Tri School: Training for Triathlon

• For your first tri, wearing a swim suit and throwing on some bike shorts is perfectly acceptable, but if you continue, you might want to invest in a tri kit (can be either a one piece or a separate, two piece outfit). Just FYI - this is what I did! I bought a two piece tri kit after my first (the one piece tri kit made me look like a giant sausage....plus getting it off/on to use the bathroom on race morning would be a pain!).
• Bike clothing and tri clothing was meant for no underwear. So go commando. And now you are probably thinking of all the bikers you have seen and imagining them sans underwear. you're welcome  Going without underwear will keep everything "breathing" down there and will cut down on yeast infection risk. Avoid a yeast infection? Count me in!!
• The big differences between a tri bike and a road bike is that a tri bike has a naturally raised saddle (or seat) and aero bars. This makes you lean down lower to the bike and, therefore, more aerodynamic. It also aides in keeping your legs fresher so that you can go off the bike and into your run easier (in other words, your legs won't feel as dead as they would off a road bike). 
• You don't *need* a tri bike if you are planning to do some sprint, olympic, or even Half-Ironman distance races. When you leap into the full Ironman distance, though, you might want to splurge and invest in the bike. A basic tri bike can cost anywhere from $1500 - $2000. You can always start with a basic bike and add on new wheels, gears, saddles, etc after you made the initial purchase. Tri bikes can be super expensive - like $10,000 - $15,000 expensive. Yikes! That being said, tri bikes are absolutely gorgeous.
• Getting a good fit on your bike is imperative. This means going into a shop and having them adjust your seat and other components so that you have proper body mechanics. A poor fit can equate to injury, so this is a biggie. 

• Goggles: when you buy them, go to a store that lets you take them out of the packaging to try them on. Put them up to your eyes and press firmly. They should be able to stick to your face without the back strap on. If they can do this, then they are the right size and shape for your eyes. 
• Some goggles can show a reflection of your eyes. So, be prepared for a super creepy I'm looking at my own freaking eye moment. Not all goggles do this, so this is another good reason to try on goggles. Because ain't nobody got time to look at their own eyeball during a race. 
• Practice sighting. And then practice some more. Sighting (actively looking up to see where you are going during a swim) is very important, particularly for open water swims. This allows you to see where you are going, know how far away your destination is, and keeps you working towards the right destination. She said that this can cause some neck/back ache at first, so be prepared for that. Another reason for a massage? I'm good with that!
• Technique is ridiculously important. Ridiculously important. Swimming is the one discipline in triathlon where if your technique is bad, your whole swim can be bad. Takeaway from this: if you are not 100% about your swim technique, hire a coach. Or you can even have a tri buddy take some video of you swimming, review it, and compare your swim technique to that of Michael Phelps. After you are blown away by Phelps' performance, you can go back to critiquing your own swim style and figure out what you are doing wrong (or right! Glass half full people!)
• They make swim shorts to go over your swim suit. If you are like me, I don't like to go to the pool without shorts. This made my night! 
• Buy a polyester swimsuit and not Lycra or Spandex. The polyester holds up to the chlorine longer and keeps your suit from deteriorating as quickly.

These are just some of the things I learned from Tri School. If you are in the Dallas area and are new to triathlon or just want to learn a little more about the sport, I would highly recommend attending these. They occur weekly on Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. at the Tri Shop in Plano, TX. I know I'll be back for more!