Ironman Clothing

depends on your goals, remember, changing while wet will be a little more difficult.  For my first IM last year (also florida), we had to worry about temps too - 40s at the start of the bike.  I wore a swim suit under my wetsuit, changed to biking clothes for the bike (complete with arm warmers, gloves and booties) and changed to tri clothes for the run.  My transition times were horrible.

I signed up for wisconsin this afternoon.  Next year, I plan to do the entire race in my tri clothes.  If it is cold I will put on arm warmers in T1 and have a long sleeve shirt in run special needs.

Did IMFL as my first.  Wanted to be as comfortable as possible, so I did a change in each transition.   T1 changed into bike shorts and pulled on a tri top.  T2 changed into running shorts (same top as the bike).  Changing does take some time, but I'm not shooting for a Kona slot so doing what I could control to be as comfortable as possible was important for me.  I'll go with the same plan for my next IM.  

As said before FL can be tricky with weather.  Coming out of the swim and hitting the Nov air and wind on Front Beach can be really cold, but then it can really warm up.  Some folks wore arm warmers (socks with the toes cut out) early on the bike and then ditched them as they warmed up.  Also, a cheap wind breaker (WalMart) can be handy and then discard when you get warmed up.

Good luck in your training.

I'll be catching this year.  See you at the finish.

Wardrobe changes will definitely add a few minutes to your transition times but in the grand scheme of the Ironman it is likely not going to cost you a time goal. 

Personally I swim and bike in the same shorts (DeSoto 400-mile tri shorts) - just towel down a little and throw on a bike jersey in T1. I do a full change in T2 as my clothes are soaked and caked with salt. I change into running shorts and a form fitting run top, throw on a visor. 

FWIW, I love one-pieces.  I've done 3 IMs in a one piece.  I've had late summer races so never had to worry about real weather changes.  I did Rev3 CP this past weekend and saw plenty of people put on arm warmers in T1 (maybe upper 60s in T1).  I did not.

I don't really notice the temperature much in these races until it is truly COLD.  If I were doing IMFL with a 40 degree start and whatever T1 was, I'd probably bring a wind jacket and put it on, one that was small enough I could put in my trisuit pocket as it got warmer as necessary.

I'd also add a long sleeve shirt or arm warmers to my RUN SN bag in case evening was cold - assuming I was expecting to finish at or after dusk.

A lot of people don't like one pieces for IM.  I dunno... I can't imagine NOT being in a one piece.  I love them.  Yeah, I get the bathroom thing, but I've used the bathroom a cumulative of 4 times in 3 IMs... so what... I've added maybe 2 minutes over 3 IMs due to wearing a one piece?  On the flip side I don't have jersey ride up, not sun burn or lotion on the lower back and the cool awesome comfort of a bib feeling on the bike.

I'll take it.

Thanks everyone!  I was up in Panama City last year volunteering and cheering on my girlfriend who talked me into signing up. ;-)  I remember looking at the Weather Channel and doing a few Wal-Mart trips for her finding last minute cold weather clothing!  Thanks for all the well wishes!  I think I'll definetly take advantage of the changing tents...I'm just shooting for something under 16:59:59...no dreams of Kona here! ;-)

Best of luck to you.  I don't have any advice for clothing at Florida other than what everyone has already said.  However, I would caution against trying to finish in 16:59:59.  If you train for that type of finish, you will have a lot more stress than the average Joe that is shooting for a 15:00 finish. 

It is a long day, and things happen.  I would hate to read your race report and see a DNF because you didn't make a cut off.  If you are trained well enough that you know you will finish within the time limits, then an out of the ordinary bike issue won't be so stressful.  The likelihood of a 20 minute delay due to an out of your control issue is slim, but it does happen to maybe a dozen or so racers each IM. 

Again, best of luck and have fun!

If you read my IMFL race report from last year I include what I wore all day. It was cold and I don't do when cold so I layered up on the bike. When I started bike it was in the 40s and high was only low 60s. It was cooler than normal both high and low as high tends to be in mid 70s.

I always am on the look out for cheap tri and bike clothes I can buy for IM that I can discard if I warm up or not worry about if I lose it in my special needs bag.  Last year I found Zoot jacket and vest for under $20 as well as Shebeest jacket that can squish up small as the size of my hand. I look for cheap arm warmers and bring stretchy $1 glove.

I wore wool socks and toe covers already on my tri shoes...kept my feet warm....and I had lots of people tell me they wish they had toe covers on during the bike.

I rode day before race about the time I expected to be out on the bike and tried different jackets to figure out which was the right one for the temps.

I'd look at getting things cheap now as you shop around. Knee high socks with feet cut off work as disposable arm warmers. Gallon ziplock stuffed up your tri top works well as make shift vest. Sand was super cold last year even with wool socks on. This year I'm bringing cheap slippers with plastic soles so my feet don't freeze. Once in swim corral I sat down and buried my feet in the sand. When night is in the low 30s sand cools down as does water closer to shore...farther out water was warmer.

I did it in 2009 and for me, the colder temps were more of a factor than the heat.  I don't think it ever really got out of the low 80's if I remember correctly.  Lots of people had arm warmers on the bike in the morning and had light jackets, longer tech shirts etc.  in their run special needs bags on the run.  I actually used calf sleeves for warmth but then left my long sleeve tech in a port a potty before I changed into it.  Needed some electrolytes I guess!  Oh yeah, there will always be chicken broth in the evening to warm up.