Well, I wasn't going to post a report cuz I didn't think my race was that big of a deal, but when I was first researching triathlons here, I really valued the reports of other first-timers. I'll try to do the same and give first-timers a little better feeling of what to expect.

First a little background. I'd never done a triathlon before. I'd never really done any type of endurance sports in my life - I didn't like them. I was a basketball/football player all through high school and that was pretty much the end of my competitive life. I high jumped on the track team my freshman year (in HS) and hated it because of the running they made me do. After college, I needed to lose some weight, so I did a very small bit of running to try to get myself in shape. I'd run the occassional 5k race, but that was about the extent of it. I got into mountain biking about 5 years ago and try to do that as much as I can during the summer, but never done any road biking. I grew up with a pool and am a confident swimmer, but never done any lap swimming.

So I have a friend that I ran a 5k with a while back and he suddenly was signing up for all these other 5k's in the area and trying to get better. He mentioned to me that he was considering a triathlon on Labor Day weekend. I thought he was nuts - I didn't know anything about tri's, but it just sounded really difficult. He explained to me the distances of the sprint race and I started to think, 'wow, that doesn't sound too bad'. By the end of the conversation, I was committed to it. I had exactly 8 weeks until the race and I started researching like crazy that night.

When I started training, I wasn't able to run more than 2 miles and I couldn't swim 25 meters without feeling like I was going into a heart attack. I'm not saying all this to make you impressed with my accomplishment, but to give first-timers an understanding that it's very possible to do this no matter what your background or current condition. It just may take some longer to get ready, it may take others a shorter time.

Now on to the details of the race:

This was a 500m swim, 20k bike, 5k run triathlon here near Kalamazoo, Michigan where I live. It was a Saturday race, so on Friday afternoon, the day before, we went down to pick up our stuff and check out the race site. Everything was set up for the race and it was really nice to get a little perspective of where/how this whole thing was going to take place.

Tip #1: If you can, go to the site ahead of time and check things out - especially once the race is set up. It takes a lot of the mystery out of any of your worries.

We asked a few questions and got a real grasp of what the transition area looked like, how the logistics work, etc.

I got all my stuff laid out the night before and packed into my bucket.

Tip #2: I read this from someone else on this site - take all your transition stuff in a bucket so you can sit on the bucket to put on your shoes during transition. It also was a good flag to help me find my bike in the racks.

I went through every detail several times and was confident that I'd packed everything I needed. I got to bed early and after a few hours of my mind wandering, I fell asleep.

The transition area opened at 6:30 in the morning, so of couse my plan was to be there right around that time. My friend didn't think we needed to go that early, so he and our wives would come later.

Tip #3: Get there early and beat the rush. I'm sure at bigger races there's a rush early, but I was one of the few rather than the majority.

I actually didn't even get the first spot on my rack, but still was able to spread out nicely. As the racks filled up later, others were pretty crammed, but my area stayed pretty roomy. My friend didn't get there until about 20 minutes before the transition area closed, so he was rushing around trying to get everything taken care of while I was relaxing and thinking about the race. For some, that may not be a good thing if you're nervous, but I felt great.

Tip #4: Go to the bathroom (#2) before you get to the race site.

Even if the race has nice clean bathrooms (this one did) there was a line a mile long to the men's room just for the stalls. The urinals were open for people to walk in and use, but there were a ton of people using the stalls and I'm glad that I didn't have to.

Finally, the race was ready to get going. The Olypmic distance started first, then a few waves for the sprint. I was in the very last wave of starters. This was nice cuz I got to watch people start and several of the Olympic swimmers were in before I took off. If it's your first triathlon, like it was mine, you'll be amazed at the variety of people who do these things. Big, small, very big, you name it. It's very inspiring, especially if you're not of the typical endurance athlete physique.

So I get down to the water and get ready. I was the most nervous about the swim because of all I've read about people having a tough time. I did 3 open water swims - all during the week of the race, to prepare myself. I must say, it wasn't too bad. I didn't love it - I know the whole time I just wanted it over, but I never found myself wondering if I'd make it to the finish. I did plenty of breast stroke when I got tired, but that was a good chance to see where I was going and it kept me on target. I didn't have any problems with kicking or scratching or anything like that. There were probably 30 people in my wave and I kind of took my time getting started cuz I knew I didn't want to be in the middle of the mess. Slow and steady was my goal. My time was 13:37. I was also 3rd in my age group (M30-34) very surprisingly.

The transition to the bike went smooth, for the most part. I threw on a shirt - I know it's hard to put one on when your wet, but I'd practiced it in the backyard after hosing myself down. It went fine. I remember having a little trouble getting my bike off the rack because I was standing on the same side of the rack as all my stuff and it was hard to get the bike around all my stuff. Something to remember for next time.

The bike was fairly uneventful and was a lot of fun. The course was very flat on country roads. I enjoy biking and expected this to be my strongest leg since I do a fair amount of mountain biking. Well, I was on my mountain bike (the only bike I own) and let me tell you it takes a lot more work to go fast on a mountain bike than a road bike. I passed quite a few people during the ride, but I was also passed by probably the same amount myself. My goal was to not be passed by anyone on a mountain bike and that worked out for me. This ended up being my weakest leg and I finished 10th of 13 in my age group at 42:52 - 17.4 mph.

The second transition was uneventful as well. Things went fine and I was on my way for the run. My legs were not feeling great at this point and I felt kind of full and bloated. I think eating a gel at the beginning of the bike is overkill for a sprint (at least for me) on top of drinking heed during the ride. The first mile was rough, with lots of hills and trails, on top of getting my legs acclimated, but I passed a ton of people right away. The second mile felt much better. I was getting a rhythm and feeling much better. Still passing many people. I was passed by 2 olympic guys - the only people that passed me on the run. Again, very surprising to me.

Finally the 3rd mile and I didn't feel to bad. I passed a lot of walkers on the hills, but then I started to ache again. I had no problems finishing, but it felt great to be done. A few areas got out in the open and were very hot so I was ready to polish this run off. My run was 24:34 or a 7:55 pace (my goal was to be below 8:00), so I can live with that. I was again, 3rd in my age group in the run.

Overall I finished at 1:25:01. I had no idea of how long it would take - my only goal was to finish, but I kind of told myself an hour and a half so I was happy to beat that.

It certainly wasn't a thing of beauty, but it's motivated me to train for more of these in the future and steadily increase my times. I really apologize for the length of this writeup, but I wanted to hit some of the details that I know help first-timers ease their worries a bit. If you have any doubts about your ability to complete a triathlon, I would say that I certainly did. But make the most of it and have a good time. You may hate it, but chances are pretty good that you'll love it like I did.