Help ... sprint tri this weekend and now getting cold feet!

Just take it easy and have fun... don't go so hard on the bike and swim that you have nothing left for the run.. but if you really are competive ....
how much better of a swimmer are you compared to your husband??  IF even with the wave starts you expect to be out of the water first. run to his bike and remove the seat o

I'm afriad I'm going to go against the grain of the previous posters. Assuming you are a strong swimmer and runner then my advice would be to swim hard/ survive the bike and go crazy on the run. The distances are short enough that if you get behind you may not ever catch up.

For the swim warm up AT LEAST 20 minutes swim a just a little too fast at the start take it back bit in the middle and go hard agin toward the end. Exiting the water you will be hyperventilating from switching to your legs, don't worry about that. Pace yourself through T1 and try to grin.

The bike will be challenging because your lack of experience will make it hard to know what a good pace is. So, get into a pace you think you can hold for 30 minutes then take it back a notch. Keep your face and shoulders relaxed.

The run: research has shown that on a 5k you will usually have a better time going all out from the gate. Even though you will run positive splits by mile 3 you will not have slowed enough for it to hurt your time (assuming you are experienced enough not to explode and have to walk or pass out). That only works for a 5k. Longer distances call for a different strategy. You should be just holding holding back your vomit the whole race.

Oooh, I'm getting all excited thinking about your race!

Don't bother eating on a sprint. Its too short. You can probably do plain water as long as you have a decent breakfast.

my 2 cents. Good luck!

Welcome to BT.  Stay excited for the race. 

You want to beat your hubby...

How long have you been married?  If long enough, you just give him the look (not the inviting look, the you-know-what-I-mean look) and he'll gladly let you win. 

Let the air out of his tires?
Tie his running shoe laces together?

How close do you really think it'll be?  I spotted my brother 10 minutes in one race we did and we both had to work hard. 

Practice bike-to-run transitions so you know what to expect trying to run after the ride.  That may be where you make your biggest gains. 

 x2

Enjoy the time out there. Don't worry too much about time your first time out. Good Luck!!

Only you will know a good speed for the bike.  You have to listen to your body by using a scale of pereceived effort or heart rate and the external factors will detrmine your speed on race day.  (such as weather, terrain, etc)

the best races I have ever had occur when I forget about everyone else on the course.  If your in the front of the pack, then you can't help but apy attention to the others and they will help you push harder if you are vying for a podium spot.  that being said, my weakest sport is the bike also, so I try to forget about the people passing me knwoing that the race will come back to me during the run.  It's hard to do , but worth it as I pass back those same people.

x2 on the encouragemnt to use this as a learning experience as well as practicing transitions.  beginners typically eat up a lot of time in transition and that time is critical when compteting in a sprint.