I did my first triathlon (Ironman Oceanside 70.3 April 2023). Made tons of newbie mistakes even after watching lots of these helpful videos. I WISH someone told me about CUTOFF times and advised me to be very greedy about time. Don't take unnecessary breaks or socialize during the RACE. Don't try to help people with flat tires or wait up for friends. I did all these things and took my sweet time changing, eating, and lather sunblock in transition like a silly noob. Don't treat triathlon like a casual sightseeing marathon like I did and got my chip taken away halfway into the run. Fortunately, I still finished and got a medal but with a DNF for the record 😅. I'll have my vengeance at Santa Cruz 70.3.
A couple years ago I went into the first triathlon of the season and made so many mistakes. Mistake 1: Didn’t look into the parking details and ended up parking further from the park than I thought I would. So by the time I got registered and into transition I had about 10 minutes until transition closed. I was rushing to get my stuff set up and forgot to mix my electrolyte drinks and put water on my bike. Mistake #2: I was battling a calf injury and wanted to save as much time in transition as possible so I opted to do the swim without a wetsuit (which I had never practiced) and it was a disaster. Then, Mistake #3: I hammered it on the bike to make up time and when I got to the run (dehydrated from forgetting fluids) it was cramp city. I learned a lot that day 🙃
Even for the seasoned triathlete, these are all good reminders. The longer one has been doing it, the better chance of getting complacent and making a mistake in the clutch.....great vlog as always!
At T1 in my first tri I ran right past my bike/kit not once but TWICE as I was extremely disoriented from a cold swim. After that debacle I followed great advice of draping a small brightly colored towel over my handle bars and then using it to wipe my feet and not have to deal with grit and water in my bike shoes. I enjoy following you all on GTN; consistently great content, thank you! ~Megan
Tip i learnt years ago was to make the row number of the rack on your hand with a sharpie. Protip is to include the side. for example 14T (row 14 tree side) or 14L (row 14 lake side)
I'll do my first ever triathlon (70.3) in 2 weeks, and I'm so so happy I found this video! Thanks for the great tips (especially walking the route from the swim-exit to your bike - genious!)
Good luck! The first race is always a learning curve - enjoy it and soak it all in 🙌 This video might help too 👉 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yqMYMu4Q2pM.html
Learn to negative split. Include intervals in your workouts with the easiest pace first and then progressively get harder. Use technologies such as heart rate, GPS and power meters to create measurable pacing targets. Train your endurance.
6 months ago A couple years ago I went into the first triathlon of the season and made so many mistakes. Mistake 1: Didn’t look into the parking details and ended up parking further from the park than I thought I would
RE: Losing your kit: I have been in several triathlons where I’ve seen athletes attach a Mylar balloon to their bag so they can easily locate their stuff 😂 seems pointless if it’s a windy day & hopefully doesn’t bother their neighbors 😅
My latest mistakes; not chaging my smartwatch and use a dodgy hr strap. Since the run laps was not marked for each kilometers it made my paceing difficult...
Always great info! Thanks so much!! Did a self-induced 70.3 in prep for a full Ironman in September and learned a lot. Would love advice on how to keep running after swim/bike. I always feel knackered after the swim/bike and don’t want to run.
Not listening to my coach and seeding myself AT the time I would do for the swim. I ended up passing people all the way until the exit ramp. It was a 70.3!
