Beginner gear QUESTIONS!!

At that water temp, most (if not all) people will be wearing wetsuits, but any of the options you listed would be ok.  You will be given a swim cap when you check in on race day.

For a sprint, you can use your mountain bikes as they are, or you can buy narrower slick tires.  You don't need to buy new rims.

For the run, I can't answer the questions about beach running or your knee, but chances are water will be provided at one or more aid stations during the run.

As for what to eat the night before, just eat what you would normally eat.  Don't eat anything that you think might upset your stomach.   Same goes for race morning, keep it light and eat what you would normally eat before training.  Water only should be fine for a sprint.  If you think you might be out there for ~2 hours or more, you might want to bring along a gel just in case.

Good luck in your tri!!!!  Let the addiction begin.

For example, could I swim, bike, and run in this top, even though my waist isn't that tiny?

 http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/3598.htm

SWIM- We've been swimming in our regular bathing suits in a pool or lake.  The swim is 1/4 mile in the ocean (Hull, MA) in mid-September.  Water around here is usually uncomfortably cold... do we:

1) Suck it up and swim in our regular bathing suits, saving time in transitions? (No cost.)

Certainly an option, and is "the one that brung ya". I'd say this is fine, as long as that's what you plan to wear for the whole race.

2) Suck it up and swim in tri shorts/pants/suit (and a triathlon top for me)? ($35-100)

My opinion is that this will feel best, but it's not a requirememnt by any means. I've done many tri's (in my distant past) in just a speedo. But... [see below]

3) Rent a triathlon wetsuit online? ($50-80)

I own a wetsuit already, and wear it for every race. Even the really short ones. It's not required, but if the water is going to be "uncomfortably" cold, then I think it would be a good idea. And even if you do go with the tri shorts, the wetsuit just goes over that.

4) Use his regular surfing wetsuit? (No cost.) I can fit in mine anymore!

THough not ideal, it'll get the job done. Maybe he'll spring for the rental on yours?

5) Do people swim in surf rash guard tops?  We have one of those too.

Won't really provide much in the way of warmth (which sounds like the real issue for the swim for you), but there's nothing saying you can't wear it.

6) Do the organizers usually give you swim caps?  Somehow I got this in my head...

Yes.

7) Do guys usually wear swim caps?

Every one does. It (a) helps with visibility for the safety crew, as well as (b) helps identify which start wave you're in.

BIKES- We've both been training on our mountain bikes (drag!) because we don't have road bikes ... do we:

1) Buy road tires and rims that will fit our mountain bikes to use that day? ($____?)

Won't need new rims, just tires and tubes, IF that's what you want to do. I say just stick with what you already have on there.

2) Rent a road bike from a local company? ($32-75)

You can if you want, but it's not necessary. You've already been training on the MTB, just use that one.

3) Buy a used road bike off Craigslist? ($150-250)

I'm guessing that you might not know what you'd be getting yourselves into buying used, and there's no reason to go out and get a different bike if the ones you have are in good working order.

RUNNING- Though we've been training on the road, the actual 3-mile run is on the beach at low tide.  We both have proper running shoes already, but I still have questions:

1) I've had ACL replacement surgery and meniscus repair in my knee and often get some pain in my knee when I'm running-- are those knee band straps that you can buy supposed to help?  Do they?  It's only three miles... I can make it... 

Never used them, but as far as I know, it's more to alleviate the pain of patellar-femoral syndrome. If knee instability is a concern, I would think you'd want a full knee brace, but that's a call for your doctor...

2) Even though its on the beach, most people will be in sneakers, right?

Probably yes.

3) Do the organizers usually supply water during the runs?

There will most likely be one spot on the run where they will have water (and maybe a couple other things) available.

OTHER- Sometimes I feel lost...

1) What do people eat the night before a race? 

For sprints, there really isn't a huge concern with having to "carb up" a lot. Eat what's normal for you, just don't make it something that's going to be heavy the next morning.

2) What do people eat for breakfast the day of the race?

For morning races, I eat pretty light. A bagel and proteit drink does it for me.

3) I know there are a gazillion sports drinks and gels and bars and stuff, but we usually just drink water while we're training.  Is this fine OR are we maybe missing out on something WAY COOL!!?

If you haven't been drinking these things, I'd be leery of trying them on race day. You never know what kind of gastric distress they might cause you. And you wouldn't want your race to be derailed by an errant choice of Gatorade...

