Have entered an enticer tri in Dec..

K..I'm slowly crawling from under my rock and doing quite a few events (tri, audax, ows) during our loverly Australian summer :cool:

I've entered the enticer distance of a tri on Dec 12th but am not the skinniest person on the planet. So, I need some suggestions for what to wear. I may do another mini one later in the summer so i don't want to spend $$$$$$ on tri specific clothes.

I'm doing the tri's purely for fun as they're small enough distances for me to go "weeeeeeeeeee" :)

Thanks

C

I didn't want to buy tri gear before mine, either, since I didn't know if I planned to make a habit of it.

I just picked a couple of pairs of cycling shorts that seemed likely (thin chamois, substantial lycra) and got in the shower with them on, to see how they'd do when they were soaking wet. :D Whether the chamois would take on an unacceptable amount of water, whether the lycra would start to sag. The pair I picked was absolutely fine.

I did the whole thing in just a sports bra/top. If you don't have one that's a style/color you feel comfortable wearing without a shirt, that's something you could get that isn't really tri specific. You can always put a shirt on at T1 if you're uncomfortable riding with your back and belly exposed. A pair of shorts with a higher rise might make you more comfortable that way, too.

I did similiar to Oak, but I did buy some tri-specific bottoms. I actually bought the DeSoto tri capri for modesty sake (my legs were VERY ugly when I started this whole thing...so I felt better with them mostly covered knowing that photos would be taken :o). Turns out, those things are perfect for hot weather because they stay damp longer than bare skin and therefore keep me cooler! Bonus!

Anyway, other than those...I just wore a black sports bra for the swim and then put on a loose tank top in T1. Just remember that if you choose to put something on it T1, make sure that you can do it when the item is dry but you are wet. Long sleeves might be really difficult!

I would spring for some tri shorts. The tops don't matter as much. If you shop around you might be able to find some closeouts on last year's models.

I also just got tri shorts (Sugoi) - the chamois dries a lot faster than regular bike shorts. I wore a bathing suit top, and for modesty's sake, a rash guard shirt which I already had (I got it for like $15 off a clearance rack, and picked up 2 more the end of this season because I do other water sports).

I don't know that I'll change that. I did three tris this season - after the second one, I bought a tri specific tank, but my rash guard and bathing suit top dry faster and are more comfortable than the tank (and keep the sun off me). I can't wear "tri suits" as I'm different sizes top and bottom.