Last minute triathlon advice?

T

tracyclang

0
Hi everyone,
Triathlon tomorrow! I would love to hear everyone's last minute advice (esp. if it involves transitions), do's and don'ts. I'll post tomorrow in my journal my results. Thanks
 
Don't know anything about triathlons but good luck!
 
I dont do tris but I have to do transitions for other events.

Make sure you dont get flustered at the transition. Make sure before the race that everything is there and not tangled. Dont jump on anything half done e.g. shoes half on etc.

Have a quick drink 5 seconds isnt hard to make up especially at a rookie level and it could save you minutes overall.
 
For most triathletes, the swim is the worst part. You may find it to be good, though :) Just go into your "zone" and just do it as fast as you can. Once you're out of the water, everything gets a lot better :)

Put your swim goggles on under your swim cap. Then you won't lose them if somebody bats them off. Although your nose/face might hurt, at least you can reposition them ... try to use more upper body in the swim. You want to save your legs for the bike and run.

And just like NBS said, keep your head in your transitions.

Set up your transition area bright and early so you get a good position. Try to rack your bike closest to the transition exit. That minimizes the amount of walking in your bike shoes. Make sure your bike is in the right gear for the transition exit, too.

Put your timing chip on before the race.

Pump your bike tires 10-15psi less than the recommended pressure because by the time you get to your bike, the air will have warmed, and the pressure should be bang on (unless it's not going to be a very warm day).

Put your helmet on the front of the bike or the ground. Don't forget that you cannot take your bike out of the rack until you've put your helmet on.

If you are wearing sunglasses, put those on before you put on your helmet. Then they will be under the chin strap and won't fall off when you take the helmet off in the bike/run transition area.

Make sure your gel packs are taped onto your bike in a way that you can just rip them off as you need them without tearing away any of the other gel packs.

Make sure you've got all your hydration loaded on your bike as well.

Do you have a bike repair kit? You'll need tire levers, CO2 or mini-pump, and a spare tube or tire (depending on the bike), just in case.

These are just little things, but they can make a world of difference :)

Hats off to you, TC!! GOOD LUCK! :)

Just have fun! Don't worry too much about your time. This is your first triathlon, so enjoy yourself!!!

I'm so stoked for you!
 
tracyclang said:
Hi everyone,
Triathlon tomorrow! I would love to hear everyone's last minute advice (esp. if it involves transitions), do's and don'ts. I'll post tomorrow in my journal my results. Thanks
Click to expand...

I don't normally pimp my blog but I wrote this a couple of weeks ago and you might find it useful...
 
A few points that I have learned recently during my three sprint tris:

1. Don't wear socks for the bike or run

2. Wear your shirt/jersey the whole time. Don't put it on after the swim - too hard to get a shirt on over wet skin.

3. The side of the rack that has a tire on the ground, front or rear, is your side.

4. Don't forget to install your helmet and snap your helmet strap before leaving the transition area.

5. No drafting. You have to stay 5 yards behind the bike in front of you unless passing and then you have 15 seconds to pass. Most sprint tris, with nothing on the line, are not rigid about this but try not to draft.

6. I eat 1 - 2 hours before a tri and then make sure I do number 2 beforehand.

7. If the water temp is less than or equal to 78, you can use a wetsuit without penalty. If the water temp is over 78 but less than 84, you can use a wetsuit but are not eligible for prizes. If the water temp is 84F or higher, you cannot use a wetsuit. A wetsuit, if legal, really helps me and a lot of other weak swimmers.

8. Be forewarned that the wave start of a triathlon is a lot of commotion with flailing arms and legs. Rookies, like me, are better off to start off to the side or rear to avoid the commotion.

9. The others' advice is sound

10. Go hard and go fast!
 
g8r80 said:
5. No drafting. You have to stay 5 yards behind the bike in front of you unless passing and then you have 15 seconds to pass. Most sprint tris, with nothing on the line, are not rigid about this but try not to draft.
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USAT Rule 5.10b

Drafting Zone... blah blah blah... 7 meters long and 2 meters wide.

But as was stated above, sprints aren't usually enforcing the drafting rules.

You find it and more useful sleeping material here...
 
If you don't wear socks, rub some BodyGlide in your bike shoes/running shoes so they go on easier :)

You might as well use some BodyGlide between your upper thighs and under your arms, too. Helps prevent chafing.
 
You all had great advice and I did my best to utilize it. The tri went very well and I want to do another real soon.

Swimming not my strong point but I'm gonna keep traiining and I know I'll get better. I didn't panic in the water like I thought I would... actually I stayed pretty calm. I didn't even mind the swim really but I do need to improve my swim time. It was pretty weak.

The bike felt great!! I had practiced it the week before and the week of the race but I rode the course backwards! I was wondering why they would plan such a flat downhill course! Well, its only downhill when you're training on it backwards (ha-ha) but I didn't care. I was just so caught up in the race that I feel like the bike was, although up hill and challenging, great!

Now let's talk about the run. This is what I do! I run road races and even placed 2nd recently in my age group. So, I thought I had the run down to a science!! Wrong!! Not after hammering an uphill bike course!! And thefirst 1 anf half miles was also all uphill. I ran the whole thing and had to be very mental about it. The thing that sucked was my breathing was fine but my legs were not cooperating. My mind wanted them to go fasterbut my legs refused. Very humbling for a runner.

All in all it was great. Loved it!!! Sick as a dog today. Still have a fever and coughing up junk. Perhaps time to see a doctor.

Thanks for great advice everyone!!!
 
Congrats! It sounds like a good race. Yup... it's all about the run. Practice brick training (biking immediately followed by running) and you'll be able to come off the bike with better legs underneath you. Also learn to pace the bike when you're practicing your bricks and you'll get a better idea of how hard you can push.
 
tsilcyc said:
Congrats! It sounds like a good race. Yup... it's all about the run. Practice brick training (biking immediately followed by running) and you'll be able to come off the bike with better legs underneath you. Also learn to pace the bike when you're practicing your bricks and you'll get a better idea of how hard you can push.
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I'm think I went to the wrong area to reply to your post. I went to "Give thanks for this great quote." Anyway you are probably reading my response here and somewhere else BUT what I said was I will def. incooperate more brick training into my training program. I enjoyed this tri so much I will do more. Everyones advice was great and even my transitions went smooth. I would however like to shed some time off the trans. too. You can read more about my exp. and results in my journal. Thanks again.
 
I agree. It really is all about that bike to run transition. I'm proof of it as well :(
 
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