First Try-a-Tri

I would recommend that you do a couple of bricks, that is, bike and then start running directly.  They wouldn't need to be very long given the length of your race, but it will get your legs used to the feeling of running after biking.  Also you might want to check out transition set-up and execution (BT has a lot of good posts and articles on this topic).

Given that this is your first race I wouldn't worry about the time so much as just having fun and finishing.  Then you can use this experience to set goals for your next tris.   

Thanks for the replies.

The shorline swim sounds kind of stupid.. I checked and it's an open water swim, its like 100 m out and then 100 m back, so I don't think you will be able to run on the bottom the entire way.

 The brick idea sounds like a great idea as I have never really done a transition of one into the other... Do I need to practice a swim to the bike as well, or just the bike to the run? Are transitions hard to do and time consuming during the race?

 Thanks for all the replies so quickly

I would do a couple swim/bike and bike/run bricks.  You body feels weird (and wet) as you transition to the bike and your legs feel, well, like bricks for about the first 5-10 minutes on the run after the bike.  As one poster said, the bricks don't have to be long, but just get used to the feeling.

If you practice your transitions a couple times they won't be time consuming. Will you be like a pro, of course not, but there is no reason it will take you more than a minute or so to transition in a sprint event.  If you can bike and run sockless this will save you a few seconds and, assuming your a guy, if allowed, I wouldn't bother putting on a shirt at T1 assuming you are using tri shorts. 

You'll do great.  Good luck.

Swim/bike bricks... meh.  I don't think they are necessary.  I wouldn't waste time doing swim/bike bricks... I've never done one.  If you want to see what it feels like to be wet starting out on the bike, douse yourself with a hose and go ride. 

Good luck! 

Hey guys, I want to thank you all for the comments and suggestions you made. I successfully finished my first try-a-tri placing 4th out of 33 people 3rd in mens with a time of 7:05 on a 200m swim, 44:50 on a 20 km bike and 12:38 on a 2.3km run. I was a little dissapointed on the bike as biking is probably my strongest field. My swim to bike transition was quite slow as well.

 I loved it, I had a lot of fun and am going to pursue this. I guess you can say I am hooked.

Since I plan on pursuing this, my question is now is what would you guys recommend me to look into getting gearwise? I think the biggest difference will be getting a road bike. I think that it will be a big step up from the mountain bike that I used. I am not looking for a super expensive one. My budget is roughly around $1000. Can you guys lead me into a direction with some brands and some things I should look for in a bike. Is there anything else I should look at getting right away?

 Thanks!