In response to the Significant Other feeling competetive, possibly doing the race:

Well - if it seems to be heading in that direction, why not? While the way it sounds now , there may indeed be feelings of inadequacy and being threatened..you never know what positive things these feelings might blossom into after a race day experience. (I realize that was an illiterate run-on sentense, sorry).

Anonther component to consider - being able to survive the 3 events is very very different from actually executing a triathlon optimally. Just cruising this forum is like studying for your test.

I have a friend who did his first sprint; he posted an inexplicable TWELVE MINUTE t1. he said he "just didn't think " to lay out and organize his stuff. Plus he never wore a wetsuit before and it took him longer to get out of it than he'd planned.

My other 2 runner friends did the sprint with me last Sunday -- neither one wore a watch or kept track of their splits. Sure enough, there was a problem with the chip timing, and neither one had any.idea. what they had done for any of the events. I was like "no chip, no problem, it's all on my watch". I had my eye on those splits the whole time and that helped me achieve my goal. (Oh, and one of them forgot a towel.)

It's amazing all of the non-physical stuff that comes into play in a triathlon and can really help you out. And also 100% agree that a short race done properly is every bit as challenging.

Good luck! heidi