Registered for first sprint and have some questions

Hi all,

The folks on this board have really inspired me and I look to this board often to motivate me.

I have signed up for my first sprint next weekend. I don't think it will be a problem since It's 1/3 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 5K run. I already did my first 5K a couple of months back and it was a blast.  I did a race length brick this morning and did it in 1:18, the bike is slow (42 minutes) since I only have a mountain bike, I hope to have a good road bike by the end of the summer if all goes well.

I have no doubt  that I'll be fine on bike and run, however, the swim is another story. I have only been able to hit the pool a couple of times, and although I always thought I was a good swimmer, I found I'm really not at all graceful in the water.

Since this was spur of the moment and the race is next weekend I have a couple of questions.

How much should I taper and what type of routine should I do next week to maximize my results on Saturday?

Any quick tips on what I can do to improve my swim form in the next week?

Any other last minute tips you have for a first timer?

Thanks,
Mark

 Mark,
Don't know what your fitness level is but I haven't tapered for any of my sprints.  I think I'm gonna taper for my HIM though.  I would take the day or two before a little easy but no reason to taper a week or anything like that.
Swimming:  GET IN THE POOL!!!  I'd swim almost everyday if I were you.  Get in the water as much as possible.  For most of the swim is the hardest part.
Don't be afraid to rest using the backstroke or sidestroke.  I enjoy using a little bit of breaststroke for recovery but am learning that my sidestroke is actually quicker and keeps my face out of the water to allow me to control my breathing better.
Spend a little bit of time and practice your transition zones.  I don't think it's necessary to swim/bike brick but you do want to practice running into your transition area grab your bike and go around the block  Come back in, transition to run and go around the block again.  Doing it a couple times will let you figure out how you need your stuff set up.
We do have a fish on this board and hopefully Dan will chime in with some swim tips -- but I'm gonna bet he'll agree and say just get in the pool.
Last thing: it ain't about the time you post -- it's about the race your run.  Have a good time, they are a BLAST!!!!  
--Dan
Here's a good video to work on triathlon swim technique: www.youtube.com/watch

First off congratulations. You will have a blast. I just completed my first sprint a few weeks ago. Completing is the key in my opinion. At one point in my race I was more concerned with competing rather than completing and when some things went bad, I had to really pull myself together. As for the swim, do as Dan said. Get in the pool. One thing that really helped me on my swim tremendously was getting a coach. She only worked with me for 2 sessions prior to the tri and I improved my time in the 300 meter swim by almost 4 minutes. Just a few changes by someone who can see exactly what you are doing and from someone who knows what they are talking about helps tremendously. Good luck and most importantly, have fun and finish the race with a smile on your face!

Darrell

Tapering is misunderstood. You can't taper effectively unless you are training with periodization. Otherwise, it's not really tapering, just "taking it easy" and it may or may not give you the effect that tapering does.

I don't taper for any race that is shorter than my longest workout for the week. So, right now, that means anything where I think it will take 3 hours or less.

This means I did taper for my first sprint (it took over 2 hours and most of my workouts were under 2 hours at that point in my training) but haven't for any sprint after that. I won't for my half-marathon either. But I still do a bit of a taper for my Olympic distance tris and I will for my HIM in Oct.

Do you have knobby tires or smooth tires on your mountain bike? If you don't have smooth you'll gain insta-speed if you buy a cheap pair.

Where in MA are you? I went to UMASS Amherst for college.