Clothing

for a sprint tri, you can keep it very simple if you wish---cycling shorts and running top will work fine.

Moving up from there, a 1 piece/2piece for female makes transitions much easier--the same single singlet is worn swim, bike and run--even under a wetsuit. Most of the singlets also have built in padding so no need for special seats or covers. Also once you're well worn into your saddle, you can do even long runs without any padding at all. The downside of the 1 piece suits for us guys is the effort required to pee, by unzipping, stripping down the top part. Tip: don't pin your race number in the way of getting the zipper all the way down. And of course peeing while on the bike is a whole different thread....

Unless it's cold, I don't wear socks for the bike portion, but yes for the run--I always get large blisters otherwise. On the bike, there are special tri shoes designed to go barefoot, but other pure cycling shoes may also work OK--test on short rides first to make sure there aren't any seams to cut or that you don't blister. Some runners are OK with no socks on the run, but for me the comfort of running with them more than offsets the 30 seconds I saved in transition by skipping them. Not to mention the stank that eminates from your bike box returning home a week later after running in the shoes for a couple hours sockless....

As with almost anything that will be used in a race, test, test, test! There should be no equipment or nutrition surprises on race day.

good luck,
scott

As a woman, here is what I do. I wear a one piece suit, no matter what distance. I can swim, ride, and run in it with no chafing. My one piece has a slight padding in it, and it all dries out extremely fast. I do wear socks, but I wear my running socks, as they keep me from blistering. I wear the socks when I cycle and when I run and I only have to switch shoes to go run. I hope this information helps you out.

I too wear a one piece suit with the slight padding that works well on the bike and dries quickly. I do wear a wetsuit and when I take that off at the bike I quickly put on a bike shirt (whit the race number already attached) for the bike and run. I found that I do not need bike gloves on such a short ride, and no socks for the ride. I put talc into my bike shoes which assists with the drying of my feet. Although I do "touch" my feet with the towel at the transition, I don't dry them very well in the rush, and putting socks on was not a smooth move for me. I wear "regular" bike shoes, and found that the ride allowed my feet to dry by the time I was to transition for the run. I put talc into my running socks and shoes and have an easy time putting these on for the run. I am not a runner, and have not tried running with no socks. If that ever comes, it will be muuuuuch later

Nancy