First time tri nerves and questions killing me.

Thanks for the reply! 

 I'm sure the distance won't be exact because the details say the distance is 700 meters but the animated course outline shows .32 miles which is roughly 525 meters.

Why do you say to start so low in the back is it because of the difference between OWS in a crowd and a pool or because of the freezing water shocking the body?

What do you mean by spinning a mile out before T2?  In my training I've always just gone all out and hammered into my T2 dumped the bike and started running.  It's rough but I am used to it.

I've recently done my first (two) tris.  Here are my reactions. 

I definitely don't want to rain on your parade -- go for it! -- but if your tri is anything like the one's I've done and the other ones whose results I've looked at, a swim time of 9+ minutes that you mention below for that distance is not going to put you in the top ten overall.  There are plenty of people who can swim that distance minutes faster, and who can bike and run as well.

You won't be FOP with that sort of swim time.  On the other point, I can only say that I myself swam much slower in the races than I have in the pool. I'm sure this is an experience issue, and one I plan to work on.

Put your running shoes on. 

I didn't see how long the bike is, but again, I have to be honest and say that 22+ minutes for a 5K is not going to get you top 10.  Don't worry about it -- just run fast and have fun!  It'll be a blast no matter what your pace.

Have fun!  Don't worry about placing top 10.  Go all out the whole time.  My problem thus far has been to leave something in the tank.  Don't do that.

Is this a sprint race?  1/4 swim, 10 m bike, 3 m run?

without the distances its hard to answer your questions.  for most sprints i have been in (distance above) times for the top 10 range 47 - 55 min.  that includes elites of course.  AG are slower but still below 60 min. 

TRANSITION:  for a sprint you don't need socks.  if you want a fast T1.  wetsuit halfway off once you are running to bike.  take off when you get to bike, then helmet, sunglasses.  run with bike.  shoes ARE ON the bike, hop on the bike and put on shoes when you are riding, (watch some vids on youtube).

t2, take shoes off on the bike, run in with the bike, put on running shoes no socks.  grab belt with your number and put it on while running.

MY ADVICE:  take it easy on the swim.  its really pretty crazy and alot to take in on the 1st tri.  with 50-100 people running into the water at the same time.  rushing on the first swim in open water with 100 people next to you can lead for you to have a nice big fat DNF next to you name.  start out easy comfy pace once you are 150 yrds out and you see home and you have alot in the tank and room to manuver pick it up.

Yes this is a sprint race the race website says 700m swim 11 mile bike 5k run.  Thanks for the top race times I've had a hell of a time finding total race times anywhere.  I guess I'm slower than I thought.  Were those times on relatively easy courses mainly flat or really intense hilly courses?  I have zero experience but to me this race course is crazy tough with all of its hills. 

This number belt thing do I not need my number belt until the run? 

I've done three brick training sessions bike with run right after on the actual course for the exact distances.  I'm confident in my knowledge of the course as long as nothing changes before race day.  I've tried to train as best I can to meet the race day requirements that way there will be few surprises. 

I'll definetly take the advice on starting the swim slow and building up to the halfway point and then trying to poor on a little more speed coming back to the beach.

For your earlier question I'm 33 years old 6'3" and weigh in right at 200 pounds. 

A.  You aren't slow.  It's more like some people are just really really fast....

B.  The number belt is a band with a quick-clip (any running store will have them).  You attach your number to it.  In the races I've done, you don't have to wear it until the run, though I've heard of races where you have to wear it on the bike too.

ETA: The number belt is not required.  It makes life easier, but it isn't essential.

My race partner finished 2nd among first timers in our race last year, despite having swam and biked only during our rehearsal a couple of weeks before, so if you're in good shape, I don't think your goal is unreasonable.

Chat up some of the people in the wave before yours. Find the veterans that are serious about it, and watch where they line up on the shore. Also, don't be afraid to wade in slowly and let the herd move ahead a little before you start if you are bothered by the thought of swimming in the crowd.

I got kicked in the face about 3/4 of the way through my swim, so hard I thought my goggles must be cracked, and I was still foggy by the time I got on my bike. Hopefully it won't happen to you, but it's likely you will at least get elbowed and jostled.

If you haven't done an open water swim, be prepared to be surprised. Even aside from the temp, it will be far different from the pool. Definitely practice swimming in the wetsuit. If you can find an OWS tonight or tomorrow, I'd try it out.

You'll be jacked up with excitement and adrenaline when you hit the water, and the cold water won't make that any easier. If you're anything like me, you'll hit the water at 110% and will have to focus to get yourself back to a sustainable pace that will leave some in the tank for the next two events.

