How not to look like a total noob on race day?

Check with the transition personnel to learn the correct traffic flow (where to come/go in from the swim, out on the bike, in on the bike, out on the run) and walk through it a couple times . Nothing screams noob like someone running up and down the rows looking for their place on the rack.

first of all dont worry, you will not be the only noob there. worry about having all your gear and racing a good race, other than how you or your bike looks. no one cares. no one is looking at you or judging you.
watch what other people are doing and how they set up their transition area and if your not sure do not be afraid to ask someone. the other triathletes you meet at the races will be some of the nicest and most helpful people ever. have fun 

You're doing a sprint. It's going to be rather difficult to stand out as a newbie in that crowd.

There will be a buttload of low end road bikes, quite a few flat bar bikes, a lot of hybrids and probably a BMX bike or two if it's a super sprint type race. There will be reflectors, spoke guard disks and toe clips galore. There will probably also be a handful of tri bikes in various states of newbieness setup.

Just properly mount your bike at the line... that's how I determine people's newbishness...

get there early, get marked, get your timing chip.  neat and tight layout for your transition area.

know where you are in the transition corral and how the layout is for swim / bike / run.

have your bib ready, such as a race belt.

yes remove those reflectors...(atleast for the race).

Have a race belt for your number so you won't be pinning it on in transition.

Smile when you see the camera and show no pain.

Heck my friend and biz partner does tri's on his MTB with a baby seat mounted.  Who cares what your bike looks like.  Go out and have fun.  But yes make sure you have your mental picture of the transition in and outs for both T1 and T2.  Even after all these years I didn't do the T1 entry right on my last race and ended up going down the wrong aisle. 

The three points you listed are the main ones.

The best is when a noob uses a shallow pan as their wash bucket...but fills it up too high.  And has to walk very slowly back to their transition spot to avoid spilling it.  LMAO.

No one will notice what your bike looks like.  They are too focused on their own equipment,  BUT  I wouldn't do the swim with those swimmies on my arms :>

Yes, take the reflectors off.  Every sprint has a bunch of newbs participating.  It's a good idea to rehearse your entrance/departure into T1 and T2.  Not only do you look like a newb, you add seconds to your overall time.  Funny thing is that I always have a way of looking like a total newb, I was "that guy" running way past my transition spot during T2 in my last race (my 5th sprint).

Well, I'm as much of a newbie as you are (though my first race was a few weeks earlier), so I'm not used to spotting other noobs. The three things you mentioned sound right, as well as taking off the reflectors, though as everyone else pointed out, tons of newbies will be racing with mountain bikes.

Just prepare for the race. You've probably done all the physical preparation, so keep up your taper and don't worry too much about your actual performance. Make sure you don't go all out on any one leg of the race and burn out for the run, but that's obvious.

I practiced fast transitions (flying mount, etc.) for weeks before my race, even setting up transition areas in my backyard. In fact, while my race time was slow, my transitions were up there with the fastest in the race, the limiting factor being the fact that I'm not as fast a runner as they are :-) I had two gels strapped onto my bike, and my helmet and shades ready to go, so I spent all of five seconds grabbing my bike and putting on my helmet and running to the mount line. T2 was even faster--I applied enough body glide to myself and my shoes that I just racked my bike and slipped on my shoes and was off. Definitely make sure you have fast laces. And as others pointed out, make sure you know exactly which way traffic goes in the transition areas.

I think the only thing that gave me away was the fact that I was smiling through most of the race. It was so much fun! My friends who have been competing for a while and are more serious about times always look way cooler and tougher in pictures :-) They only smile in pre- and post-race shots.

Good luck and have fun!!!

You should lose the reflectors.  You can get a 4 minute penalty for violating rule 1900-01-01 (the "no reflectors by a racer on their first race" rule). 

Really though, it won't make any difference if you have them on or not.  You may even get more encouragement from the non-noobs if they think you're a noob (which you are). 