My first triathlon mistakes: 1. I didn’t fuel properly. I’m sure most people can forgo food prior & I was trying to “listen to my body” but with nerves, I didn’t eat enough & I definitely felt it during the race; I felt SO sluggish. Almost made me quit triathlon, I was that miserable. 2. DON’T TRY ANYTHING NEW: I thought I’d be a cool triathlete foregoing socks (without practice). The bike was fine, the run was torture! I immediately got some nasty blisters & hobbled into the finish with some bloody feet. Now I wear my socks & always keep bandaids in a plastic baggy for myself & extras for other athletes. 😅 even after all that, I felt a big sense of accomplishment & endorphin-high! Keeps me coming back! 😊
I did a Triathlon to see what I could achieve, there’s a bit to it. I think you could say there’s 4 elements, I say 4 because transition is important and does matter. I think if you can try to use the swim as a warm up for your body, breaststroke might not be the quickest but it helps to get you warmed up and for 300 meters it’s gentle enough. The only mistake I made was not thinking about a vest before putting my race shirt on, we make mistakes and this was mine. I found the transition from pool to bike easy and made sure to properly dry my feet before putting ankle socks on, clean and snug. This meant I could cycle comfortably and not have to worry about blisters or a bad fit. One guy was about a mile into the cycle event and he had an accident and that ended his day. I did my bike ride on a mountain bike, I don’t like drop handlebars and will never be quick. I’m more for power as it were, I’m over 100 KG but fit with it. The one thing I did make a point of was learning to put my helmet on with my eyes closed, it’s good to have a helmet but not everyone has a mirror to use. So I literally spent 20 minutes in the shop taking it off and making sure I could do it with my eyes shut each and every time. The run at the end was like a Parkrun so having done them regularly for a few months it felt ok. I would recommend to anyone if you are wanting to do something like a Trathlon or Half Marathon then run or train in the kit you are going to use on the day, that helps your body adjust and you get to know how you feel with training too. I personally use very little training tools, my Omega watch and a bottle of water is about it. If running for a half marathon I break the course into legs but that’s a different story. I would suggest having a strict policy for foot hygiene as blisters and the like can be avoided. Wash your kit separately and make sure to look after it. For running have 2 pairs of identical shoes and alternate between them, maybe have a blue pair and a grey pair buy gel inserts for them and use them well. The longer you run with them the more will be used to them. With tops for running I would recommend a light vest and a polyester top as they can help to get into a routine. On colder days I use an intermediate layer to help me generate extra body heat I find it best to have this over the vest and then put the polyester top as the outer layer. For swimming I would suggest you practice in the same sort of water as on race day, so you swim in fresh water if using a lake or a swimming pool if that’s what is going to be the case on the day. I found a small travel size bottle of shower gel handy for cleaning my goggles as you do get a build up on them and you only have limited space. I think many folk forget to only take what they need, I used a tea towel as the size of the area I was going to have for my stuff on race day. It helped me focus on what I needed as opposed to what I was taking with me. I would suggest a spare set of clean stuff to wear for afterwards and definitely freshen up before going home. In most cases you can drop off a bag so make good use of it. I was glad I did my Triathlon as it showed I could not only do the elements but put them together. Cycling is important too and I would suggest having a few different routes so you can have a bit of variety, sadly no matter how good you are on a bike not everyone concentrates and there’s plenty to watch out for. A visibility vest is handy to have and though not trendy it should allow folk to see you coming. Look after your bike and think of it as a friend, with care and a bit of maintenance it will see you right for many miles. Be aware that one day you will get a puncture and know what to do, take a deep breath and logically work through things. A spare inner tube will be a bit of work as it were to fit but at least you know it’s not on borrowed time, patches are ok to a point but eventually fail. Practice does make you tired, but it allows you the chance to improve and go that bit further,as I was told many years ago “better never stops”.
Some great tips here Mark! Sounds like you really know how to plan for an event. Is it just the one triathlon that you've done? You're so right about practicing in the kit that you plan to run in and swim in the conditions of the race, it'll really make you feel as ease come race day. Even though you were so well prepared did you make any errors on the day and if you were going to do it again would you go for a faster bike to try and beat your time? Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your experience, super cool to see the GTN community being so supportive! "Better never stops"... We might steal that 😉
@@gtn I made a couple of mistakes on race day but I think that’s part of the experience as it were. I’m not sure about a faster bike as I’m not a fast person, more a case of power. I am working towards 100 Parkruns and then I might decide what’s next. I don’t know yet but only time will tell.
1st Olympic Tri I followed a bike pack right off the course. I guess no one, including me, was looking up for any signs. Good thing I figured out the mistake pretty quickly so only lost a little time 🥴, while the rest of the pack kept on going 🤥
On my first Triathlon I knew exactly where everything was but... somehow the guys who racked their bikes left and right next to mine swapped it and there were suddenly 3 black bikes there instead of just one (mine) so I ran past it orienting myself on the next bright one that my brain assumed was where mine is located ^^' I also nearly forgot to take my helmet off in T2 and dismounted like 50m before the dismount line because there were so many lines on the parking lot I was like.... ugh... just get off and run ^^'
It seems silly but I did put my helmet backwards once. Luckily people were yelling at me and I noticed before I leave the transition so I could change it.😅
