really help. Been indulging a bit too much. 4 weeks you say? Oh crap. I’ve a 5 day trip with very drinky friend and a 2 night birthday trip with another friend in the three weeks before…how about if I don’t drink at all apart from those things?!

It’s Westonbirt - entry capped at 500 so I’m hoping I won’t be swum over and drowned in the pool! Good tip about everyone swimming their own race, that’ll help. I’ll check out the Crap Tri club, wonder if they have a strip 🤣

Helmet on before bike. I shall drill this into my brain. Do you get on the bike wet or grab a towel then leave it at transition?

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.

It’s the proper triathletes I’m scared of 😂are there things that you shout to get people to move over if they’re in your way and things like that (yes, was overtaken by a men’s cycling club this morning, all shouting RIGHT, STAY RIGHT, which was rather intimidating, not one of them said a response to my cheery good morning greeting)

Although, once I’ve done one, I WILL be claiming triathlete status. Done one, not died, job done I figure

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.

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.

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

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

Thank you so much everyone. I really appreciate it. I’ll hopefully be back in 8 weeks to tell you all I smashed it!

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!

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

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.

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 !!!!

Ate a full easter egg tonight !!!!

That's carb loading and protein. Excellent start!

Ahahahaha my trisuit has arrived! Oh, I look like a pig in a poke.

training is…ummmm…well. I had a very good and drinky weekend away. I ran 5k a day and walked and walked but, you know, life.

starting to get a bit concerned now. @user8722 how are you doing?

I haven’t even managed to get to the pool to do a timed 400m. You have to book ever since Covid and it’s a nightmare.

anyway. My children had a good laugh at me, and I ordered one of them tribelt thingies off Amazon, so I’m practically a triathlete already, right?!