Triathlon - Tips for first Tri

I'm sure this has been brought up a dozen times but here goes: I'm interested in doing my first tri sprint next spring and was curious about some of the mechanics of the race itself. For the training I'll work with a trainer at my gym but I wanted to ask some experienced racers just how you transition and what you transition into. In other words, do you change from swim gear to cycling shorts (not sure I'd need it on a sprint but for longer races?)? And then ride to run...how much do you change then? Is there a good resource for information? Thanks in advance for any help.

I have only done sprints and olympic distance, may differ the further you go.

I swim in jammers (swimsuit that look like bike shorts but without the pad, $14-$20 at your local sporting goods store) with a wetsuit over them.

At T1, I take off the wetsuit and put on a jersey, socks, bike shoes, sunglasses, helmet.

At T2, I take off the helmet, bike shoes and put on running shoes.

If and when you really get into it you can:
Leave your bike shoes on the bike and do flying mounts and dismounts,
Buy a one piece tri-suit that combines the jammers with a sleeveless jersey
Go without socks and/or sunglasses

Tri specific shorts are handy even for the occasional racer or even some inexpensive cycling shorts with a softer/thinner padding. Just wear them under the wetsuit and you don't have to worry about changing them for the bike or run.

T1 (swim-bike) - strip off wetsuit, cap, googles, put on socks (because i'm wussy like that), shoes, shirt (depends on the temperature, i sometimes throw on a form fitting long sleeve underarmor shirt), sunglasses, gloves (again, i'm wussy), helmet (and maybe knee warmers again depending on the temperature).

T2 (bike-run) - swap shoes, remove helmet, and go.

Usually i just line up everything on the ground in the order i'll be grabbing it.

www.beginnertriathlete.com has alot of good tips.

i do the entire thing in cycling shorts with a thin chamois. i have yet to purchase tri shorts or a wetsuit.

T1: dunk feet in a bucket of clean water to get the sand off, quickly dry them and put on socks, cycling shoes, shirt, helmet, sunglasses and take a gel.

T2: take off helmet, swap to running shoes, take a gel and go.

i have everything organized on a towel in the order ill be needing it.

Thanks for the tips. I'm thinking spring might be a good time for my first sprint, that will give me planty of time to prep. My backstory is that of your typical couch to tri guy. Last april I weighed in at 288 today I'm 215. I've been working cardio daily for 90-120min mainly elliptical and bike. A few months back I got back on my real bike after a number of years and it really took hold. I'm exploring different goals for myself physically and after completing several 40 mi rides I decided I want to complete a century next summer. As I was thinking a talking to friends about that one suggested a triathlon...all I could think of was the Ironman and that he was nuts, but he told me about sprints and the variety of divisions etc.

The cycling will be the easy part for me, I've always hated running bt this morning hit the treadmill and ground out 40mins after not running more than 20 in my life...I guess I'm in better shape than I thought. Swimming will be the tough part but at least I have a pool to train in where I work. In the mean time I may register for a local Thanksgiving Day 5k just to get used to the road.

the swim could be your undoing if its not your best area. You need to conserve energy for the disciple where you can make up some serious time in the other two disciplines especially in a sprint.
My first sprint I beat my best swim time by a whole minute then lost 3 minutes on the cycle because of slower transition time and cycle due to over doing it on the swim. Its all about maintaining pace and making up time on your best discipline , the bike.
Don't get suckered into trying to keep up with faster competitors . Make sure you keep within your own pace.
Lastly make sure you do at least one full tri in training so you get an idea how much it takes out of you doing three disciplines one after another without a break.
good luck and enjoy it

I'm not thinking about time, I'm thinking about finishing.

you're welcome.!

you're welcome.!

D'oh! Thanks, sorry about that.

On transitions, practice, I don't know how many people I have seen doing their first race looking totally lost and confused in transition (including me my first race). Practice allows you to lay out the things in an order that works for you and develop a system so that there is less chance you will forget something. Also remember it can be crowded on the bike racks so don't practice with your stuff all spread out, you may not have that much room depending on the race.

Race day, make sure to leave yourself enough time to walk through the transitions at least in your head. My first race i didn't do this and and did the whole race exiting and entering transition from the wrong ends, it was really confusing when I exited the bike entrance to go to the run and couldn't find the start of the bike course.

Above all have fun and welcome to the club.

This is my first year doing the Tri thing, but I did two this year and learned some valuable things.

1. If you're not worried about time, just wear under armor on the swim (and a wetsuit if they require it). At the first transition, change into your padded bike shorts. At the second transition, change out of your padded bike shorts. A lot of people swim and run with their bike shorts on, but if you're not worried about adding 30 seconds on to your time, it's well worth it to be more comfortable during the run (and a lot more comfortable during the whole race because you won't have soggy shorts the whole time).

