What's the order of events? What's a transition? and other questions answered

There are a million questions for any new activity, and a triathlon is no exception.  For my first event, I would have been completely lost except for my take-charge friend Gretchen who led us through the maze of the transition area to get our gear set up.  Of course the first thing I discovered is that not only are the racks (where the bikes and gear are stored) organized by the designated age groups, all participants have their age written on their calf.  I'm not certain if this is supposed to be for administrative or motivational purposes, and perhaps it is intended to be both.  However, having a bike whiz right by you with its rider's age that starts with a 6 is actually more depressing than inspiring.

Everyone is here for different reasons, and the participants cover all ages and sizes and athletic abilities.  For many of them, this is their first time here as well.  I know for me that I didn't know what I had signed up for when I agreed to do a tri.  The idea sounded simple enough: swim, bike, run.  I love to run, riding a bike seems easy enough, and I know how to swim at least well enough to not drown; how hard can this be?  That answer is unique to everyone, but the event itself is the same:

The swim is first.  Our Valley Girl event's distance is 1/3 of a mile.  This doesn't sound far, but will look and feel like forever.  They will usually announce that morning whether wetsuits are allowed or not depending on the water temperature, and everyone will be lined up in waves by their age group (which is designated by cap color).  When it's time for your wave to start everyone runs into the water and starts swimming.  Things to consider:
1.  This is a lake and therefore the water is not nice and clear like the pool most people train in
2.  There are plants and such growing in the bottom, which can be unnerving at first
3.  The water will be undoubtedly colder than anticipated
4.  You will be fighting around the other swimmers who are all trying to move in the same direction
5.  There are really nice people in kayaks along the perimeter of the swim; if you find yourself struggling you can swim over to one of them and hang onto the side to catch your breath
6.  After you take a quick break and get back to swimming, the next wave of swimmers will come up on top of you
So just relax, try to control your breathing, and keep pushing ahead.  It will be over soon.

Next is the bike; we will be going 12 miles.  After you drag yourself out of the water, make your way back to where your gear is at on your rack; the faster the better, since the clock doesn't stop running.  This is where some people may have buckets of water to rinse the dirt off their feet, or you could wipe them on the towel you've got on the ground.  Throw on your clothes, shoes, helmet, etc. and push the bike to the starting point - important thing to note is NOT to ride the bike in the transition area.  The bike portion starts at the lower portion of the hill near the porta-potties and you will start by going uphill towards the north.  There will be plenty of people ahead of you as well as volunteers to direct you where to go.  There is a map of the bike course on the website if you want to look at it ahead of time; it has a few big hills but for the most part is fairly level.  Besides the volunteers, there will be plenty of spectators to cheer everyone on.  At the end of the bike ride, dismount at the starting point and push the bike back to your area on the rack.  Oh, and be forewarned that since you're going downhill to the end not to go too fast (I fell over one year when I ground to a stop!)

Finally, the run - 3 miles.  This starts in the opposite direction of the bike ride and will wind through Liberty Lake and around the golf course.  There will be at least one if not two water stops along the way.  The run winds back along the residential area and picks up on the path in the park - there will be a big area with the race clock and lots of people cheering you on at the finish line!

So the rules are:
1.  Don't quit.  Slow down or walk if you must, but just don't quit.  We will be waiting for you at the finish line.
2.  Smile as much as you can - there will be photographers, but it will also help you on the course (I promise!)
3.  Enjoy yourself!  This is quite an accomplishment.  It's going to be tough; not everyone will try this and you will be a rockstar for taking on such a challenging activity.

I'm looking forward to doing this with all of you!