Triathlon - Newbie ?'s

I'm doing some sprint tri's this summer for the first time and have a few questions.

1. Who looks after your stuff in the transition area. Maybe I'm just paranoid but what stops someone from running off w/ your nice new bike?

2. How competitive are these races? Do you get a mix?

3. Should I join USAT?

4. Should I enter as a novice or my age group (25-29)?

Any other info would be appreciated. Thanks.

ljrichar,
I'm a newbie as well but I think I have a few answers for you.

1. The transition area is sealed off to competitors and refs only so it isn't like it is open to any joe that is walking by. Besides, the way I see it, there are gonna be a helluvalot nicer bikes than mine in the transition!

2. The real competition is with yourself, pushing to be the best you can be. Though it is hard not to look over and notice the 97 year old woman that is kickin' your tail.

3. I think you should join USAT if you plan on competing over and over but I haven't. :)

4. Dunno.

Okay, so I don't know much. But maybe what I do know is the little that you'd like to know?

1. There always seems to be nicer stuff and nicer bikes than mine sitting around so I don't really worry about it. Also, the area is restricted to the athletes, which cuts down the on the chances of getting gear lifted.
2. When I showed up at my first tri I was totally intimidated by how fit and fast most everyone looked. By and large triathletes are a really fit looking bunch. I told my wife that I was sure I'd finish near last. I was surprised that fit looking doesn't always mean fast. You can't pick people out and say "that guy is fast" and "that guy is slow." Sometimes the guy with the gut really hauls. So, in my four tri's I have found that people are really all over the board.
3. Do the math on usat. How many races will you do? If you don't buy a year membership you buy a daily membership with each race which I think is like $9. So, if you are going to do more than three tri's, joining USAT probably makes sense. Three or less then probably not. Unless there are other benefits to joining that I don't know about.
4. Age group. Go get them!

That's true about the bike thing. It's like someone stealing my '93 Ford Escort in a sea of Lexus'.

1. I agree with the others, I have never even had a Powerbar lifted at a race.
2. You will find a mix of mindsets at these races, the key is what is yours?
3. I wouldn't dish out a bunch of dough just yet. Ensure you like racing first. Plus, alot of the smaller races don't require the membership. Check when you sign up to see if you even need a membership. I, too, have yet to sign up for USAT. I get a discount thru my tri club, so I may do it this year.
4. I don't think it matters. The tri's in my area (non-USAT) have Fitness and Competitive divisions w/age groups in each division. Fitness for the regular people, Competitive for the studs/studmuffins. For example if you were racing in my town, since its your first tri, I would suggest Fitness 25-29 for you.

1. Who looks after your stuff in the transition area. Maybe I'm just paranoid but what stops someone from running off w/ your nice new bike?

Well, what everyone has said is mostly true. Honeslty, I've seen some fantastic bikes at local tris. Anyone who steals mine first is a moron.

That said, there's enough confusion that I don't see it as being impossible that a bike would get stolen. I really hope it doesn't happen, though, because it would be bad for the sport.


2. How competitive are these races? Do you get a mix?

In general, triathlons have a huge mix. I'd say that the mix is even wider than your average running race, except that there are different distances on the same day, this will split up the field. A bit.

I really can't imagine anyone being visibly out-of-place at a triathlon, based on what I've already seen. NOBODY is going to think you're too overweight/old/out of shape/whatever.

V

1. Who looks after your stuff in the transition area. Maybe I'm just paranoid but what stops someone from running off w/ your nice new bike?
I agree with the others who've said that it's quite unlikely that your bike would be stolen. However, don't store anything fragile or valuable into the transition areas. At a race last year, I saw an unattended transition bag that had an Ipod in it - the bag was open and the Ipod was in plain view. I was contemplating whether or not I should zip the bag up so it wouldn't be visible, but I was afraid that the owner might come back at the wrong time and think I was messing with his stuff, so I just left it. I've seen people's wallets in plain view. In the transition area, things can get dropped, stepped on, broken, and stolen.

By the way, the transition areas are almost always fenced off, but it's not that difficult to get in - even if you aren't racing. I've done it, and other people have done it for me. I even got into the transition area at the Kona Ironman - I wanted to get in to look at some of the bikes - so I squeezed between a gap in the fence. I didn't have any criminal intentions, but I'm sure that there are some out there who do, so just be careful not to bring anything valuable with you.