5.11.2010

The pieces are falling into place

I think that almost everyone who knows me is confident that when I set my mind to something, it happens. So this whole triathlon thing is not fading away - I am getting all the pieces into place. I picked up a bike yesterday from a friend of a friend (and hopefully this friend once removed will soon be a friend of mine - an accomplished triathlete and yoga master, her counsel will be of great use - plus she's pretty cool peeps), and I will be taking it into the bike shop later this week for a tune up and new tires. I'm hoping this will end up being "my bike", so Piece #1 of the puzzle is nearly in place.

I hit the local Sports Authority yesterday to try on swimsuits. While the random trying on went terribly, after searching the interwebs today I realized that i was trying on suits way too small for me. I have never bought a swimsuit for sport. I've always bought one for goofing off or laying out in the sun. I had no idea that technical swimsuits had a totally different size range. now that I know that, my next attempt to find a suit should go better.

But here's my issue. I have no idea how to handle the first transistion. Even if I do find a suit that works for swimming, there is no way in hell I will be able to keep that under my clothes during the bike and running parts of the race. I know my history with swimwear - I have wide hips and a bit of "junk in the trunk" - there is no way I will be able to escape serious chafing issues if I leave a swimsuit on. I LOVE the idea of a tri-suit, but as newbie, I just don't think I can justify the expense. I think it would be awesome to wear the same outfit for the whole deal, but I'm not willing to put out that cost right now.

I've been doing a lot of reading online, but honestly the information is sometimes contradictory and confusing. Some say you actually take the tri-suit off after the water part - but then isn't it just a wetsuit? Can someone actually confirm for me that the purpose of a tri-suit is to wear it the WHOLE race? ugh. My head is swimming.

Here's what I am considering - if I can snag a pair of tri shorts, I already have a longer length sports bra type top that I really like. I know I can run long distances with it on and have no issues. I also believe it will be fine to use at the top to my swimming outfit (the top and the tri shorts). Is this a terrible idea, or will it be fine for my super sprint? Really, I'm asking here. If you have any info, please share!

A buddy of mine from Self-Help did a few sprint tris last summer. She and I ran Buehler together a few mornings in an attempt to get her running up to speed for her races. She ended up loving the spring tri thing. I am reaching out to her in hopes she can guide me through the process. We have similar attitudes toward exercise and life, so I think she will give me some news I can use.

Until then - HELP!!!!!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I would totally sign up for a tri if I had the equipment (or a pool to swim in, or swimming technique... oh, wait...) so I'm super-interested in your shopping results. Good luck!

Julie @ ROJ Running said...

I can confirm that a tri suit is supposed to be worn the whole time. I've used a Tri suit and found for me the main benefit was feeling like I fit in. Personally I don't like the padding in shorts of tri suits, too much pressure on the ride. So I now swim in a regular one piece speedo. Throw running shorts on over the suit for the bike and depending on the distance or temperature when I get to the run I either go for it or toss on a sports bra over the suit and a comfortable tech shirt. Sorry if that wasn't too helpful

M said...

Thank you so much, ladies, for your tips!!! Julie, your story was very helpful, and I have heard similar from a few other friends. I think the real issue is that I want the GEAR a bit too much....I just think a tri suit would make me feel like a super hero.

After reading your feedback and that of others, I am just going to get a cheapy target swimsuit to do my initial training and the short short sprint tri I just signed up for. If I love it, then I will consider a low end tri suit.