I’m doing my first one in a few months. Not the Ironman type of triathlon, just a very scaled down one intended for beginners mostly. I’ve done all three activities (swimming, running, and biking) for conditioning and working out all my life, but I’ve never put them together in one event like a triathlon.
Do any Dopers here have any first-hand triathlon experiences and tips you can share? The most interesting part is that I live in NW Florida and the swimming part will be an open water swim. With all the shark attacks recently in these waters, that fact alone should shave seconds off my swim time! (insert theme from Jaws here) 
I did about 3 or 4 of them a few years back, 1/4mi sw /15mi bike/ 3 mile run. The thing is it’s so short you tend to go out fast, it’s almost a sprint.
The swim you’ll tend to swallow a lot of water unless you’re really really good at it, just stay calm and away from everyone if you can, I got kicked in the head a lot of times. Wear running shorts for the whole thing, don’t mess around with changing clothes all the time. Unless you plan on winning it, just go out to enjoy it and have fun.
Guess that didn’t help much, did it.
tl
Good point about just sticking to one item of clothing. I’ll stick with a good pair of running shorts for the whole thing. I’m very competitive by nature, but until I can get a feel of what a triathlon is like, then I’m content just to grind it out with the pack.
The triathlons you described are about the same as the one I’m entering. I’d like to get a few of those under my belt before I decide I want to go any further in the sport.
I’ve never swam in a large pack like that, so I’ll have to get used to the bumping and jostling that you described. Hopefully the sharks will go after the slower swimmers. 