I came out of the water first, found out I couldn't bike anywhere near as fast as I thought I could and everyone passed me, then found out that running off the bike sucks even worse than normal running and old people started passing me. Then I threw up. It was fun!

My first was pretty decent. It's funny to think how much more prepared I was this year just by having been through a single triathlon the previous year. In my first one I shaved my head because I didn't realize everyone would get swim caps.... and I remember wondering if they would have bike racks or if we should somehow bring/build our own. :p

I did the Catfish Tri in Harrisburg, and it has a shallow river swim. From the very start my arms were hitting rocks and such, and I made it worse by staying too close to shore (it made the route shorter but certainly not quicker). About halfway through I noticed a guy in front of me cursing and basically standing on top of the water....we had swum into a pile of rocks that was stretching out from the shore. Scrambling over wet slimy rocks is even harder when you're exhausted and confused from swimming. I also remember being blinded by sun glare and wishing I had tinted goggles.

In T1 I tried putting on a bike jersey which was difficult because I was wet and the number pinned on the back didn't allow it to stretch as easily as it normally does. That wasted about a minute as I got stuck inside.

The bike is out and back and as flat as any course could be. That was my first time ever riding with a group of people, and while I didn't tear up the course I had a great time. I was getting blown away by many of the older guys in the wave behind me, but I thought it was much more fun than any running race I had ever done.

T2 went smoothly and the run was short (2.8 miles) and not very hard. I came from a running background so I gained confidence as I went, especially because it was two loops so I got to pass slower people on my second time around.

I finished 4th in my AG, and the guy who got 3rd passed me in the middle of the run. I remember trying to stick with him but he beat me by about 30 seconds. One of my goals had been top 3 in AG so I ended up just missing that....but achieved the time and overall place goals I had set so I was happy.

My first was the Muncie Endurathon ( I won't say how long ago). I did the 1.2 breast stroke because I hadn't learned to crawl very well and was recovering from a collar bone fracture. Naturally I was one of the last people out of the water. I swear it was 90 degrees by the time we finished the bike. You could see the asphalt shimmering. Everybody was icing heavy on the run. I kept enough ice in my hat to keep my head numb and still had to run/walk the last couple of miles. Afterwards I laid in the shallow water off the beach until my body temp came down. I was very happy with my finish despite the obstacles - or perhaps I was happy because of the obstacles...

First of all, congratulations. It's a very expensive, addictive, and slippery slope, but there's a lot worse things in this life you could be spending your time and money on. Glad you're in for the ride.

My first tri was in 1994, on Key Biscayne here in South Florida. I was hollering at people asking where do you change, and I got yelled at for drying off with a big bath towel in T1, "Hey bigman, just get on your bike and go!" I also remember my lungs literally burning while ascending the Rickenbacker Causeway bridge for the first time. I have since done about 20 tri's there and it's almost my second home. Every time I'm at Key Biscayne, I think back to my first tri. It's funny, at every race, including E2M yesterday, someone always calls me bigman.

I got into tri's because after 10 years of competitive bodybuilding, I was bored with the gym, my elbows and shoulders were shot, and I wanted a different, yet similar individualistic, challenging and obsessive form of personal fitness. I even tried boxing, but discovered triathlons. I was hooked after my first race. I was so pumped up. It was better than competitive bodybuilding, and let me tell you, standing on stage in your underwear and flexing to AC-DC in front of a thousand people is a rush, but nothing compared to crossing that finish line.

I didn't know what the hell I was doing (still don't) but I just went out there and did it. Just for the fun of it (and so I could drink beer for the rest of the weekend and not feel guilty.)

Anyway blavelle, thanks for your question, it drummed up some good memories, and just remember, "What we do in life, echoes through eternity." Maximus in Gladiator

Hmmm... My first tri was a sprint in 2003. I was a strong swimmer (that was the summer after my best season of high school swimming). I had just gotten my road bike 3 days before as a slightly early 17th b-day present, so it was my 3rd ride on the bike. I had run xc the fall 2002 with a current pr of 22:42 5k.

