Wurkit_Gurl's Group - CLOSED (sssh...we're training) (Page 4)

My major question right now is: what do you wear for swimming??  I have the wetsuit, because the water is probably going to be in the 60s, but are there tri suits that you wear under and then just go off on the bike??  Or do you put something else on?  I just want to make it as easy as possible...  Thanks!

Yes, you wear tri-clothing underneath the wetsuit. Either a tri top and shorts, or a tri-suit (a top and shorts sewn together, basically). The wetsuit is meant to be worn over whatever you wear for the race; you'll see people wearing all sorts of stuff in triathlon - some wear just a swim suit and toss shorts over it for the bike/run (preferably NOT bike shorts, as running in those is very uncomfortable). You could wear tri shorts and your sports bra and toss on a shirt in transition - but keep in mind that putting on clothing while you're wet can be difficult. It's a decent investment to get a trisuit or a tri-top and tri-shorts. I will wear my tri-shorts on bike rides, even up to 50 miles. They are quite comfortable. Just don't train in the pool with your tri clothing because the chlorine will eat them. But of course, if you do a pool race at some point, wearing them once or twice a season in chlorine won't hurt them.

Common brands for tri-clothing are Zoot, DeSoto, 2XU, TYR, Louis Garneau, Sugoi and Pearl Izumi. There are others, of course. Certain brands fit differently. I like Zoot, and find their stuff to be pretty true to size, plus, they make the women's stuff in pretty colors You can find good deals on stuff online. BT'ers get a discount at TriSports.com (the coupon code is somewhere on this site), and there are plenty of other sites. If you can, go somewhere to try stuff on first.

Congrats on beating up the trail! It's fun to go back and race courses that you've done before. I am looking forward to my tri on Sunday, as I've done the course before - let's just hope it doesn't rain. I don't like to bike in the rain.

Tell your husband that triathlon clothing is made to dry quickly. Tri-shorts have a very small, thin chamois, unlike bike shorts. That is quick dry as well. The wetsuit is not meant to keep you dry - just warm and buoyant. The tri clothing is designed, as I said, to be worn during the entire race - no changing necessary, and nudity in transition isn't allowed anyway, so you couldn't change your clothes completely. 

That's great that you'll get a chance to practice some open-water swimming. It takes a little getting used to, learning how to sight, etc. A lot of people recommend for your first race that if you are uncomfortable with the crowd and open water swimming that you stay towards the back and to the side.

Morning to everyone - hope you all had a nice holiday weekend! Saturday was a wash, literally - it rained for most of the day. I went to visit my sister to see her new PUPPY!!!!! He is adorable and I brought him lots of presents. Yesterday was spent at church and then my roommate's family's house for Easter lunch. Attempted to go to swim practice, but the building was locked when we got there - apparently, the school was closed for the holiday and they didn't tell our coach.

I'm racing on Sunday - first triathlon of the season!

As I was leaving SteveyD an inspire about cheap bike computers, I got a related email, so I thought I'd let you guys know, if you didn't know already, about Nashbar.com - they are an online cycling gear shop, that always has crazy good coupon codes and sales and such - they're running a sale now for Tax day. The codes are usually right up on the homepage. (No I am not a shill for Nashbar - just thought the timing was ironic).

Nice. Yeah, I have the CatEye Astrale, which is also rear-wheel mounted with a cadence sensor (though I could not get the cadence sensor to mount). Was about $45 I think, but I got it on sale at Performance Bikes. It's nice to be able to log trainer miles.

kmbhoya2000 - 2009-04-13 12:44 PM
That's how I thought the things worked...he gets funny about some things  And I was saying to him, were in the heck will I change!!!  So funny!! 

I definitely will be trying to stay toward the back & edge, especially since I'm new, and have never swam nor biked in a crowd!!

The bike will be less of an issue - there is no pack-cycling (or drafting) allowed in USAT triathlon (ITU races are a different story). You have to stay within a certain amount of space behind people and only have a short passing window. If someone passes you, you have to drop back a bit. (All of these rules, btw, can be found on the USAT website, and will often be rehashed on pre-race info sheets by race directors, etc.) So for the most part, you'll be left alone - the fast people will just whizz right by. But in order to let the fast people pass, it's best to stay as far to the right as possible - kinda like the "slow lane" on the highway.

For the swim, staying towards the back and to the inside of the field - depending on if you are swimming clockwise or counterclockwise -  is an optimal spot for newbies. Staying to the inside is a good thing in general, since it's the closest path to the finish

The easiest way to train for open water swimming is to swim in open water The most ideal situation is to find a body of water that allows recreational swimming. I'm not sure what to suggest as I'm not familiar with how things work in the UK, but you could post on the global forums down further on the BT pages; I believe there is one for the UK, as there are several UK'ers here - maybe one of them would know of places you could go. Check online for local swim clubs or teams (or triathlon clubs) to see if they have any info, check ocal parks and beaches and see what their policies are. Check the website for the race you'll be doing to see if they offer any swim clinics, etc. Even if you can find a small beach, even if they only let you swim out a little ways, you can swim up and down along the roped-off part and battle your way through small children - that's better than nothing

That being said, if you CAN'T go open water swimming, you can practice sighting and swimming with your wetsuit (if you are goign to use one) in the pool, though I wouldn't wear the wetsuit too often in the pool, as the chlorine is not the greatest for the material. Also, any time you're in the pool and there's a particularly splashy person, or a water aerobics class - swim as close to them as possible (in a separate lane, or share the lane with the splashy person) - then you will get used to having waves wash over your face when you're not expecting it.

All that to say, it's very hard to replicate the open water swim experience without the open water. Do your best to try to find a place to do it - if you absolutely can't, work on getting your swim technique solid and your comfort level in the water to the highest you can. Half the part of open water swimming is CONFIDENCE. If you are a confident swimmer, it will take some of the edge off. Some of that comes with practice in open water, esp. for newer swimmers. I know some folks who can swim very well in the pool, but then would freak out and resort to backstroke or breast stroke in open water. Took them awhile to get used to the situation - and it was all a mental game. For your first race, stay to the back and the side. You will be less likely to get clobbered by the people who like to go fast out of the gate. For what it's worth, I've only been truly whacked in the face once in a race (and I whacked the guy back ). Esp. in smaller-scale races, it's not as violent as some make it out to be.  

No, butterfly kick is different - I will explain when I get to work (Gotta go get dressed and such)

Glad to see people are posting this am - will be back soon! (PS - they've fixed the inspire buttons, so the "blog" button is gone - if you want to reply to an inspire, you can now hit "reply" and it will go into their log, not yours!)