First Sprint Triathalon-what to wear

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ninav1980
ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ladies, what do you wear for these events? I see a lot of people in full Tri suits (or whatever they are called) but Im wondering if anybody just wears a bikini top and shorts? I would hate to have to run a 5k in that suit, I feel like it can get hot.

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    ninav1980 wrote: »
    Ladies, what do you wear for these events? I see a lot of people in full Tri suits (or whatever they are called) but Im wondering if anybody just wears a bikini top and shorts? I would hate to have to run a 5k in that suit, I feel like it can get hot.

    I can't imagine anything worse that having to run 5k in a bikini top?! (and I only have itty bitty boobs)
  • ninav1980
    ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ninav1980 wrote: »
    Ladies, what do you wear for these events? I see a lot of people in full Tri suits (or whatever they are called) but Im wondering if anybody just wears a bikini top and shorts? I would hate to have to run a 5k in that suit, I feel like it can get hot.

    I can't imagine anything worse that having to run 5k in a bikini top?! (and I only have itty bitty boobs)

    Im throwing a shirt over after swimming, so I will be biking and running. Its a sport bikini
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    ninav1980 wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    ninav1980 wrote: »
    Ladies, what do you wear for these events? I see a lot of people in full Tri suits (or whatever they are called) but Im wondering if anybody just wears a bikini top and shorts? I would hate to have to run a 5k in that suit, I feel like it can get hot.

    I can't imagine anything worse that having to run 5k in a bikini top?! (and I only have itty bitty boobs)

    Im throwing a shirt over after swimming, so I will be biking and running. Its a sport bikini

    I was meaning from a support perspective. If you can run in it comfortably then go for it.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
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    While I certainly can't provide insight from personal experience (since I'm a guy) I can tell you that the majority of the women(and men) in my tri club wear 2 piece tri suits in races. The top is typically a sleeveless compression style shirt w/zippered front and many have small pockets in the back to hold gels, etc. The shorts have a fairly thin chamois pad that provides a bit of cushion between your glutes and the bike seat. These 2 piece outfits are worn under the wetsuit so no time is wasted putting them on after you get out of the water. The compression offers little wind resistance on the bike ride and the wicking material is relatively cool.
    Hope that helps....and good luck!
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    Putting a shirt on in T1 is nearly impossible to do, let alone do fast. If you want an example, go take a shower and try to put your shirt on afterwards without getting really dry.

    Most people wear two-piece tri suits for the whole race.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
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    glevinso wrote: »
    If you want an example, go take a shower and try to put your shirt on afterwards without getting really dry.

    Ha,ha. Exactly. Made me smile thinking back to my first tri and how I was dancing around T1 trying to get my wet arm in the d&*m arm hole, and then once that was done, not being able to reach behind me to pull the rolled up shirt down over my back. Good times!


  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
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    I wear a two piece tri suite like Djproulx described above, wore it for the entire race. No wet suit, so I just wore that for all three parts, it was comfortable and no hotter than anything else I would run or bike in. My sister-in-law wore the one piece that zipped up the back, she said it was hot.
  • sparklyglitterbomb
    sparklyglitterbomb Posts: 458 Member
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    Depends on where you are doing your tri. Mine was an ocean swim in the Pacific, so we had on wetsuits (brrrr), then peeled them off for the bike (shorts and dri-weave top over my swimsuit for me) then transitioned to running shoes for the last portion.

    Many of my more serious friends had on the tri suits and other things, but they are really into triathlons.
  • ninav1980
    ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
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    Im doing it in a man made lake. Im in hot and humid Houston, with a feels like temp of 106 degrees today and its only mid June. Still have 3 weeks until the event so I can imagine it will only get hotter.

    Thanks for all the tips friends!!!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    People race in almost everything. The more serious people usually have tri-specific clothes. If you're not to that point yet, or don't yet want to invest in tri specific clothing, regular workout clothes are probably fine. IMO, tight fitting stuff is better than loose - less drag in the water and on the bike, less chance for chafing. My guess is that a sports bra would be better than a bikini top, but I have no personal experience with either, so WTF do I know?
  • Tallawah_
    Tallawah_ Posts: 2,469 Member
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    How on earth is a 5k run a sprint??? As far as I'm concerned 400m is 350m too far! :lol:

    Good luck! :smiley:
  • acampbe2umd
    acampbe2umd Posts: 145 Member
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    I've only done one sprint tri, but I wore a tri sports bra (probably could have worn any sports bra) and tri shorts for the swim. After the swim, I put a tri shell on, but not the compression kind, so I didn't have the problems with it getting stuck and needing to unroll it as others mentioned. It worked well for me and was cool enough.
  • lisaconklin957
    lisaconklin957 Posts: 17 Member
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    A pair of tri shorts is your best bet as it acts as your swim bottoms, bike shorts and run shorts without changing. On top you can wear a sports bra and throw on a jersey or shirt after the swim. If you don't want to buy try shorts you could swim in your suit and throw on running shorts over them after the swim, provided that's comfortable for you (it wouldn't be for me but I've seen any and all combinations at sprints). Just remember you can't strip down and change clothes completely. So there's a reason most folks go with tri shorts and tri top.

    Whatever you decide, make sure you do some practicing in your race outfit, including transitioning from a wet swim to the bike. As others have said its a different story soaking wet.

    Have fun racing!

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