Zoxe

Race day is approaching fast -- Mrs. Zoxe and I will be hitting the course bright and early on Sunday morning. My middle brother is joining us this year (a Clyde by both height and weight), and will be his first Tri, and first Bike event of any kind. He's got a few jitters, so I wrote this up last night and sent it to him.... thought I'd post it here.

Disclaimer is, it is of course written against our specific event and routes, and "beginnerl" equipment, so your mileage may vary.

I'll post back with race day results. We did our last Brick today, so it's all downhill from here.

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RACE DAY AGENDA goes like this:

We'll depart the hotel rather early (maybe 5am local time) and drive to downtown. Park and unload. We'll walk our bikes to the check in area. You're going to get an industrial size Sharpie mark with your number on your bicep and left calf as you enter. Get your timing chip and put it on.

TO THE RACE, I will wear my Tri shorts and a t-shirt. I'll have a spare pair of socks on (not my race socks) and will wear my running shoes in the truck. I'll have my stopwatch and probably my roadid on the whole time.

Proceed to pit area. Rack your bike and lay out your stash. Put a towel down to mark your territory (about 1ft by 2ft usually does it). Put your bike in a low gear so you can get started. Helmet on handlebars, gloves and socks inside it.

Mentally mark where your bike is. You WILL need to find it later. Take off your shirt. Find the rest of the group. Chat nervously and tell lies. Move to pool area. Stretch.

SWIM -- 4 people in the water every 10 seconds. Might take us 15-20 min to get in the water. Swim. Don't freak out. Sandbag a little getting out of the water to catch your breath. Take off goggles and swim cap while wading out. Wave at mom and dad, who will be taking pictures and shouting encouragement.

TRANSITION 1 -- When you cross the timer pad, it will chirp and you're into your T1 time. Run up the hill, find your bike. This is intimidating, because everyone is cheering for you and some will be at arm's length along the barricade.

Drop goggles and cap in your bag. Dance on your 2nd towel to dry feet while you toss on your Jersey. Socks and shoes on. Sunglasses on. Helmet on. Gloves on. Unrack bike, double check your back pockets for goodies, and trot to the bike start.

BIKE -- You can't mount your bike until you're across the start line. People will be yelling instructions to you, you'll be fine. Mount up and bike away. Two laps. Be careful of loose grit in the turns, don't wipe out. Remember to drink something.

TRANSITION 2 -- Dismount your bike before you cross back into the pit. Trot back to your area, re-rack your bike. Helmet off, bib number on. Take one final drink if you still have anything in your bottles. Be thankful that you don't have to switch out of bike shoes like [Zoxe] does. Head towards the run start line, taking your gloves off and shoving them in your back pocket as you move, careful not to drop them. I walk this part, but others run it.

RUN -- Three miles separate you from a finish, get moving. First mile is pleasant and on jogging trails (paved). Others will be passing you, ignore them. I walk through the water handout areas (they can be slick). One big loop, mostly in the shade. When you get back near the pool and cross the little jogging bridge, you have about 0.1mi to go, dig deep. Cross the line, don't pass out, turn in your timing chip and eat a cookie.

Check your time and get your medal. There, you are a triathlete!

CraigB

Where is the tri? I assume this is not Tri Indy, which I believe is also this weekend, because you wouldn't need a hotel.

Zoxe

Nah, we'll be in Chicagoland (Naperville) where my youngest brother lives. Somewhere around 10 of us doing it (brothers, sisters-in-laws, friends, friends of friends) this year, with most crashing at Brother's house (hence our hotel room down the road so we can sleep halfway decent).

Will be our 3rd year for that venue. We considered the Tri Indy, then realized it was the same weekend.