Tips for My First Sprint Triathlon?

Try wearing a tri suit. That way you can wear it for all three disciplines and not have to worry about changing clothes and it will save time in transitions. I would say most triathletes swim freestyle, but I have seen breaststroke and sidestroke. Good luck on your first tri! Just soak it all in...it is quit the experience.

Clothing: Most wear tri-shorts & top. Less drag in the water and there is some padding for comfort for the bike. At the sprint distance, I say wear what is comfortable to you. The swim is short so the drag will not affect our time terribly. On the other hand the run is only a 5k, so the benefits of running shorts are reduced.

Swim: Use whatever stroke gets you out of the water. Don't worry about what others are doing.

Bah. Don't listen to Rick, he can't swim anyway.

Seriously though, he's right.

If you want to know if you can ride a sprint in your running shorts, put them on, soak them with the hose, and go ride. See how they feel, and how fast they dry. If you feel fine, wear them in a pool swim and see how they feel. If it all feels good, you know you can do it on race day.

Never do something the first time on race day. (Unless it's your first race, then technically everything is new...)

John

I just wear spandex shorts for sprint and oly distances, no chamois.  Cheaper too if you're not ready to invest more $ in the sport.

Thank you for all of the greaadvice - I really appreciate it! Trying to prepare can be a bit overwhelming and this really helps.

Do any of you have any thoughts on cycling shorts? Do you use them? I tried a pair and didn't really like them because I couldn't go running in them after the bike - they were just too uncomfortable for the run. Are they needed just for training on longer rides?  

I have some tri shorts that are comfortable in all three disciplines.  I haven't run any races yet, but I've run, swam and cycled in them with much satisfaction.  In fact I now see the vendor is one of the advertisers that show up on the right of the forum.  Link to their tri shorts:  

http://www.aevero.com/xcart/product.php?productid=2&cat=1&page=1 

I'm new to this sport and there may be better shorts out there, but these are pretty good for $29 + shipping, not to mention they often throw in a freebie jersey, running hat, etc.    

For my first sprint tri, I wasn't sure I'd stick with the sport so I just wore swim jammers for everything.  Worked fine because the bike was short.  I've done an Xterra and olympic-length in jammers too but I will definitely be geting tri shorts for this season since I've got a half in the works.  Whatever you decide to do, be sure to try it before you race it!

For the swim, do whatever you've got to do to get through it.  Most people will do freestyle the whole way but if you're having trouble with that (tired) or have trouble sighting, feel free to throw in some breast stroke or something.  Just keep moving forward!

Have fun!

I just did my first sprint and I picked up a pair of tri shorts on sale. They were awesome, they dried quickly, has comfort for the bike and didn't bug me at all on the run. To stay cheap I went shirtless for the swim and then just threw a running shirt on at the first transition.

My freestyle is not very strong so I did the breaststroke the majority of my swim.

Awesome! Thanks again for the advice - I am looking into the tri shorts, they seem to be the most common thing people have suggested. I swam again this morning and switched over to side stroke and breat stroke when I got tired with freestyle - I made it a lot longer going back and forth. I can't wait for the actual event day to arrive, I really feel good about all of the training. Thanks again!

Something to  think about in your swimming is your breathing.   I've been swimming my whole life, but now in my first sort of competitive swimming I noted that I was getting more tired than I should.  Part of it is surely being in swimming shape, but after some reflection I realized my breathing sucked.  For now I have found exhaling steadily and breathing every two strokes works good for me and I can keep a steady pace with my freestyle.  A good practice I have been using is to hum for the exhale.  I picked up a lot of good tips in this forum for breathing that have helped immensely.  I haven't put in a lot of swim time yet this year, but just working on my breathing have improved things signifigantly.     

I have another question for all of you as I prepare for my first tri. I keep reading about GU packets and Cliff packets and Shot Blocks and it is all overwhelming - what do all of you use on your bike or run? I have talked to a few people that just drink water and gatorade and others who swear by the gel packets. I have tried two gel packets before long runs and didn't really notice any difference. I didn't like the taste, texture or the feeling of eating them. I'm not sure that I need anything, but am curious as to what some more experienced people have used. I will only being doing sprint length races. Thanks!

For sprints, don't worry about additional nutrition. Water, maybe gatorade, whatever you find on the course or bring on your bike will be sufficient.

One other point about the swim - if it's open water, many first timers (and not-first timers) can get spooked by the big wet mosh pit as well as the murk and depth.  Flipping to a back stroke is a common way to reduce stress and anxiety to recover.  But as others said, whatever stroke works is fine. And don't be afraid to call for a kayaker to rest on.  As long as you are not trying to make forward progress, you can hang on for a bit then complete the swim (and the race)

I'm a complete rookie that finished my first tri this morning...

X2 on the Aevero tri shorts - $35 including shipping got me a pair of shorts, a jersey, and they threw in a running hat cause the order was screwed up.  I love the tri shorts, swim bike run in them no problem at all.

Toss an extra pair of swim goggles in your bag.  The guy next to me had his goggles broken on the drive to the race (kids sat on them), and I totally lost my goggles 10 minutes before the race. Toss an extra pair of swim goggles in your bag.

In the back of the pack where I was was, there was a huge combo of crawl, back stroke, breast stroke, dog paddle (I'm not kidding).  Make it out of the water any way you can.

Have fun!

You really need to check out Total Immersion, both the video and the book.  It will give you great advice on how to do the freestyle without becoming exhausted. 

Good luck