Originally Posted by kakman

I'm tempted to just say HTFU but I am curious to know what the fear really is - is it sharks or fish?

The thing to consider in a tri is you'll be surrounded by (potentially) hundreds of people all thrashing away and the last thing you'll be worried about are fish. You'll be way more occupied trying not to get run over, sighting the buoys or catching your breath. As far as sharks, they ain't gonna be interested in hundreds of people thrashing around - and even if they were, you only need to be faster than the slowest swimmer to be safe

Sign up, jump in, go hard - your fear might give you a great swim split.

In all seriousness, I know it seems real now, but I reckon it will vanish when the start gun fires.

/k