Have You Tried This? Triathlon

As you may know, a group of us did a sprint triathlon 10 days ago.  I've heard from several readers out there that they are prepping for their own triathlons.  I would not consider myself an expert by any means, but I have done several tris throughout the years.

The first triathlon I ever did was 8 years ago.  I had a three-month-old baby and wanted something to motivate me to get out of bed in the morning to workout.  As we drove into the parking lot the morning of the tri, I burst into tears.  I begged the Doc to take me home.  It had been a huge mistake to sign up for this: I was terrified, I was sure I was wearing the wrong clothes, people were going to pass me on the swim, what if my tire popped on the ride, I probably forgot something anyway, I didn't think I could even run three miles, I was going to get water in my goggles, I didn't have a good sports bra.  I just wanted to go home.  I was a complete mess.  The Doc refused.  He parked the car, gathered my gear, set up my bike, pried me out of the car, looked me in the eye and commanded that I do this triathlon. With my heart pounding out of my chest, I walked the walk of doom to the transition area.

I've done several sprint tris since that first one (which was a total blast by the way :).  Here's a few tricks I've learned along the way:

First of all, sign up for the right length for your triathlon.  Distances do vary, but here are some popular triathlon distances:

Sprint - 200 - 800 meter swim, 12-15 mile bike, 2-5 mile run (distances vary)
Olympic - 1 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 6.2 mile run
Ironman - 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run  We pulled off a sprint with style.

Night Before
Preparing the night before the triathlon is a must.  Click here for a basic list of what to bring to the race and ideas on what to eat that morning.

Pre-race
When you get to the race, you get to revert back to preschool and write with a magic marker on your skin!  It is very cool, by the way, to leave these numbers on for a few days and let people ask what they are.  Then you get nonchalantly answer, "Oh, those?  They're nothing.  I just did a triathlon today.  No biggie."  Then you walk away and they think you are awesome.  Try it :)

You also get your bike checked out to make sure your brakes work and tires are pumped.  I wish that guy lived in my garage and would check my bike and my kids' bikes every day.

Transition Area

The transition area is the designated area where you stash your stuff and go each time between each discipline.  Setting up your own space in the transition area is not rocket science, but it is nice to be slightly organized.

Swim:  

goggles, cap, towel

Bike:  

shoes, helmet, race number, sunglasses, water bottle (already in bike)

Run: 

shoes (if different than the bike), hat (optional)

Race Time
After all the training, anxiety, preparation, pre-race instructions -- it's finally time to rock and roll!

After that, it is all fun.  I promise!  Good luck to all you Fit Momma's out there doing your first or hundredth triathlon this season.  Let me know how it goes!

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