Triathlon Help

Hey all,

I've signed up to my first triathlon in less than a month :D

I'm in a bit of quandry about clothing atm. I was looking at getting a wet suit to do the swimming in and then started to look at tri-suits after being advised by someone that they where the way to go. Now after reading though people seem to say that you would wear a wet suit over a tri suit for the swimming?

Its an open water swim but the way the weather is going to be it looks like it might be pretty warm day and I am a pretty strong swimmer.

HAs anyone done a triathlon before? Did you wear a wet suit for the swim?

Would a tri suit be enough?

Cheers

I feel pretty qualified to answer this. :-)

What's the distances involved? I did a supersprint recently (300m), and didn't bother, but the finals were a sprint (750m) and I did use mine for that. Wetsuits aren't cheap, and you'll lose time getting them off in transition.

Depending on the distances, a 2 piece trisuit (ie top and shorts) might be a better fit for *ahem* comfort breaks.

I'm doing a sprint so the swim is 750 m :D

I hadn't thought about comfort breaks lol. I bought a zoot tri-suit over the weekend and was told it should be good up to iron man distance so I can dream :D

I would recommend a wetsuit for a 750m swim. You don't have to spend a fortune on one, you might even be able to rent one for this first event. Be careful though it's pretty easy to put your fingernail through one if you are in a rush.

Retailers discount suits heavily at the end of the season, and you might even find an ex-rental one on the cheap.

When you do buy one, it's important that you get one which fits properly, otherwise you will spend the whole race fighting it. Go and try some on in a bricks and mortar shop. A specialist retailer will be able to give you some advice.

Top tip - do not do your first open water swim at the event. I saw a few people who did that when I did the London Olympic triathlon who had to be fished out by the safety boats. Swimming in open water can be a bit disorientating and swimming in a wetsuit can feel a bit claustrophobic until you are used to it.