what to wear?

300 yard swim in the pool? Hopefully. If this is the case, see if you can find a store that sells some sort of triathlon gear. If so, pick up a pair of tri-shorts. These are tight shorts which dry very quickly and have a little padding for the bike. A tri top would be nice too, because once again, you can wear it through the s,b,r.  If this is an option, great, do it now and try to run, bike and swim in it before the race.

If not, hopefully some women will respond with better ideas, but I have seen women in swim suits for the swim, then they put shorts on over the bottoms and leave the top or put a shirt on over the top. If you do this, please try to bike and run at least a little, so you know if anything is going to be rubbing anywhere that is uncomfortable. Thats not how you want to remember your first race.

GOOD LUCK!!

apparently, I sent that twice.

Anyways, good luck, enjoy.

Edited by robertp1024 2009-09-01 6:43 PM

I would suggest going to the LBS and seeing if they have anything on the (sales) rack for you.  Tri shorts are awesome b/c the dry fast and reduce the possibility of getting a yeast infection from the heat and sweat over time, although, it shouldnt be a major issue on a shorter race. 

If you are busty, invest in a good sports bra to wear under the tritop. 

Some people race in thier bathing suit, but I am too Athena-esk to do that.  Either way, I would suggest trying the clothes out before the race to make sure you are comfortable.

That little black strappy thing in the back of your closet.

Or, a one piece tri suit

I just wore compression shorts and a sports bra top thru my entire first Tri and it worked fine. 

But whatever you decide on, you should try to do at least one swim session in it to see how it feels, i.e. does it hold water or cause drag.  Don't wear cotton for this reason.

I finally did buy Tri shorts and love them, but still trying to find the perfect Tri top!

Good luck!

I had the same question and followed posters advice and tried my plan out before hand - went to the pool, swam in my bathing suit, then in the locker room tried to dry off and put shorts on top of the suit. I was surprised at how tough it was to get the shorts on quickly and without them being all askew. I am not comfortable even walking from the locker room to the pool in my suit, so doing the whole race in my suit wasn't really an option for me. I got some tri shorts and a tri top off eBay. I raced my first tri this past weekend and loved that I didn't have to think about putting on any more clothes during the race.

I was recently in REI (they are having a big sale right now) and they had tri shorts and tops, too. That might be a good option since you don't have much time. If you have an REI near you it might be worth going there to try some on and see how you like them. You can always just get the shorts and wear them over your swim suit for the whole race. My local bike shop also had tri shorts.

Good luck in your race!

thanks everyone for the suggestions...   

i think i am just going to go with my swimsuit (Speedo) and pull some shorts over them.  i am a bit concerned about them getting stuck when trying to pull them on, but this is my first race so i don't think i want to invest any big money until i have given it a go to make sure i want to shell out the dough, you know?!  (i borrowed a pair of padded bike shorts from a friend...)

i will just put a sports bra on over my swimsuit and i have a little quick dry top that i will pull over both the suit and sports bra, with the number already pinned on it.  

soooo, not the perfect scenario, but it will have to do for this first go.  i have a 2nd one scheduled for mid-Oct, so given what i find from this one, i may order a tri suit or shorts/shirt!

i am getting really nervous for the bike portion.....gulp!! 

You'll be absolutely fine.  Good luck and have fun!

all - once again, thanks for all the advice.  it was GREAT fun and i will DEFINITELY be doing the sprints more and am going to invest in a tri-suit yay!  while what i used worked fine to get me to my goal of under 2 hrs for my 1st sprint tri (500y/15mi/3mi), i finished around 1 hr 50 min.  changing clothes and doing some silly things in transition, i realize i could have shaved probably 5 mins off my time, so i am looking forward to my next one mid-Oct to see how much better i do with better gear!!!

Congrats!!!  That's very exciting and you did quite well for your first one I may add!!