Your 1st Triathlon: Race Day Tips

Most triathletes get their start in the sport by racing a sprint triathlon based in a local pool or nearby body of water. This experience can be horrifying or exhilarating or maybe a bit of both. Let’s take a look at what race day looks like at a typical sprint triathlon. Knowing how the race usually plays out in advance should move the needle much closer to exhilarating.

So at least a week before the race you checked all of your gear including your bike and made sure that every item was ready and in good working order. That way you had time to replace anything that didn’t fit, didn’t work, or needed adjustment. You also practiced your transitions in your driveway knowing that this would save you time on race day.

Then the night before the race you used the REI Triathlon Checklist you found online to make sure that you and packed everything you would need including your bike. If possible you picked up your race packet the evening before the race too.

Race Day Morning

You rise before dawn and go out to your car, truck, or van and run through the checklist one last time. You head out early so you can be at the race site the minute that transition opens. Once you arrive you pick up your race packet including race number and timing chip, get body marked, and set up your bike and gear in transition. It’s still dark when you set up in transition but that’s no problem you brought a headlamp. Because setting up your gear by the light of a blinky light you took off the back of your bike would just be silly. You don’t need to know how I know this. FYI the strap holding the timing chip goes on your left ankle because your chainrings are on the right side of your bike. You don’t want that strap to get caught in your chainrings.

In some transition areas, you rack your bike by your race number. If this is the case you take your bike to that spot and set up your gear. At many small local sprints, you can pick your spot on a first-come, first-served basis. If so set up near the aisle close to the bike exit. In either case, walk around the transition area. You especially want to walk in from the pool or boat ramp or beach and make sure you can find your bike.

Look for landmarks (trees, lamp posts, signs) count the number of rows from the swim entrance to your bike, bring a brightly colored towel. In short have a system. Once the race starts you don’t want to be running around aimlessly trying to find your bike.

Get Some Practice Laps

Now that your gear is set up, hit the bathroom or porta john. If there’s a line you didn’t get to the race site early enough. If allowed get in the pool or lake or ocean for a couple of practice laps before the race. Yes, you’ll be cold and wet waiting for the race to start and yes, you will thank me later. Finally no matter what attend the pre-race briefing. The race director has important things to tell you. Listen carefully this information might just be the difference between a great race experience or a dismal race result.

Quick prediction: at your first triathlon you will go out too fast on the swim, too fast on the bike, and too fast on the run. The sooner you catch yourself and moderate your pace the smoother your race will go.

The Swim: Nerves & Numbing Cold

If the race is in a pool you’ll start the swim by getting into a long line. You will usually line up based on your projected swim time. Generally speaking, it’s in minutes per 100 yards or meters, say 2:00 minutes/100 meters. Often you will be asked to enter your projected time when you sign up for the race. Sometimes the race participants are just asked to line up by swim time. Some people will call out their time and folks will sort themselves accordingly.

So how do you determine your swim time? You go to a pool with your watch or Garmin and time how long it takes you to swim the distance. If the swim is 300 yards then you time yourself swimming 300 yards and write it down to make sure you remember it correctly. Now you’re asking yourself can I just swim 100 yards as fast as I can and just multiply by 3? No, because if you do that your swim time will be too fast, and you’ll wind up slowing down people who did it correctly.

You should also know that a fair percentage of people will get their swim time wrong or just guess. This will cause backups and bottlenecks in the swim. Pool-swim sprints are famous for these. In addition to people who got their swim times wrong, you may also bump into someone doing the elementary backstroke or someone power walking through the swim. If this happens, and it probably will happen, be patient. This is a local sprint triathlon, not the Olympic trials. Perspective, grasshopper, perspective.

If this is your first race, you will probably be near the end of the swim line. At first, the line will appear not to move at all. Then it will move slowly. Then suddenly it will be your turn to go. There will likely be a moment of panic. Don’t fight it. Just relax and swim your race. If it’s May and an outdoor pool and you didn’t do those practice laps, the coldness of the water will take your breath and maybe your focus.

