We asked our Friends on facebook to post tips for other newbies and here's what they had to say:

• John Shaffer For your first tri, take a deep breath and relax. You are as ready as you are going to be. Try hard but have fun. Do your best but don't kill yourself. As soon as you cross the STARTING line, you are a TRIATHLETE! So don't psych yourself out.
• Linda Brooks I would agree with getting in the open water swim practice - however - I would also say that training on the actual route as much as possible is absolutely vital for your mental game - come race day the route will be old hat for you and you can concentrate on smooth transitions and relaxing your way across the finish line. CELEBRATE!
• Heather Austin Open water swim!! After spending alot of time on the triathanewbie website and reading everywhere about open water swim I left the comfy pool to hit the water. The swim ended up being my favorite part!! It really is two different worlds.
• Betty Maness Wolff Make sure all your equipment, shoes, etc are well broken in before race day. Dont Change what IS working.
• Lisa Holdener I learned to never underestimate the importance of open water training. I was a competitive swimmer all of my life and I thought I had that leg of the race in the bag. It ended up being the toughest and depleted a lot of my energy.
• Mike Diotte Relax and enjoy!
• Kuromiya Isa I haven't done my first triathlon yet. I have one scheduled for next month. But I wouldn't mind sharing what I think would be a good tip. Remember to have fun, and be well prepared, and least of all remember that once you pass thru the finish line, that you are a winner!!! No matter what the placing is. What counts is having the courage to enter and compete!!!
• Linda Brooks my favorite is still - Baby powder sprinkled on your towel/rug/mat on the ground in transition, you can just be 'stomping' on it while you dry off the rest of your body, makes it SUPER easy to put your socks and shoes on ... of course, this will not work for a triathlon that has RAIN
• Kathy Francis Practice each segment of the course. Enjoy the post race party. :-)
• Mike Diotte I would also say that with everything going on don't forget to hydrate. I had so much excitement in me I ran into major cramping on the run because I thought I was fine and didn't need any liquid.
• Linda Brooks The baby powder tip was shared with me by an experienced Ironman WOMAN - who participated in our first timers forum before my Tri
• Danni Hamilton Linda talc in your socks works too.. if raing put trianers/bike shoes on towel then fold it back over top of shoes keeps them dry
• Jeof Vita MAKE PRACTICE COUNT! Put in the time that you need to train. Swim the laps. Run the miles. Bike the hills. Because once you're in the water on race day, no matter how cool, calm and collected you think you'll be, you will have that momentary flash of doubt and it could derail you ... unless you let it all go and let the muscle memory take over. If you've put in the work, you'll make it. It might not be pretty or fast, but you'll do it because you made practice count.
• Dan Franz Get there early, shake off the nerves, and spend as much time as you can checking out everyone else's gear! There is so much variability and so much to see so that you can plan your future race gear purchases. Talk to the other athletes. And it's your FIRST ONE - take the time to soak in the moment, enjoy, relax, and have fun. You only have ONE "First Tri"!
• Elizabeth Jones Legere Smile the whole way; it increases your oxygen intake.
• Debi Snyder-BlairI did my first triathlon in May, the Iron Girl and I remember thinking, "one course at a time". Only thinking about what I was doing at the moment and not worrying about the next course. It helped steady my nerves and I wasn't so overwhelmed.
• Sara Sienkiewicz Hylton Ride the course before the race. It's best to know where you are going. Oh and focus on the finish. I counted down what was left. 10 more miles, 9 more... It gave something to focus on. And yell thanks to the volunteers and police as you pass.
• Carrie French Find other triathalon athletes in your area to train with, get support from and ask guidance from. Also, give yourself alot of time to train so you feel physically & mentally ready!!

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