Ultimately if you feel like the reflectors are a stressor for you, take them off.  Just try to limit extra crap that will stress you out.

Edited by Chaderbox 2010-08-13 11:19 PM

thanks for the no reflectors tip. i would of looked like a newb lol.  i figure they help me get seen in the dark and on roads when im training. ill take em off for the race though.

The easiest way to avoid being identified as being a newb is not to tell anyone   Of course, in my first race, I told everyone I know and they were all really helpful with advice.  Now, even though I have 5 races under my belt and am still 'new', I talk to folks who say they are new and try to impart the kind advice I was given.  Unfortunately, I only took my reflectors off this year after racing last year with them.

My best piece of advice is to walk through the transitions from swim to bike to run on the course that day.  I didn't think to look where my swim exit was at my last race (it was 2 loops) and got all flustered after the first loop.

OK, I'll bite - why do the spoke reflectors come off?  Should I do the same for the front and rear reflectors?

Too much junk in your transition area is something to avoid. T1 - bike shoes (socks?), helmet, sunglasses, T2 - running shoes, number belt (hat?). Getting there early enough to get an end spot on the rack makes it easier to find your stuff. A colorful towel to lay it out on helps, too. Count the racks, find a landmark, and walk from the transition entrances to your spot so it's all familiar come race time.

You shouldn't be needing any nutrition in a sprint.

Have fun!

Frankly, when I'm racing I'm concentrating on pushing myself so hard that I don't pay attention to who has reflectors and who doesn't. If you want to leave them on, I doubt anyone will notice or care.

From a practical standpoint, I remove my wheel reflectors because they don't serve much of a useful purpose. In order to reflect light they have to be seen at pretty much a 90 degree angle, which means the bicycle is traveling perpendicular to the traffic (i.e. an intersection). At the distance they reflect light a moving bicycle will be out of the vehicle's path before the vehicle overtakes the bike.

Front and rear reflectors are of more use because the bicycle will still be in the path of the vehicle once the vehicle overtakes it. I leave mine on. No, reflectors aren't a guarantee you'll be seen but they buy you an increased possibility.

Don't race in the t-shirt you got the day before when you picked up your race packet.

Even if you look like a Noob, you're a good lookin' Noob!  

If you like the reflectors leave them on.  I have them on my road bike and don't bother with the "critiques" from my cycling friends about them.  I'll take my chances being seen, thankyouverymuch.  (This is your cross bike, right?  It's not like 32 grams is going to make you 0.072 mph slower or anything...) 

Show up with enough time to methodically set up for the race.  You don't need to be there at 3:58 (1 hour and 2 minutes before transition opens), but also don't show up at 6:57, 3 minutes before the race starts (and make sure you know when transition closes, which might be 15 minutes before the race starts). 

Don't throw up before you start swimming (nerves).  Don't throw up in the water or in T1.  Throwing up after the finish line is acceptable, just don't hit the volunteers.   

Thank the volunteers.  Encourage other participants.  Thank any spectators going above and beyond to cheer for you even though they don't know you. 

Lots of great advice here, keep the reflectors.  Heck, I don't have any on my bike and am going to get some.  We put all sorts of lights front and back so we can see and be seen.  Why not have reflectors on the wheels so we can be seen from the side. 

I did read that with reflectors you will drop 10-20 watts and thats the difference between 20 and 21 mph (yes that was a joke )

I am not a noob (1 IM, 3 HIM and lots of other shorter races under my belt) but I still have to look at the transition spots next to me to make sure I have put my bike on the rack correctly and check out how others have laid out their transition spots to make sure I haven't forgotten anything.  Maybe it is because I am not a prolific racer, but my transition times are still pretty good.

I think the most important thing is to know where the swim in, bike out, bike in and run out are as well as the flow of traffic (some races will only let you go one direction) and then visualize how you are going to get to your spot.  I usually count racks, etc. 

Good luck!