Top 5 quick fixes

The summer season is all but here and amongst the seasoned athletes are a whole lot of people who will be lining up for their first triathlon(s), with all the experiences that go along with...not to mention the newby mistakes!! So here are the top-5 quick fixes to correct the most common mistakes - and questions - new athletes make in their early races.

1. What to eat beforehand
In doing a sprint distance you don't need to carbo-load. However, your choice of food can make things more comfortable, beginning with the day's leading up the race. Avoid heavy, fatty foods and go for fresh and natural things - the less processed the better. The day before will usually coincide with a rest or very easy day of training, so there's no need to pig out. But instead choose familiar, plain, low-fat and low-fibre foods that will digest and pass through your system easily before the race starts. On race morning, having something which is also familiar and easy to digest about 2.5 hrs pre-race...liquid form is best, and only enough to take away your morning hunger. Basically, you want to avoid having foods that will feel like they are weighing your stomach down.

2. What attire to wear
Triathlon fields are full of fashion crimes, but that doesn't need to be the case!! Ideally, anything you wear on race day you will have tried beforehand in the different sports to see how they perform. Not surprisingly, lycra and similar materials are the most functional because they are comfortable whether wet or dry, with little sagging - they just work. Spending a few dollars on a functional and comfy outfit is money well spent. As for colour, each to their own, but keep in mind that on hot days black is the hottest of all colours. Also, remember to sunscreen up.

3. Getting beaten up in the swim
Every triathlete can tell a story about rough swims, with some even bearing scars from various encounters!! The thing about getting beaten up is that it is rarely deliberate, and that physical contact is equally annoying for each person. So if you get hit - and usually it there will be a couple of hits in a row - don't hit back, but instead move to clear water and away from the crowd. You can also pre-empt getting hit by starting to the side or back of the field. If you're getting beaten up by rough conditions - chop and waves - don't stop each time a wave hits you, but keep your rhythm going and roll with the conditions.

4. Finding your bike in transition
Imagine running into transition – either T1 or T2 – and not being able to find your bike. Everyone has done it...and it’s embarrassing and damn frustrating. So before the race, check and remember the bike rack number/letter which will be on the end of your bike rack, and which side your bike is on. Then find a little tell-tale marking for where your bike is along the rack...it could be lined up with light pole outside transition, or next to big weed on the ground, or something like. Also look at the bikes, towels, shoes, etc, around you. Use these markings to find your way...and also walk through transition pre-race so you know which way to go to get in/out.

5. Jelly legs when you start running
When you get off the bike to run, especially for the first few times, it will feel like someone else's legs you're running on because they sure won't feel like the ones you are used to!!! Your legs will feel like jelly, or tree trunks, or stilts or blocks of concrete...or all those things at the same time!! But rest assured, they are still your legs and they will get better once you get going for a little while. They key thing when you experience this is to keep going, and to shorten your steps a little and maintain your leg turnover rate (cadence). Doing this will force your muscles to start engaging in the way you've trained them to, albeit with a bit of fatigue in them, so that the feel and rhythm of running replaces the clunky feeling that the bike leg left you with.