nairb49

hey guys,
entered my first Tri up at Mont-tremblant in Quebec this sunday. anyone going?
also, what do i need to bring, how do the transition areas work, what time should i show up for a 9am start????
any help and tips are much appreciated!!

thanks in advance

^*^BATMAN^*^

I would check the reace website, they should have a time to pick up race kits by. I would say about an hour before, atleast.

When you get there, set up your transition area how you want it. Then go down to the water, and jog up to the transition area, so you can see the transition area from the water. Then go out for a warm up ride on you bike, go on the race route in and out of the transition area(warmup whatever you feel you need to). When you come in, come in the transition area, then do the same thing for the run.

Equipment- Wetsuit, goggles, number belt, bike, helmet, sun glasses, bike shoes, running shoes, hat/visor, towel, foot powder.

Towel-to wipe feet before putting on bike shoes
Foot Powder-Put in bike and running shoes, helps dry feet so you have a more comfortable race.

cjbruin

Caped-Crusader...I think your forgot BODY GLIDE!!! Ouch.

Your pre-race routine is very, very different from mine. I never move my bike once I have my transition area set up. The events I do get pretty crowded in the racks.

boze

i just did my first tri last month. you had to be there between 6:30 and 7:30 to set up your transition stuff. you had to check your bike the day before and they guarded them overnight. i like batman's equipment list - plus the bodyglide cj mentioned (i was adviced to apply liberally around the wetsuit neck area because that's a common place for it to chafe. i also did my thighs and the outside of my lats - but that's just me.

my times were just average for first timers on a hilly course and i was way towards the back of finishers in my age group, but the things i remembered most about bringing stuff and having stuff there was this:

1) i was glad i put **** out beforehand because the morning of it was so ******** early that i couldn't really focus right off.

2) i brought several options for tops but it turned out to be a gorgeous day so that was pointless - and here it is june so that won't matter to you.

3) i think i'd do a number belt next time because mine tore putting my shirt on and i had to pin it while riding - i should have just worn it under my suit but i'm wimpy and i was afraid i'd be chilly if i didn't towel off and put a dry singlet on at least (i don't know why they call it a singlet when it's just a sleevless jersey and doesn't cover your ass).

4) try to hustle in the T1 - this was my slowest part and i think i was more just moving slowly because it wasn't something i'd practice as far as what to do first. like i'd think "what next, oh yeah my sunglasses.." when really i should have had a routine. i didn't care at the time what my splits were but if you asked me now.. well heck yeah i wouldn't mind a few extra minutes back if it just meant putting my socks in without dilly-dallying or something.

Last thing i'll say (just because it's your first race and not because it's germaine to your question) is that i really enjoyed my race a ton by pacing myself. Granted i came in like 1002nd overall out of 1250 folks - so that's pretty ****ty considering i'm only 34. but still, i read an article someplace about a common problem being ppl who come out gangbusters on the swim and end up never recovering their heart rate for the bike and run. they have a perceived exertion that's harder for each leg but really they just blew up from coming out too hard because they felt like they had to be extra pushy for the race. So just try to remember that it's an endurance event and you can't fake your training level for 3 hours or more. If you have a HRM, i'd suggest leaving it in Zone 2 or something where it'd start to chirp at you if you do more than like 85% of your max HR. that way you can push yourself enough, but if you go too hard for too long like on a big climb or something you'll have your little watch saying the equivalent of "easy now.. we got another few hours of this to go.. drink some gatorade and chill for a minute".

All this is just me - and folks here have way more experience than me so take that for what it's worth. I'm just saying I finished feeling pretty fresh and was pretty much fine the day after and rather than make the event a real trial I wanted to just celebrate that with moderation I can do more than I thought possible.

Oh, and I had somebody here advise me to take two Gels and do one at the start of the bike and the other right near the end. I did this and drank both my water bottles (of home-mixed gatorade - slightly weak i think) and I felt really good energy-wise. I think I'll do the two-goo thing for all my races from now on.

Good luck and have a great time!
-boze

^*^BATMAN^*^

Ya, i forgot about body glide, I just tried it at my last race, dont really notice a difference, maby cus i got hung up in the suit on my one foot, dam big feet.

And I also forgot about the gels, I usualy either eat a power bar, or a gel about 15 minutes before the swim. I find it takes about that long for anything to kick in, then i get a good 30-40 minutes out of, by then I am well on to my bike, and I wait until it is about half done or a little mor ethen half done, so i have the energy on the run.

I know what you mean Boze, about the heart rate thing. I have been working so much on my bike and run latley, I have almost stopped swimming altogether, so i pushed my self really hard in the swim, and ended up blowing up on the run(47minute 7.5km) it may have to do witht he heat stress i got.. If I had paced myself in the swim better, I probably could have place low 30s overall, instead of the low 100s(out of about 500)

jennings780

I'm doing my first tri on Sunday - thanks for the advice.
A guy I swim next to a lot does tris and had the following advice for me yesterday:

"At your first tri don't worry about your times. Actually try to go a bit slow to pace yourself. Enjoy yourself. Gain experience. Finish strong. Worry about your splits and times in your future triathlons."

I am going to try very hard to take this advice.

This tri I am doing (500m, 21miles, 5miles) starts at 6:30am - its about 45 minutes away. bummer. Good thing I get up at 5am to bike 3 or 4 days a week.

MrCjolsen

This might sound strange, but I brought a 5 gallon bucket. I flipped it over, and was able to sit on it to put my shoes on (I don't do the shoes-clipped-on-bike thing yet.) I got the idea a few months back when I was volunteering and saw a lot of people falling over in T1 trying to get thier wetsuits off and their shoes on. You might still be a bit wobbly after the swim.

It also came in handy to carry all my stuff from my car to the transition area.

^*^BATMAN^*^

Alot of people do that around here.

nairb49

uhoh,

i was thinking i'd pretty much stay in my swimsuit for the whole thing.....
i have those kind of speedo-shorts, and was planning on having a jersey ready for me at my bike, which i'd just keep on for the run as well.

bad idea??
and where does your number go while you swim, on your cap?

thanks for all the advice!

MrCjolsen

I swam in my bike shorts. No problems. I saw some people doing the bike ride in swim suits, but personally I'd worry about chafing.

Usually they have people doing body marking before the race. They will write your # on your arms, front and backs of legs.

One would think they would write the number on your swim cap, but I've never seen that.