2. To echo what Mr. Jim said, practice your transitions. It's not only good to practice changing all your clothes, but it really helps to run after you bike, or bike after you swim, because you need to know how it affects your body to not be starting your bike/run fresh.

3. Make sure your wetsuit fits, and if it's too tight cut off the arms. If they don't require a wetsuit, don't wear one. There's nothing worse than a wetsuit that's too small, because it takes all your energy just to get your arms above your head. As you might have guessed, this is spoken from experience.

4. Again, with the transition practice, start a list now of things you'll need so you can add to it when you think of new things. It seems like there is always someone near me in the transition area that forgot something rather important. To go along with this, when you're actually preparing for the race, gather all your stuff in a big bucket. Then, at the transition area, lay all your stuff out on your towel (in order if you want) and then flip the bucket over so you have a seat to change shoes and socks. There's nothing better then coming out of the swim and not having to sit on the ground to put on your biking shoes.

5. Make sure you have EVERYTHING you need to change a flat. I know it's rare, but I got a flat in my first tri, and I had to walk/run half of the bike course with my bike by my side. Needless to say, it more or less ruined the race for me.

6. If you're not worried about time, take everything you need to be comfortable on all stages of the race. Wear sunglasses and gloves on the bike. Take your camelbak if you drink a lot. Don't worry too much about transition time or aerodynamics or anything. Chances are, the race with have you wear chips that will track your time. This way you can see your times for all three stages, and you can just ignore the transition time.

I'm no expert, but I figured I'm the type of guy who doesn't care too much about my time either, so I thought these thoughts might help. Good luck. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

...5. Make sure you have EVERYTHING you need to change a flat. I know it's rare, but I got a flat in my first tri, and I had to walk/run half of the bike course with my bike by my side. Needless to say, it more or less ruined the race for me...

+eleventybillion

5. Make sure you have EVERYTHING you need to change a flat. I know it's rare, but I got a flat in my first tri, and I had to walk/run half of the bike course with my bike by my side. Needless to say, it more or less ruined the race for me.


Don't forget a multi tool for that matter, I've had a seat slip and go vertical during an off-road tri and thank god I had just thrown on my usual seat bag that had one in it. My thoughts on this, and we are about the same size, that the pound or two of equipment to carry around is a lot better than having to walk my bike.

I forgot to mention, for your first tri, have fun.

For the love of all that is good, stay to the right while on the bike course.

For the love of all that is good, stay to the right while on the bike course.

ahem unless you are racing in the UK lol:eek:

I'm not thinking about time, I'm thinking about finishing.

Heh, I know the drill.

I just did my first tri. I did not swim during training, but I did in high school, and I had a decent time (I'm 47)

My bike acted wonky, so I was kinda slow, plus I rode a hybrid, rather than an old Peugeot that I own, which is serviceable.

The run was the hardest. I was still ill-prepared for it. I semi-trained essentially for 3 months. If the tri were tomorrow, I would do better than I did 2 weeks ago.

Don't know exactly when the next will be, but I WILL do better.

The first one is for the experience. The ones after that can be for time.

I wear tri shorts for the whole thing. They're designed to get wet and then dry. And they're designed to be comfortable to run in. I don't like trying to get wet clothes on and off. The only thing I take off is the wetsuit and the only thing I put on is socks, helmet and sunglasses. It keeps life much simpler.

I disagree about the wetsuit. I think that if it's legal then you should wear one. The flotation they give goes a long way toward making the swim faster and easier. If you wear one, practice swimming with it and taking it off. Wear it in the pool to get the feel of it. You'll think you look silly, but most people will understand that you're a triathlete practicing in your gear. Then practice getting it off. Don't be afraid to sit down to take it off. You don't have to hop up and down on one foot to get it off.

Check out www.beginnertriathlete.com and www.trinewbies.com. They're both great resources for beginners (and non-beginners, too).

The first one is for the experience. The ones after that can be for time.

I disagree about the wetsuit. I think that if it's legal then you should wear one. The flotation they give goes a long way toward making the swim faster and easier. If you wear one, practice swimming with it and taking it off. Wear it in the pool to get the feel of it. You'll think you look silly, but most people will understand that you're a triathlete practicing in your gear. Then practice getting it off. Don't be afraid to sit down to take it off. You don't have to hop up and down on one foot to get it off.


That's a very good point. I really enjoy swimming, even in open water, but if you're nervous for it, then a wetsuit can be good to give you a little extra flotation. It might also be helpful if the water's cold, but you usually warm up pretty fast either way.

you're welcome.!

Was that really necessary?