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What mistakes did you make at your first tri?

It's just over a week until my first tri at Eton. Not feeling 100% ready yet, but hopefully some fine tuning next week will help.



Was wondering what pitfalls you board members fell into on their first event. Be good to know so I don't do the same.



Cheers,



Jon

Comments

  • tony btony b Posts: 57
    If you use a number belt, remember to turn it around in T2 (from back to front). Always make sure your helmet is on and done up if you are in control of your bike i.e. it is not racked. Study the course carefully, and also routes in and out of transition. Don't lose your bike in the maze of racking - find something unmovable that will help you locate it, and use a distinctive towel. Careful with your shoes on the bike - if your running alongside your bike with the shoes attached to the pedals, be careful they don't bang on the floor because they might come off. Happened to me coming into T2 at London.
  • WannabetriWannabetri Posts: 219
    Got two great(ish) stories!



    First ever tri - I decided to learn to start out of T1 with shoes clipped-in the day before the race. Having seemingly perfected in one day, I decided to go with it for the race. Completely forgot that my feet would be soaking wet out transition and both feet promptly slipped completely over the shoes and crashed into another bike! Not a happy guy was he!!!



    Second one was at Blenheim, where I didn't take time to look at the course. Bike leg had one ridiculously long hill that disappeared into the woods. Was completely in the wrong gear and dropped them all in a bid just to make it up there. 3 laps later and realised I had done no training for hills, and then proceeded to blow up on the run!!



    Learn by doing!
  • Open Swim in last years Dublin Triathlon...was goating around on the river bank in trying to get in at the very last minute.



    Did this quite well! Got in, the hooter went and I was still hyperventilating and thought i was going to have to pull up just 500M into it. After a few BStrokes, and thankfully got breathing back to normal.



    Would recommend getting into the water with plenty of time, keep moving, and put a few practice strokes in.



    Best of luck and Enjoy the race Jon

    Paul



  • SamutriSamutri Posts: 143
    My first tri was a winter series (Run, Bike, Swim). I didn't pay attention to the pre-race brief. Turns out that T1 and T2 were in different locations, so I ended up in the pool with no goggles. I did wonder why folks were running with goggles round their necks!!



    Listen to the brief and if you have any doubts then ask - theres no such thing as a stupid question....well, apart from "why do you wax your legs"[:D]
  • dee999dee999 Posts: 41
    our first tri involved my hubby coming out of the pool, running to his bike, and then spending 10 mins drying himself thoroughly, putting on a t shirt,a jacket, a reflective bib, and then heading out on his bike!

    my first tri involved blisters!- i would save time, and not bother with socks.......not good-[:(] always have put on your socks (pre-filled with talc),i ended up with massive blisters during the run-slowing me down immensly (well thats my excuse!), seriously, i always put them on now,when i come out the pool![;)]
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    Some might say turning up....
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    My first Tri, towelled down in T1, applied sun screen, talc, pulled shorts over my trunks, put on vest and trotted out a couple of minutes (3 I think) with my £60 Halfords MTB with chunky tyres thinking that went well!



    Not my first but last tri (in which I surprisingly came 3rd in my age group!) took wrong turn on cycle cos I didn't listen to the last minute brief about a minor change on the route.



    But just have a blast, you will enjoy it, try to learn from the mistakes of others before your own. And remember:



    A mistake is evidence that someone has actually tried to do something - therefore a person who has never made a mistake ...
  • LegacyUserLegacyUser Posts: 0
    No drinking enough before hand.



    Started feeling thirsty as soon as I got on the bike and ran out of water by half way through the ride.



    Putting a cycling shirt over my tri suit before the ride in case I got cold. I didn't need it and it took ages to get on.