I swam fast, but I navigated atrociously. I was still one of the top swimmers simply because I was a swimmer. My swimming now is slower than it was then, I just navigate better. I averaged 17.x mph on the 17 mi bike and ran a 29:59 for the run. I remember being so happy to do a sub 30 5k LOL. It was a small race put on by the local YMCA and I ended up winning my age group (17 and under) by over 20 minutes. If that race were still around, I would be ~20 minutes faster now... My transitions were horrible. My sister and dad were doing the race as a relay, so my sister distracted me and started talking to me in t1 while my dad started to head out onto the bike. I totally fell for it. I took the time to put on bike shorts for the bike and run shorts for the run over my swim suit. I also did not have a race number belt and I had already decided not to pull on any type of shirt, so I had the brilliant idea to pin the bottom half of my number to a pair of run shorts and then pin the top half to my swim suit while I was running....

Wow! I guess I really have come a long way since then...

blavelle-

First, congrats on your first Tri (I am a fellow newbie as my first was in April).

My first one was a sprint in Sacramento. The swim was a mass start free-for-all and I had my goggles kicked off within 5 minutes. It was humbling, but once I adjusted, the swim was great. It is definitely my strongest discipline.

I then got onto the bike and about 3 miles in, I saw the one person on the road I HAD to stop for- my wife. She had her 2nd flat of the day (I had changed her first one on the drive to the race). I stopped to help, but found the flat was the same as the first- both caused by something in the rim. She chased me off after ~10 minutes and walked herself back to transition. Knowing my time wouldn't be great, I just took pleasure in passing as many people as I could.

The run was great, but on the way back I found my wife out on the course again and chose to jog with her and finish together. The day didn't go as we planned, but it certainly was memorable.

Welcome aboard!

Kevin

With a family like that, who needs enemies.

That's how I felt during the start and then the bike of my first race. It seemed like a crazy place for me to be since I had never been in a swimming or cycling race, but I couldn't help but smile the whole time :)

I'll speak on behalf of my little brother since he still hasn't signed up to these forums.

He couldn't finish the 750m swim without stopping, so he found a lifeguard and hung on to her board to rest. He learned that they allow swimmers to do that, so in his second triathlon he stopped at every single lifeguard. 20:17 swim at first triathlon, and 23:05 in second. For the second race he didn't have his other goggles, so he put on new ones that leaked. Said that he swam the entire thing with his head above the water so that his contacts didn't get washed away.

In 1997 I bought a mountain bike for $200, so he used it in the race. I tried to sell it for $5 at a garage sale, but nobody wanted it. It's in really bad shape after sitting out in the weather for 5 years of college. The only reason it's still around is because I keep forgetting to take it to the landfill. When leaving transition, someone pointed out that his helmet was on backwards. 23k bike in 57:50 and averaged 14.4MPH.

Those swim and bike times might be expected for some people, but this kid can run a 5k in under 20 minutes. I'm looking forward to some close races between him and I once he improves the swim.

The Tempe International Triathlon, May 21st, 2006. I had been training myself for 3 months for this race. I bought a bike in Feb. and did my best to learn how to ride well. My tansition area looked like a combination bike shop and Circle K. I felt great during the swim, thinking back to the days back in the 1970's when I was on swim teams every summer. Got out of the water in 26:46. Spent over 2min. fussing in T1 with my wife yelling at me to go faster! Rolled my bike to the mount line, clipped in one foot, and promptly fell over when I missed the other pedal. Laughed it off and headed out for my first bike race in my life. Has a ablast, even chatted with a few people on the course. It was only 24 miles and I finished in 1:00:53. Got to T2, wife still yelling at me that I'm too slow, and ran out in 1:43. Passed a nice guy I had been talking with on the bike and gutted out a 40:36 10K. Finished in 2:12:00. Spoke with a guy who owned a local coaching company and made an appointment to see him, and then went home.
About 4 hours later I learned I was 23rd overall and placed 3rd in my AG! I rushed back down but everyone was gone. I did manage to pick up my award later that week. That was my first race :).