Entry, Flow & Exit

There are three things you want to be very clear about on the swim: pool entry, traffic flow through the lanes, and pool exit. The race director covers these at the pre-race meeting. Pool entry is usually done by jumping in feet first but there are some races where diving in is required. Depending on the size of the pool and the number of triathletes, you generally swim either a pool length or a pool lap in one lane then duck under the lane rope, enter a new lane and continue in this fashion until you come to the swim exit.

Traffic in the lanes can be one-way or two-way. If it’s one-way it will be easier to pass slow swimmers. If it’s two-way passing a slow swimmer means risking a head-on collision with another swimmer.

You will most likely go out too fast on the swim. After a couple of lengths, you’ll realize that you can’t maintain this pace. Slow down and get back into the groove. You may get short of breath and have to hang on the side of the pool for a minute to collect yourself. This may be a blow to your ego, and you may think that everyone is looking at you. It’s not the end of the world, and the rest of the swimmers are way too busy to notice you. Breathe and get back in the race.

The pool exit may be steps, or running through a wading pool, or just jumping out at the end of the lane.

If the swim is in a river, lake, or ocean, you will go in waves based on gender and age group. You will swim around buoys placed by the race organizers. There will most likely be some swimmer-to-swimmer contact. This can be scary. If you are not a strong swimmer it is entirely possible that someone in the wave behind you may swim over you. This is not deliberate – they can’t see any further through the water than you can – but it can be disconcerting if not downright scary.

You may have to roll onto your back for a minute and collect yourself or cling to a kayak for a moment. Shake it off and get back on course. Take the swim one stroke at a time, one minute at a time, one buoy at a time. The swim exit will be a boat ramp or beach. Swim until one of your arms touches solid ground.

The Bike: Hills & Thrills

Exiting the pool or water you run to transition and find your bike. Now you put on your bike gear including the all-important helmet. The helmet has to be on and fastened before you unrack your bike. You run your bike through transition, pass the mount/dismount line, jump on and ride. If you checked out the course online and then drove it in your car or rode it on your bike, you know what you’re up against. If you didn’t or couldn’t check out the bike course, you are definitely glad you attended the pre-race meeting and listened to the race director’s description of the course and course markings.

You will, of course, go out too fast on the bike. You will discover after a couple of miles that your pace is, to use an economics term, unsustainable. Slow down, breathe and ride. When you get close to transition, slow and look for the mount/dismount line. You have to stop and dismount before you get to the line.

The Run: Waddle Faster

You run your bike back into transition, rack it, then and only then remove your helmet and put on your run gear. The elastic laces you put in your running shoes before the race really speed things up. You’re about to learn why this blog is called Swim, Bike, Stumble. If you did some bike/run brick workouts before the race you’re prepared for what’s about to happen. If not you’ll be surprised to discover that when you head out on the run, you can’t run. You’ll start out at a waddle. It will feel like you left your quads and hamstrings out on the bike course.

You will get closer and closer to an actual running stride the further you go. In a mile or so you’ll be running somewhat normally.  You will – note the repetition – go out too fast on the run. Early in the run, you’ll notice that you’re breathing hard, your legs are straining and people are passing you. Welcome to my world; it happens to me every race. Again slow down, breathe and find a rhythm. Run your race.

Fun Fact: Everyone is dying on the run. If you have to take a walk break or two to catch your breath do so. Don’t pass up the water stop. Keep striding until you cross that finish line. Congratulations you just finished your first triathlon. Smile, congratulate yourself, get a photo with your significant other. You have crossed another item off your bucket list or maybe caught the triathlon bug, either way, stumble onward!

Some Helpful Links:

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Sprint Triathlon Training (VeryWellFit)

Tackle Your First Sprint Triathlon (Triathlete)

Your First Sprint Triathlon (Triathlon Canada)

7 Things I Wish I Would Have Known As A New Triathlete (Complete Tri)

 

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