Review: South Coast Triathlon, Seaford - 18 August 2012

Yesterday, I did my very first triathlon--the South Coast Tri in Seaford. I wanted to do a sprint triathlon in preparation for London and this race seemed ideal: a good one for beginners and just a short drive away from Brighton.

One of my biggest worries about my first tri was the weather. I'm a very inexperienced and fearful cyclist, so the last thing I wanted to deal with was cycling on wet roads. Luckily, it turned out to be a beautifully sunny day! Almost too sunny...

The sprint tri had a very civilized start time of 11:45, but since it was my first and I didn't know what to expect, we left the house at 9:00 to leave plenty of time. By the time we arrived at 9:30 some of the other races were in full swing, and I could see cyclists and runners out on the course. No wait to register, just collected my race packet and had my number written on the side of my arm and leg. I also picked up my goodie back which included a bottle of Gatorade.

After running to the loo (I'd been hydrating to prepare for the heat) I headed into the transition area. With other races in progress, it was busy and crowded with bikes and lots of kit. I finally found a spot to rack my bike and lay out my stuff. Lots more to think about and prepare for compared to my usual running races, but pretty soon it was time to get into my wetsuit and head over to the swim start.

Review: Speedo WomenOnly Swim, Dorney Lake, Eton - 10 June 2012

Yesterday, I 'raced' in my first ever open water swim! @rowenanews and I are both training for triathlons, and a few months ago she suggested we do the WomenOnly Open Water Swim at Dorney Lake. I'd just done the Maxifuel Half there, and a women's only event sounded just right for a first-timer so I happily agreed! There were three distances available and I signed up for the 1500m event.

Up until a few weeks ago I was focused on the Edinburgh Marathon, so I didn't have any huge expectations for this event. I'm comfortable with swimming and I knew I could finish, but not really race. My goal was to stay comfortable, get some experience with open water swimming, and see what it was like to swim in a wetsuit.

We left Brighton at 6:45am and got to Dorney Lake by 8am. The weather was cool, but at least it wasn't raining. It was quite a long walk from the parking area to the Boathouse, but when we finally arrived it just took me a few minutes to register, get my swim cap, stickers, and timing chip. Unlike most running races that I've been to there was no queue for the loos so I quickly popped in and tried to figure out what to do next. It was all feeling very unfamiliar! I decided that I'd better try to get my wetsuit on in case I got stuck.

Luckily for me, BodyGlide made a real difference, and it didn't take me very long to get suited up. From there I went to the Boathouse balcony...and happily found @rowenanews and @becsowengardner! It was so great to finally meet both of them, and then the very nice @windsorAndy arrived to cheer us on.

View of the lake from the Boathouse balcony. The race start was by the left landing,
left of the yellow buoy. The bike racks were set up for the triathlon later in the day.

Twitter wisdom for first-time marathoners

Before I ran my first marathon in Edinburgh, I asked Twitter one question:

What is the one thing you wish you knew before you ran your first marathon?

I was lucky to get lots of interesting responses and advice, including an entire race day guide from the amazing @braziliangunner! (If you are interested, check out his comments on this page.) So as promised, here are the things the wise Twitter Running Family recommended the most:

Top 5 Tips for First Time Marathoners

5. Don't stress or panic, either during the taper or the race. Try to stay calm--the stress won't help you. @nylonruns said ' I wish I'd known how much I would enjoy it, I wouldn't have stressed so much!' 

4. Hydrate properly. Hydrate enough but not too much, and make sure you take some salts to prevent cramps.

3. Understand how you should fuel for the race. Nutrition is an important part of running a marathon, and lots of people said you should test this beforehand and know what works best for you. @brazilliangunner put it best: 'If you get carbload + race day nutrition right you won't hit the wall, as simple as that.'

2. Don't go too fast at the start. It's so much harder to stick with your pace and go slow at the start of a marathon. But as @mikew30 said 'Go off slower than you want to and if the first few miles feel the right pace, it's not slow enough. If it feels slow, it still probably isn't slow enough.'

1. Enjoy the experience. This is what most marathoners said BY FAR. As @ruggedradnage said, 'You'll never have another first! :)'

These were the tips I heard most often but I also got other great advice:

@rhianonruns: During your taper spend all the time you would usually be running on stretching

@runreadrant: Trust your training!

@mikew30: Wear a vest with your name on the front so people shout your name

@_martyn_fisher: Remember during the hard bits that loads of people are rooting for you

@runlikeacoyote: After...keep walking and moving. It really helps keep you from stiffening up

So now that I've run my first marathon, what's my tip?

Run with someone during the race if you can. I usually train alone these days so I never thought much about this at all. But I was very lucky that an experienced runner found me during the race and I think it made a difference! Running with that nice lady forced me to focus on my pace (and make sure I wasn't getting carried away). Best of all, it meant that I didn't feel quite so alone during the tougher moments. So if you can find a friend to run with you that's great. But if not, try to tag along!

All the advice really helped me to feel both physically and psychologically ready for the Edinburgh Marathon. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to share their wisdom!

And if you are running your first marathon (or thinking about it), I hope these tips will be as helpful to you as they were for me!