Beginner Triathlon Tips from the Odyssey Open Water Swimming Community
2019 Odyssey Open Water Swimming Splash & Dash Duathlon
Preparing for your first triathlon?
As you know by now, triathlons are among the most challenging athletic events in the world. Although you’ve likely been training for weeks, months, or even years, being in the best physical shape of your life is just one small piece of being prepared for your first official triathlon. Getting help from those who have been where you are before can help accelerate your learning curve and make you more comfortable on race day.
We recently asked the Odyssey Open Water Swimming community if they had any tips for first-time triathletes. We were expecting a couple of responses that we could include in our new triathlon series of articles. We were blown away as tip after tip kept coming in from experienced triathletes and coaches.
Here are the tips that were shared, which were a mix of helpful, surprising, and funny.
“Join a group... way more fun and lots of expertise.” -- Ray Lepinsky
Groups Odyssey recommends in the Bay Area includes Golden Gate Triathlon Club, Oakland Triathlon Club, and the San Francisco Tri Club.
“A great coach can not only help you with training and tips and make you faster, but keep you healthy and injury free.” -- Megan Tobin
“Transitions are part of your race—practice them! And do lots of brick workouts. The first time I ran off the bike was my first race and I was *not* prepared for how hard it is!” -- Erica Hruby
“Take your time and race a few sprint distance events before jumping into long distance (70.3/140.6). You build crucial skills and fine-tune them, learn racing etiquette, and you get to truly experience the camaraderie of triathlon and its supportive community in a less stressful setting.” -- Joyce dela Cruz
“Practice transitions, makes for a smooth race day. That and tri slide. Lots of trislide.” -- Briana Ottinger
“Have a training plan for consistency and make sure you respect the rest day and mix in strengthening/stability exercises to get those glutes firing!” -- Christina Sobut Grijalva
“Consistency of your training is important, but don't sweat a missed day or 'bad' workout - there is no such thing. Keep your runs short and varied pace; more frequent but not long. Invest in swim time; you need to get comfortable in a wide variety of OW conditions. First race - start at the back of your wave and count to 5, after everyone has gone...take it out *super easy. Sighting is more important that speed at beginning of swim. Before you start, mentally think through the entire race, including transitions. Have fun out there.” -- John Goddard
“Open water swim. Practice it, it’s much different than pool swimming. I know few individuals that went into open water without practicing and could not complete the swim due to anxiety.” -- Maximus Powers
“Your first time you will make so many mistakes. Remember them for two reasons 1 - as areas to improve! 2 - as great stories to tell!” -- Rachel Tibbetts
“Take it easy, the swim is just a warmup for the rest of the day.” -- David Boucke
“Swim as much as you can. Pool, OW ..that open water freakout will go away 🙂. Also hire the right coach once you get longer then 70.3. Also, pee anywhere and everywhere you like.” -- Rebecca Sternberg
“Equal parts training to recovery. Recovery is actually where the adaptation happens.” -- Suzanne Cardenas
“Bright towel to position your stuff on to find quickly. Baby powder to dry sand off feet for transition. 🤗” -- Rebecca Shucart
“Don’t get naked in transition. Best advice ever.” -- Sharon Barclay
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming… Train to ENJOY your first one and build confidence. Choose the one or two elements you're most nervous of, and train for confidence. It's great to rely on KNOWING you can do one more stroke, one more pedal, one more step. The mental game of your first tri is half of the fun!” -- Heidi Scharein
“Body Glide.” -- Michael Silk
“Don’t panic, Enjoy the moment and don't die 😂🤣😅” -- Richie Eslawa
“When it comes to training, consistency is key. Show up and keep showing up!” -- Adrien Colon
Arend Pryor and Rob Reinhard went deeper than sharing a single tip. Read their pieces of advice for you below.
Arend Pryor
“Coaches, YouTube & anyone that's done a triathlon are your greatest resources. Use them "all" frequently
Your training across all 3 disciplines should be a mix of intensities, intervals and speed
Learn about proper nutrition & hydration. You'll be putting your body through a ton of work during training and on race day. Having this knowledge can make all the difference (Check w/your coach and/or the Triathlon Taren podcast and YouTube channel is a great resource).
Make friends and talk to people in the transition area before and after the race.
Don't forget to look up now and then and enjoy the journey.”
Rob Reinhard
“Consistency is key.
Focus on your weaknesses, don’t avoid them.
Make the hard days hard, and keep the easy days easy.
Seek a professional coach, if needed.
Never sacrifice your gift (ability to do this) and be grateful for your abilities.
Don’t lose sight of enjoying the journey.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Don’t be afraid to “find the edge” and push your boundaries -- you’d be amazed at what you can do once your head is out of the way.”
From the Odyssey team, we wish you the best of luck on your first triathlon. To get prepared for the swim portion of your triathlon, come and join us for a weekly Berkeley swim. Learn more and join us here.