10 Things You Need To Know Before Your First Triathlon

More and more people are combining swim, bike and run into one event, a triathlon. Your first race can be a scary experience, but here are 10 things we think you should know before the event.

Hindsight is a valuable thing, - we learn so much from making our own mistakes! However, what if we can learn from someone else's mistakes and avoid making them in the first place? Well, that is where we come in as we’ve made mistakes and have heard a lot of stories.

Combining all of this knowledge, we have put together our list of 10 things you need to know before your first triathlon.

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[igordon]

Encourage the person beside you at the start line or swim line - it may only involve a smile, a 'good luck' comment or a hand shake. I remember my first try-a-try and this made the world of difference for me...

[Arriola]

The most important thing is to enjoy and finish your first triathlon. Do not worry about the finish time, you will have time for that in the next races

[andrewrobbins]

Don't go out too hard on the swim, it can make the rest of the triathlon more difficult, I learnt this the hard way.

[cooperstravels]

I just completed my first tri. It rained at the start. I did not have a water proof gear bag. I would recommend that so that your gear stays dry during your swim. You can still lay out your gear and just put the bag over it.

[ASkibinski]

Visualise T1 and T2 in your head. Spend some time and go through the zones as if you were in race. Check where your bike is (or your bags), get a memory of some landmarks to help you locate your spot. Prepare in mind the order of operations (take gps watch off, get swimcap and gogles off, unzip, and so on). All those things will help you with the nerves and lower the risk of making silly mistakes during race. Works for me on every race

[mikemckinney]

1. I like to use a list when I pack a day or two prior to the race. It helps me to not forget something. If I have left something off the list, you ave plenty of time to still pack it.
2. I rehearse Transition-1 & Transition-2 tree times at home two or three times when it doesn't matter how many mistakes you make. If you don't rehearse at all, you will be surprised how many mistakes you can make when you're fatigued and loosing time.

[ellieseegmiller]

Practice transitioning beforehand. In my first tri, my T1 was 7 or so minutes, and I fell over more than once, so it’s a good thing to practice

[douglascristiano]

Hi! For first triathlon I'd say it's ok to ride a road bike, I used one until my first IM70.3 and it was gr8! I agree sometimes you feel awkward as most people have a high tech TT, but you will see yourself passing several of them in the race. Another tip is to not forget the sunscreens and a cap/visors/sunglasses, specially for 70.3 and full IM, they start earlier but you'll get several sun hours ☀️

[motomtbingg]

Doing my first triathlon in a couple days soooo excited

[laurahatcher]

I think the most important is to ENJOY it! Times are not the end of the world! Smile and have fun.

[taylorb]

big tip: don't arrive late and then forget your goggles as you queue up for the swim start. its not fun. just take my word on it.

[scottkenyonteaching]

Struggling to put my tshirt on after the swim.. I haddent practiced putting a t-shirt on a wet body... Now i do a "wet transition" training. Get in the garden hose pipe at the ready and go for it!

[anthropocenecontact]

Make sure you warm up adequately before the start (run a bit, bike hard a bit, and swim if you can). As an age grouper, it's important to get you body moving well before the start.

[andyheilmann]

Forgetting my race belt for the run is a common thing I've done. Luckily I haven't been penalized yet

[TheColincooling]

I though this was a great list.

However the one thing I learned, and I recommend to new triathletes. I think a tri suit is a worthwhile investment even for your first race; they can be had on sale for $50-60. It increases your level of comfort and makes you surprisingly competitive through transition. All other gear can wait in my opinion.

[Lovelyshortstube]

Am having my first triathlon in 2 weeks am going beast mode with my mountain bike and running shoes with running shorts 👌

[chuckschreiber]

If you can’t practice an open water swim, practice swimming in the pool with foggy goggles. Open water is typically murky with limited visibility, it’s one of the biggest changes from a pool. In a pool, fog up your goggles, soap smeared on the inside works, so you mimic the limited visibility in open water and get a comfort feeling of swimming while only seeing a few feet around you.

[IronWill]

My big mistake was that I had trained with socks, and then managed to forget to leave socks IN the transition zone! So - blisters.
Thanks for the tips - I've done 1 triathlon, but these are very handy now I'm approaching my second next week :D

[josephboughton]

My first half distance was last August. As I was getting ready to start the bike ride I discovered I had accidentally brought 2 right bike shoes. 56 miles wearing 2 right shoes. Very uncomfortable but I made it.

[waxymud]

Not a mistake from my first Tri, but I did once turn up at a Sprint Tri with a pool swim, when it was so cold setting up the transition my nose was running. So I went around with a pocket packet of tissues in my rear pockets of my Trisuit. I then forgot about them... Until that is half way through the bike when I reached around for a gel in my back pockets and found myself holding a very soggy pack of tissues instead !