Gear HELP plz

Swim -- any sporting goods store should carry a suit and goggles and that's all you need.

Bike -- I seem to recall that the only bike shop in Sumter went out of business, so you are probably stuck with Columbia or the Summerville/Charleston/Mt.Pleasant area.  I like Cycle Center, in Five Points (Columbia).  I know of people who like Harrell's Bicycle World on Broad River Road.

Run -- Strictly Running (also in Five Points in Columbia) is a good running store.

Tri-specific -- in Columbia that's tough as we do not have a tri-specific store here.  The bike shops names above have a few things, but for real selection and service on tri-specific things (wetsuit, tri shorts, etc.) I believe that the closest thing to you is TrySports in Mount Pleasant.  I've had very good service from them.  They have at least one person there very knowledgeable about running shoes.  Their bikes are mostly very high end so you'd be better off at one of the other places if you want to try to go cheap for a bike.