My T1 was terrible. I was groggy from the kick in the face, and there was at least 1/4 mile to travel between the water and my bike, over sand and blacktop. I would try to get rack your bike as close to the swim as the organizers allow. You've obviously put a lot of thought into your transitions, and I think it should serve you well. While I had my stuff arranged reasonably well, I hadn't practiced the transitions at all. You can lay out your stuff in your living room and practice making a quick change of clothes. The time you spend in transition will make a huge impact on your overall time, particularly in a sprint. When you read race reports, you see time and again, "The guy who finished after me beat all of my splits, but took a minute longer in T1 and that was the difference."

Most important, have a great time! Best of luck, and make sure to write a race report.

Everyones time starts ticking at the same moment right?  So if I wait back I'm just wasting time?  What I'm saying is that my time chip starts counting as soon as the gun goes off not as soon as I enter the water.  So if I play it "safe" and hang back my clock is still running right? 

I have swam three times now in a pool with the wetsuit on and have posted my fastest times while wearing it.  I feel very comfortable in the wetsuit.  It moves well and makes me faster.  The OWS is the scariest part for me because it's the one thing I haven't been able to train for an match exact race day conditions.  I can't swim in the private lake that the race is in.  I'm also too cheap to spend 20 bucks and go out to Lake Mead to test out a similar water temp and condition.  I'll just have to be shocked by the intense water temp and crowd on race day. 

Thanks to everyone for the replies and advice.  I'll for sure post a race report the first of next week.

A final question I have is about nutrition.  What should I eat Friday night and during the day on Saturday before the 3:30pm start time.  I don't want anything heavy and I don't want to eat something I'll puke up from all my nerves.  Also I haven't trained with any sort of energy boosting supplement or gels so should I avoid trying them for the first time on my race day?  I don't want something to make me all wired and burn me out after 20 minutes.

No offense - I could do all of those times individually before my tri as well.  What happened was

1 -  I panicked on the swim and couldn't breath.  I ended up coming in at 12 mins.  I was wiped out and didn't have my normal breath for the bike.

2 - The bike was about 1 mph slower than I had been training.

3 - My run was about 1 mile per min slower than I could run by itself.

I didn't even place in the top 10 in my AG.

I wish you the best and confidence is good but take heed:

a) start swimming slowly.  breathe under water.  Once you get in a groove then open it up a bit.

b) start the first 1/2 bike off a little slower then hammer.

Have fun. 

I'll disagree with MJ's first post to sprint out 100 yards on the swim.  Unless you are an exceptionally fast swimmer and can get ahead of the crowd, you'll find yourself sucking air and thrashing the whole swim mid-pack or worse.  I'd even suggest waiting 10-15 seconds after your wave starts.  Your time starts with the gun, so you're "wasting" those few seconds, but can easily gain them back with a calm, relaxed, swim that sets you up for a great bike.  My absolute worst tri-swim was one where I thought I could swim with the pack and went out fast.  By waiting, you let the wave disperse and can spend more time not getting kicked or bounced around by others.  Save the energy, you'll want it for the ride and run. 

OWS faster or slower than a pool?  It all depends.  Can you breathe on either side equally well?  If you swim 25 yards with your eyes closed, do you find yourself tangled up in the lane lines?  In OWS, you won't have the visual cue of a black line to follow.  The more balanced your stroke, the less you'll have to raise your head to sight and the faster your overall swim will be.  If you can't swim 25 yards without the visual feedback, you'll need to sight every 10-15 yards to make sure you're still swimming where you want to go.  If you cannot breathe to the left, what are you going to do if the waves, sun, or another swimmer make breathing to the right difficult?  Yup, slow down...If you can breathe to either side, you'll just switch sides and keep swimming. 

The swim sprint is effective if you're fast enough to hang with the lead swimmers (they'll do 500 yards in about 5 minutes) and it's a draft-legal race.  Coming out of the water with the lead pack lets you ride with them, and the winner pulls ahead during the run. 

What sort of time ranges do really fast triathletes average in Sprint distances?

Can anyone tell me or point me to a website that would have such information.  Someone posted that elite racers can be between 47-55 minutes on a sprint.  WOW!!

Unless this is an inaugural event, most sites have a link to past year's results. 

If you go to the website, they often times post the previous years results, or try to search the races results on the internet.

Trifind.com.  Click on your state (or any state) and click on race results on the left hand side. 

Coolrunning.com also has race results