Well, over the past 3 weeks I've completed my first 2 sprint distance tris. I've got some questions, and a lot of things that I've learned so far, so please bear with me and make suggestions if you can.

Swim - What I learned. When I failed beginning swimming lessons 3 times as a kid, the teachers were right! That being said, I did manage to swim 1/4 mile doing almost exclusively the side stroke. It is a lot different swimming in open water compared to the pool. There is a lot more chop just from the other swimmers. Throw in a couple of waves, and breathing becomes very difficult.

In the pool, I've managed to be able to swim with my face in the water, however, in the open water swim, I really don't like this. I'm sure that I will get better with time. on the other hand, I usually don't have trouble sighting the turn around bouy, and the finish line.

I was able to find on type of anti-fog lense wipe that seems to work well, however I don't know the name of it, as I threw my last one away yesterday. Some swimmers say to use spit, while others suggest washing them with baby shampoo.

My time on the last swim was over 11 mins. It appears that a wet suit would be helpful, not for the water temps, but to provide confidence that I'm not going to drown, and thereby help me relax and conserve energy. Placing in the swim is usually in the bottom 25% of the division.

T1 -What I've learned. Biking glooves are unnecessary for a short 20 mile bike ride. Since you are not riding in close quarters, the chance of getting taken out on the bike is much lower than while road racing. If your hands are going numb, move them into a different position.

Don't waste time drying off, you'll be dry in a couple of minutes once you get on the bike.

If you are going to carry something like CO2 in your jersey pockets, put it in before the race and drape the shirt over the bike with the front of the shirt facing down. It will make it easier to find your bike, and faster to put on.

Some guys suggest not wearing socks for the bike and the run. I'm not comfortable with that yet. I'm afraid that if I got a raw spot on my foot, it would prevent me from running as fast as I can and hurt my overall time. I'll practice this and see what kind of problems I get into over the next couple of weeks.

Have your biking shoes set up with the tongue open so that you can easily slip your foot into it.

Walk the route to your bike at least 5 times from the water exit to your bike. It's a bummer to stand around looking for your bike when the clock is ticking. On the other hand, a slow swim time means that there are less bikes there to confuse you :) .

I've managed to finish T1 in the mid pack this last race (~2:00)

Bike - What I've learned. You can make up good time on the bike. I've been riding semi-seriously over the past 3 years, and I pass a lot of people on the bike. I ride a road setup for the time being. I'd really like to get a tri-bike, but realistically, I should probably just get aero bars and tweak my road bike for now.

I am curious as to what kind of speed gains others have seen going from road bars to aeros. I averaged 20.5 and 21.5 on my last 2 races.

I see a lot of people weaving all over the road and grinding up the hills. There are two things to remember, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and grinding on the pedals requires you to throw your body weight around, which makes you weave all over the road. Spin baby spin!

Take your shoes off while riding the bike. This is easy if you practice it a few times and it can save you 15-20 seconds in T2.

T2 - What I've learned. Walk the route in from the bike return to your transition zone at least 5 times before the race. It's frustrating looking for a little number and your bag with all of the other bikes in the rack. I wonder if I could tie a helium ballon to my transition zone for a good reference? If not, maybe a bright transition towel will work.

Always un-tie your shoes when you take them off before the race. un-tieing you shoes will cost you valuable time...especially if you are a double knotter (my brother pointed this one out this weekend:) . If possible get a set of Yanks. They will save time in T2.

Run- What I've learned. When running in mud, Yanks don't always hold your shoes on your feet. But you can get the shoe back on without stopping if you are lucky.

Trail running is considerably easier on the legs, but it also results in a slower run time vs pavement running.

I'm a 7:30-8 minute miler. I'm suprised that I don't get passed more. Maybe the speed demons are so far out of sight that I never run across them.

I can conserve energy by not raising my hands above my heart, and by not twisting from side to side too much. Keep you head up too.

When you are going down a hill in mile 3, just fly. You can recover next week. If you are trying to pass another guy in your wave, don't break too early. He may have more gas left in the tank than you ( he did).

Overall- What I've learned. Tris are more fun than just plain road racing. You've got the mystery of where you placed until the other waves are done. You are on your own, compared to the team tactics employed in road racing...its every man or women for themselves, which I really like. I might just be hooked!