Some Newbie Questions

A decent speed on the swim would be something like 2 minutes per 100 m, so 15 minutes for 750 m. For open water you are a little faster wearing a wetsuit and drafting, and a little slower because of congestion and not swimming a straight line. Overall a novice will be a little slower. The hybrid is fine for your first races. The main thing slowing you down is the knobby tires. A decent speed would be averaging 30 kpm on the bike. Triathlon is attracting lots of beginners in Ontario so you should have lots of company on the run.

I have not done Grimsby so I can't help you there. Have fun!

As this is your first tri in a long while - my advice would be to ignore times, focus on having fun (and finishing). Don't worry if you might end up at the tail end of a race - you will honestly get more cheering than some of  the fasties. You can check out times from last year's race, but in the end if you make it to the start line you will have already made a huge step.

A hybred bike for a sprint means you will be passed by a lot of people on road/tri bikes - again, don't sweat this, road bikes are by definition going to be faster. No need to upgrade for your first race unless you have money burning ahole in your pocket - although I have to admit after being passed by everyone and their grandmother when I used a mountain bike for my first try-a-tri, I ran right out and bought a (used) road bike.

Thanks for all the feedback!  I think I will go and get some smoother tires for my bike, but no new bikes, at least not this year.  I've done lots of open water swimming when I was younger (even did a real rescue once!) so hopefully that will all come back to me.  My times in all three sports are starting to improve, so right now my goal is just to keep improving!

Glad to hear I won't be the only one who gets passed, or will do some walking on the course.  I would love to be able to run the whole 7.5 km, but being honest, after the swim and the cycle, that may not be realistic...

Happy Racing Everyone!

I completely agree. Don't worry about times. As this is your first race just enjoy it and finish. You will see people doing all kinds of strokes in the swim from a fast crawl to a slow floating backstroke or breast stoke maybe even some dog paddling . I'm helping coach a triathlon clinic for beginners in Guelph and that's one thing we stress... just have fun. You'll be hooked and then you can start thinking about improving.

I notice that swimming seems to be the challenge for a lot of people.  Perhaps I should be worried, but having spent my summers at a cottage, swimming open water comes pretty naturally to me.  I will be at a cottage for a week in July in Muskoka - going to get my nephews and brothers-in-law (hubbie doesn't swim...) to do some swimming with me to get more used to the idea of swimming with people around me.  My swim time isn't fast (17 minutes for the 750 metre in the pool) but not excruciatingly slow either, so I feel okay about the swim.

The run is what really scares me.  I got my 1 km time to under 8 minutes, but my HR was spiking up around 185 and my avg HR was 150, and I have been reading that I really should be keeping it lower, so gonna have to slow down.  Not sure I can do the 7.5 km in under an hour, especially at the end of the race - I just don't want to be last!

I also better do so hill training for that escarpment!  I should probably go out there and do it at least once before the race to see if I can even ride up the hill or will have to walk!