 So true!  We tried this after doing a timed "trial-tri" at home.  We did 33 lengths of the pool, then into the cabana for a transition, then biked 10 miles, back to the cabana for a transition, and then ran 3 down the street.  Just as you say, putting ANY of the dry clothes on our wet bodies was terrible!!  I'm glad we did it because it was obviously something we had to put more thought into. 

That said, we tried another mini-trial-tri yesterday at THE beach.  We swam 1/4 mile to the best of our estimation in the ocean, transitioned on the sand, and then did 3+ up the beach.  I went in a bathing suit and sports bra for the swim and Luke did it in biking shorts and a neoprene rash guard.  We came back, socks and shoes, and I put on some shorts and he switched into a t-shirt top.  Again, no good.  I need shorts I can swim, bike and run in. 

I'm not sure if hurricane Hannah had anything to do with the water temp (probably) but it was only uncomfortable to get into.  Once swimming, it was comfortable/refreshing.  The actual sprint tri is still two weeks away, but I'm thinking about chancing it and doing the whole triathlon in a one-piece speedo over a sports bra with some triathlon shorts.  Easy and inexpensive.

 Perhaps Luke will chance it in his wetsuit and bike/run shirtless?  Is that allowed?  Naw, he won't want to do that.  Maybe can wear a light sports tank under the wetsuit and then leave it on as you suggest.  Perhaps we'll do one more trial-tri like that next weekend.  ....ugh.

 Also, there's an Expo Day with walkthrough the day before the race.  I bet I can ask about water then!  Thanks Cash!

I'm in the same spot as you, getting ready for my first ever sprint.  So no actual experience but I'll share my plans.

Swim:  The tri is in NJ in October , I had every intention of going without a wetsuit when I first decided to do it.  The more I read the more it seemed like that was a BAD idea.  The one thing that really discouraged me from doing this was multiple sources saying about 72 degrees is the cutoff for a full wetsuit vs shortie.  72?  Since the water will probably be in the high 50's I figured I was going to need a suit.  I planned on using a rental but found a new tri suit(although think it's a few years old, but unused...good enough for now) on ebay for $100 and since the rental was going to be about 1/2 that I bought it.  What finally pushed me over the top wasn't the thought of how cold that water is going to be, but how cold I'm going to be getting out of the water and just not being able to get warm while trying to bike/run. 

I also picked up some tri shorts there for $25, still haven't tried them out mostly because I'm not secure enough in my masculinity to wear spandex shorts outside of a race,  but hey they came with a  free running hat and I was looking for one anyway. 

Bike:  I have a MTB but also a tendancy to be a gear geek so naturally just because I'm signing up for 1 sprint I wanted a shiny new tri-bike.  And to be honest if I was a few months earlier and could have gotten one of those Javelin tri bikes for $450 in my size I probably would have (damn I hate that I missed that deal.)  And I think that would have been a pretty dumb thing to do, accept that the bike would have held it's value really well...damn it now I want that bike again. 

Anyway I ordered some slicks from performance bike, originally I ordered a set that seem to be perpetually backordered so I just changed that last night to a pair of their house brand for $6 each + shipping.  And most important with the slicks on a MTB, I have a built in excuse when I finish at the bottom of the pack. 

That's where I'm at, now I just need to learn how to swim and I'll be ready to go.

OTHER- Sometimes I feel lost...

1) What do people eat the night before a race?

Nothing solid after 5pm the night before. For my last race, I ate a big lunch at 2pm and then had a smoothie at 5 and watermellon chunks and water at night.  You want to make sure everything has a chance to be digested so you won't have to go during the race.

2) What do people eat for breakfast the day of the race?

I eat 2 eggs and a smoothie for breakfast 3 hours before race. A cliff bar 1 hour before race and a gel 15 minutes before the start.

One other thing to practice is your transitions and set up. You WILL be brain dead after the swim and more so after the bike. You should have everything down and the order you will do it. Go over it in your mind over and over and over again, make it automatic. It helped me. When I got back from my bike, I had no idea what was going on, but my body knew what I needed to do. I actually ended up wearing my hat and sunglasses when it wasnt that sunny and I didnt need them, but I was on autopilot and thats what I do, so it worked. Plus if you set up your transition area and go through it, you'll know if you're missing something or need something else.