transition questions from a nearsighted newbie

First, welcome to the great sport of triathlon!  :-)

When I started triathlon I wore contacts.  I since have had Lasik surgery.  I just always wore my contacts, even during the swim.  I suspect if you ask around you will find that most contact wearers probably just wear their contacts for the whole race.  I can't quite picture how you would lose a contact while swimming with goggles, unless maybe you got kicked or something (which is a good reason to keep an extra pair of contacts in transition).

If you really wanted to put your contacts in during transition, you could do that.  But, consider it might be harder than you think when you're in a hurry and out of breath.  I think I'd be at much greater risk of losing a contact while trying to put them in during transition than losing one during the swim.

Another idea if you want to go with the prescription goggles, why not get prescription sunglasses for the bike and run?

Regarding clothes, several companies make triathlon specific clothing.  Ideally you want to wear the same thing for the whole race.  Tri shorts, for example, are much like bike shorts except with a thinner pad that dries quicker.  Here's one company that makes a wide assortment of tri specific clothes:

 http://www.desotosport.com/home/index.asp

If you want more padding on the bike than you get from tri shorts, you can consider a saddle cover for extra padding, such as this:

http://www.all3sports.com/product_info.php?pName=quintana-roo-mr-softie-saddle-cover

-Steve 

I wear contact lenses and after some trial and error finally found a pair of goggles I can wear with them.  So far I've never lost a contact while swimming, but I've come close!  I bring my glasses with me to my races as a back up.  I'd hate to have to pull out of a race because I couldn't see! 

 I just wore my swimming suit when I did my first tri (a mini sprint).  I threw on a pair of shorts and a tanktop for the rest of the race.  I have a tri suit now, but they can be kind of expensive.  I didn't want to fork over a lot of money my first season.

 Good luck!

I'm near-sighted with astigmatism so things are fuzzy a lot when I don't wear glasses.  I strain to see things, but choose to do it that way.  I wear normal googles and do my best to sight on the swim.  In T1, I have my prescription sunglasses ready and wear those for both the bike and the run.  I haven't had any issues, but probably need to watch out for IMMOO (IMWI).

The IMWI information packet stated that there is a table for glasses after the swim at T1, and one needs to label the glasses (with the race number) for proper identification.  I hope mine don't get lost/dropped when I'm still in the water and everyone else is grabbing their pair.

Ever tried soft lenses?  Maybe even if only for racing (and maybe training), you could try disposable soft lenses.  Not so expensive if you lose them, and shouldn't pop out so easy.  My wife used to wear gas permeable and she would use disposable soft lenses whenever we went water skiing.

-Steve 

Clothing lots of choices....tri suit or tri shorts, sports bra and tri top or another type of close fitting wicking top or if you feel comfortable and supported in your swim suit you could wear that the whole race.

Do some google searches and you'll find lots of options.

Don't change in a tri as wet bodies and tight clothes are tough to manage. Wear what you are going to wear for the swim and onward if you are doing a sprint.