I would opt for the first until you have a better equipped bike. Hills are tough even on a road bike. That being said, I totally understand the challenging yourself part as I did my first triathlons - both Olympic distance - this year. I am closing the season with a sprint in Wildwood, NJ this Saturday. Lastly, I don't compare myself to my fellow triathletes - many of whom have been doing them for years. My only goal is to finish and to improve my performance with each new one. Best of luck!

Well, okay: Based on your bike, and your bike alone, I say go for race #1. If your bike really is in that bad a shape with shifting, you just don't want to be doing hills.

But you know what? That's what your Local Bike Shop is for. They can have your bike humming along in no time flat, for a minimal fee. A bike tune up is always - ALWAYS - money well spent. And doing so makes your decision a little bit tougher, in a good way.

Now, with all that said: I'm a firm believer in pushing yourself in ways you just aren't sure you can handle. Truth is, I've finished DFL (Dead Flipping Last) in 2 races, that I probably shouldn't have raced, based on my athletic abilities (or lack thereof), but raced them anyway. I've yet to finish in the top half of a triathlon, and I've only once finished in the top half of a duathlon. So I see no need to give a flying flip about where I finish in a group, or how much faster/better the rest of the racers are. I'm going to go out there and give that race every goddarn thing I have, no matter where I finish.

So I just don't buy into the argument that the shorter, easier race is the better race. If anything, I say push yourself. How're you gonna find out what you're capable of if you keep racing the same distances? Getting faster is great, but going harder is better. (In my humble opinion) You can always come back to the shorter/easier races, after you've pushed yourself in the longer/harder ones.

So, I guess my 2 cents is: Take your bike to your Local Bike Shop, get it tuned up and ready to go, then race the longer tougher race. Let's see what ya got!

I hope this helps. And I wish you great success, no matter the decision.
TriJoe.

Option #2, and use the money you save to go clipless (if that's the pedal situation you're referring to).

I'm also a firm believer in taking on big challenges. I'd rather finish in the bottom of a tough as s*** race than do one that any duffer can tackle with ease.

I've done a couple of sprint tri's on my MTB, and a duathlon on same bike but without slick tyres, made a huge difference. I havent got cleats yet as I havent been brave enough yet but I've got toe clip which has improved my ride a lot (ie foot doesnt slide off when changing gears going up hills).
I'd go for the race that'll push you the most and have a huge sense of achievement if you manage to get a road bike :smokin:

One more vote in support of Trijoe. Just remember if there's chop, try to breathe on the side away from where the waves come in if you can. Tune-ups make a world of difference - I raced on my vintage '92 Trek for a couple of years before I'd saved up enough and decided I'd made a big enough commitment to spring for a tri bike. I'm not sure if the size of the purse really makes that much of a difference in signing up for a race, at least for age groupers. Most of us are racing against ourselves and cheering on the folks around us which is one of the reason the sport is so much fun and generally friendly towards newcomers.

First off, awesome job on pushing yourself and making your goal!!

I currently use the TomTom Multisport watch...tracks swimming, biking, and running with GPS info and heart rate info as well. However, the whole mutlisport kit costs around $300. For just a normal heart rate monitor, Polar FT40 is another watch I use for strength training and HIIT workouts...pretty nice, but not good if you want to track details like laps for running. That runs around $180. For just a basic heart rate monitor watch, Polar FT4 is one of the most popular, and runs about $100. Polar RS100 is a decent multisport watch for tracking HR and laps; runs around $120.

Garmin also makes some decent GPS watches that sync with a heart rate monitor as well. Forerunner 110 and 210 are pretty decent, but will run you closer to $200.