1 What are the different Triathlon races and what are the distances?
2 What if I need to use the restroom on the bike / run leg?
3 Drafting? What is it? Can I do it?
4 Do I need a special Triathlon bike?
5 How to drink out of a paper cup while running?
Triathlon distances (and a few useful measures)
There are a couple of standard tri distances,
however races often vary the distances
Sprint 0.75 k swim : 22k bike : 5k run
https://unfairdismissalsaustralia.com.au/
Olympic 1.5k swim : 40k bike : 10k run
Half-Ironman 1.2 mile swim : 56 mile bike : 13.1 mile run
Ironman 2.4 mile swim : 112 mile bike : 26.2 miles run (yes, that is a marathon)
1 k = 1000 meters = 0.62 miles 1 mile = 1600 meters (1.6 km)
What if I need to use the restroom on the bike / run leg?
It’s very important to drink enough and remain properly hydrated. In a sprint distance tri you might not have to cope with this, but in longer races you may have to.
1) Find a bush! If you are reading a page for Tri beginners you probably are not about to win a race anyway and can spare the 1-2 minutes.
2) Stop at the Port-a-Potties
3) for Men only:
Rule 1: Make sure you’re safe from legal repercussions. Urinating in public may violate indecent exposure, public nuisance, and disorderly conduct laws. In some states, you can become a sex offender for urinating in public. You don’t want to have to knock on your neighbors’ doors and notify them of your status. It’s awkward.
Rule 2: Make sure you’re riding on a slight decline. If you’re going too fast, you don’t want to lose control of your bike. If you’re going too slow, you don’t want to have to pedal midstream. You might as well just stop and get off your bike.