An amateur triathlon from arrival to packing up: Pulenaz’s first race

Arriving with a bike, a bag and questions

Pulenaz arrives at a local amateur triathlon with her bike and a bag of things for the day. After the weeks spent fitting swimming, cycling and running around ordinary plans, the first task is simply finding where to go. She checks in, then follows the signs toward transition, looking for the place where she will leave her bike.

At the rack she sets out her shoes and helmet beside the bike and checks that she can recognize her spot. She walks the routes between the swim exit, her rack and the way out with the bike, then finds the direction she will return from the ride. Seeing those paths before the start makes the area less of a maze, even though she still double-checks her place.

Waiting, swimming and finding the bike

There is a pause between setting up and starting. Pulenaz watches other participants gather, adjusts her goggles and returns to the question that has occupied her in the pool: how to settle into the swim without rushing. The waiting feels different from training alone; the day is finally moving even while she is standing still.

After the swim she comes back to the rack, finds the shoes she laid out and fastens her helmet before taking the bike. She pushes the bike through transition, then gets on beyond it. The scene follows the small practical change from water to wheels: finding her belongings, making room for the next task and leaving the rack behind.

Back through transition and out on the run

On the ride Pulenaz concentrates on the route and the gears she practiced using. Returning to transition, she gets off and pushes the bike back to her space, keeping her helmet fastened until the bike is racked. She changes for the run and heads out again, with the unfamiliar business of switching sports now happening in the middle of an event.

The run brings her toward the finish. Crossing it is a release from the sequence of things to remember: swim, find the rack, take the bike out, bring it back, run. Her account stays with the moment afterward as well, when the race is over but the day’s belongings are still spread around transition.

Collecting the last pieces of the day

When staff open the transition area for collection, Pulenaz returns to her rack. She gathers her shoes and helmet, puts the wet swim things into a separate bag and checks around the rack for anything she has left. Then she wheels the bike out and packs it for the journey home.

The departure gives the story an ending beyond the finish line. The same bag and bike she arrived with are back in her hands, now joined by wet kit and the relief of having worked through the day. For a viewer wondering what a first amateur race feels like, the setup and collection are as much a part of the experience as the three sports.

Another first-race perspective: Nicole Wilkins

Nicole Wilkins’s November 2018 post, “Vlog: My First Triathlon!”, hosts her first-triathlon video. She says she completed the event after months of training and describes the highlights as covering the previous day’s preparation and the swim, bike and run; she finished second in her age group.

References: Nicole Wilkins

Wilkins is a useful alternative for a historical first-race highlights vlog. Start with Pulenaz when you want the whole practical arc, including finding the rack and collecting equipment after the finish.

Sources and attribution

1. Nicole Wilkins

   Vlog: My First Triathlon!Published Nov 26, 2018 · Recorded Oct 29, 2026