Ladies: long hair question

this has been discussed several times before.  I do a singlefrench braid when racing, ponytail when training.  No problem, and I live in hot and humid FL.

swim- I wet my hair in the shower before and use spray on or leave in conditioner after the swim.

here's one of my fave pics- taken at BT Gasparilla 2006. IT's pretty much the same length now. 

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/photos/get-photo.asp?photoid=9928

Quite a few chicks on BT have super long hair. 

For me, racing, pony tail all the way.  Stuff it up under the swim cap, pull it through the bike helmet, and pull it through the opening on the swim cap.  Out of my way, NOT on my neck and not bothering me at all.  I usually do run with a hat or headband or something though, because I always get those annoying pieces that work their way out of the elastic and get in my eyes/mouth/etc.  The hat totally takes care of that.

I tried a French Braid and the problem was that my hair in that form - well, my helmet didn't really fit, and when I jammed it on anyway, and rode I ended up with a MAJOR headache so I don't do that anymore.  Whether the French Braid technique would work probably depends on the thickness of your hair.  I haven't tried the single braid yet, but that's something I'lll probably need to check out cause my hair is getting below my shoulder blades now.

For Training, for swimming I usually just twist it up, and put it under the cap. You pull it back like you were going to make a pony tail and then just start twisting one way or the other, kinda pulling it up along your head.  Look up instructions on how to make a French Twist that's the basic idea.

I don't like using elastics generally, they're uncomfortable and they pull, so for riding/running in training I'll do the same pull through type thing but just not with the hair in a pony tail, if that makes sense.

My hair's been past shoulder length for about 4 years now and so far so good.  People with super long hair though, they have more challenges.   And, I admit, every once in a while I get the snarl from hell and I'm REALLY tempted to take scissors to it and whack it all off.

I wear a single braid for all events.  When I swim in the pool, I slather conditioner on my hair before I tuck it in my swim cap, which seems to protect it from the chlorine.

My hair is too long to just do a pony tail on a ride, as it'll whip around and get me in the face anyway.

For a run, I keep it in a braid just to minimize the amount of tangle as it swished against my top.  As it is, I get a massive dreadlock if my hair is damp (like in a race).

I don't think my long hair contributes to over-heating.  The fact that it's a dark color might, but I always wear a light-colored running hat.

The dreadlock:

3 years ago, my hair was long enough to touch my bra in the back. I cut it VERY SHORT and after about 1.5 years of keeping it short, I started letting it grow out again. It's at my shoulders now and I intend to keep it long. I like short hair but I like longer better. Now that I'm running again, I make pigtails and that works just fine.

I'm not a lady, but I have known many very nice ones.

I have longish hair (long enough to be called freak every now and again - but it's curly, so it misbehaves at every opportunity.

Pony tail works for me for swimming, under the helmet and through the cap "thingy at the back" during the run.

One thing I've noticed.

I have to use conditioner - otherwise I get those annoying frizzies, but I digress.

When I use conditioner, the swim cap will not stay on right, and I have to tighten the goggle straps to keep the cap on my head. Otherwise the air pocket between my head and the cap makes me look like a bizarre indoor Portuguese Man-of-war

So the moral of the story is less or no conditioner on swim days (sadly I swim three noon hours a week - so I have a lot of bad hair mornings.)

I've tried washing the stuff off just before the swim, but the cap doesn't stay on at all when the hair is wet.

Okay, I'll go back to the manly world now.

I have really short hair and it makes training so much easier. It is now about 1.75" and needs to be cut and I have an appointment Friday.

First time it happened by accident with miscommunication with my hair stylist now it is just part of who I am. I tried growing it out over the winter and hated it.