A bunch of gear questions-first HIM

[Tri Girl]

Welcome to the boards!!!!
Doing a HIM is an amazing accomplishment- I can't wait to hear of your tales training and completing the race. You'll love the distance (and maybe even want more and try for the full IM- it happened to me it may happen to you! ).

I'm not terribly gifted on top, but I've read women posting here about the Enell bra (they actually sell them on TE), and seems like it's very supportive for larger ladies. Wearing 2 bras is surely not fun (but probably unavoidable), so maybe that bra would be good. Hopefully someone who's worn one will respond.

I agree with Wahine about the bike fit. Even tho you were fitted, you may need to go back. I had to adjust my bike about 4-5 times over a period of a few weeks before it finally felt comfortable (well, as comfortable as I could feel when riding it for 7 hours ). It took me a while to get in just the right aero position and feel good. I have a terry butterfly, and it is wonderful- once I finally got my body in the right position. I think it's rare that after one fitting, you and your bike are like one soul. Usually it's a matter of tweaking just a little here and there to get it feeling just right. Go back to the shop, tell them the problems you're having, then ask them what to try on your own if you're still having discomfort (should I tilt the seat up or down?- move it forward or backward? adjust the bars up or down?). What finally worked for me was titling the seat slightly down and forward, and raising the bars up a notch (both handlebars and aerobars).

Best of luck in getting your ride to fit!!!!

There's always the ISM Adamo saddle- I want to try it so badly, but just can't bring myself to fork over the cash (they sell a little cheaper on E-bay, but still...)

Oh and shorts- I'm a big Sugoi fan! Love the material, love the leg grippers and the fit.

[EBD]

Athletic tops for the well-endowed take some (expensive) trial and error. Do you wear 2 jogbras when you run? If that works for you, a similar approach may work for the tri. I wear a Sugoi Fizz bra (which you can swim in) underneath a Zoot tri top that has a built-in shelf bra. The combo is adequate for my 34DD's and doesn't chafe. The Fizz bra especially has a the best rib-band (whatever they're called) of any of my sports bras - really stays in place. The main thing is to wear a bra (and top) of seam-free wicking material for the tri - you'll be running around wet and all that. I don't think something like an Enell would work for a tri, too restrictive and heavy. I swim in my Fizz bra/tri top combo, as well as bike and run.