    Not smiling at the official photographer as I ran past him. I am on the internet for all eternity looking like death warmed up.
  • TricksterTrickster Posts: 2
    Left bike in a too high gear so couldn't start - needed to get a push from none other than John Lunt himself (left him shaking his head!). Wore cycle shorts rather than tri shorts. Didn't walk routes in transition leaving me 'lost in transition' as I came in off the bike leg. Think that's about it.
  • Decided to race the night before after several pints of Stella(carbing up?), borrowed wetsuit off one friend, Helmet off another and mountain bike off another, bought a pair of cheap speedos, a pair of cheap goggles and a bottle of lucozade sport en route to race. Got there to find the place rediculously cold. Racked bike, put on my speedos and wetsuit and went to brief. Soon after this the problems started. When everyone else was doing warm-up in water in prep for swim I was standing lakeside trying to stay warm, when the countdown begun to start the swim i made my first venture into lake - it was Fcukin freezing and my wetsuit was a large 3 mil sleeveless number, the trouble with this being I am a small skinny type. I had also not swum crawl since the age of about 8 and not swum at all apart from on holiday since then. So, tried to swim crawl, realised rapidly that my constant panting/hyperventilation made this kind of impossible, did whole 750m open water old granny style breaststroke with head above water at all times, while doing this the suit provided zero thermal insulation/bouyancy but rather simply acted as a parachute against the water, within 200m my legs were cramping up, persevered and actually quite enjoyed the bike leg, however going onto the run I looked like Willem Defoes character in platoon, a wel steps and I was on my knees. Had to walk virtually the entire run, came in dead last, even the marshalls had fcuked off by the time I got to halfway - very demoralising!! And after that I forget why exactly I decided to give it another go??!!!



    But I did - and it still makes me smile thinking about that race.



    The main moral of this story is time spent in planning is rarely wasted. Get kit that fits, do some training for all three disciplines and get some practise at running off of the bike and you will be fine, oh and I still recommend carbing up on the stella the night before.



  • SuperCazSuperCaz Posts: 54
    I forgot to leave an inhaler in transition, and also forgot to take it before the start. So I had to do the whole event without any medical aid. Luckily I was OK. Because it was my first I didn't have the pressure of getting a PB so I was able to take the race slightly easier than I would have prefered, and avoided an asthma attack.
  • grant1974grant1974 Posts: 262
    I didn't have any imodium, need I say more!
  • JonhinioJonhinio Posts: 289
    Thanks fo rthese guys. Less thana week to go. I'm religiously writing down what to do in transitions to remember for the day. I'm sure I'll have stuff to add to the list thi stime next week [:D]
  • The biggest mistake i made on my first tri was to turn up!!!! the rain was sooo heavy.
  • The swim. Blenheim, dark lake. I somehow thought that I would be able to see through the water and that, as a result, there was no need for me to practice sighting. I quickly realised that pitch black lakes have zero visibility and that 'heading roughly towards the buoy, keeping your head down and swimming as hard as possible' was not the best tactic - I was quickly heading at 90 degrees to the correct direction and must have added 100m to my swim distance. My wife videoed the swim and you can see me peeling off the pack and heading towards the island in the middle of the lake. The only thing I feel bad about is that 3 or 4 others were trying to draft off me and followed me suicidally off into the Ulu. So, learn to sight and don't trust whoever you choose to draft off.
  • legalbeaglelegalbeagle Posts: 208
    Not at my first but as I have only done three I hope this counts! Last Sunday at Harlech - first ever event in good weather- really hot day so I did very well with the hydration issues BUT forgot about sunscreen - still very red and very sore today - my nose would be really festive if it was December!



    Now I guess I have another thing to faf about with in transition! Any advice anyone?
  • hbhb Posts: 22
    Probably turning up was my mistake but hey i enjoyed myself
  • JonhinioJonhinio Posts: 289
    I can add to this list now[:)]. Jumping off my bike too quickly coming into T2 and skiing down th road as I couldn't get any grip on my shoes.. and in a haze racking my bike back inteh wrong place.. well it looked like my box!! Apart from that it was fantastic!
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    Ref sunscreen..apply waterproof prior to swim, but take care cos it does sting if it runs into your eyes..usually during the run. Boots have a nice spray on 'mister' supposedly for us follically challenged chaps, but is nice & thin & spreads easily.
  • gaterz1981gaterz1981 Posts: 233
    going off too hard on the bike section, i'm the same at timetrials though.



    Speed off, blow up, recover...limp home.
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