Myself and a couple of other women who have never participated in a tri will be doing the Blue Lake Tri-it. We need some advice. Regarding the wetsuit do you suggest the short or long wet suit? I understand that there are tri shorts. Is this something that you would advise wearing. Basically, I guess we need any suggestions/advice you have for total first timer! Also, will you guys be holding any mock tri's before this event that we might be able to participate in?

Thanks for your help.

Lisa,
Wetsuits~~Long suits provide more buoyancy in the legs. Buoyancy is your friend! You can rent a wetsuit at All Tri Sports out on Halsey, and I think they only rent long suits. If you are referring to the arm lengths, then it's a matter of personal preference and comfort in the cold water.

Tri Shorts~~Tri shorts have less padding in the crotch and usually shorter inseams. This can make them more comfortable to run in for several reasons. 1. Less padding means you swim in them and the pad dries out faster during your bike leg. 2. Less padding also means they are more comfortable on the run leg. 3. The shorter inseam is a personal preference, but I'm more comfortable in them than bike length cycling shorts "a huggin' me quads." There are no changing rooms in Triathlons until you get up to Ironman distances, so what you wear needs to be comfortable for all three disciplines. There are also tri-suits that are like having shorts built into a women's tank-swimsuit. They are less restrictive in the waist and they function great on the bike and run, but keep in mind what needs to happen if you have to use the porta-potty during your race. I'm just saying, gals have it a lot tougher than the guys. Most all tri-wear can be worn under your wetsuit, unless of course you're doing the Antarctic Tri. It's tough to get that down jacket and your "down-undies" stuffed in there.

I think the Mock-Tri dates are still up for discussion, but it looks like it will go down on Sunday, May 18th at the earliest? If nothing else, come out and join us for the swim or just to ask a lot of questions. Open water swimming can be very intimidating on race day. I'd advise you to not wait until then to take your fist "dip" in the lake.

C'mon, it'll be fun!!

Doug

I have another tip or two. This will be my second triathlon season and a few things I learned last year were
1) the importance of spending at least a little time getting out of your wetsuit before race day. By the end of season I had it down to 9 seconds. Also, not all races allow the wetsuit so be sure you can do the swim without it if you have to. For most NW events this is not an issue.
2) I had a body suit last year and yes, the potty stops were sometimes tricky and I'm sure not as quick as a simple short.
3) Have a blast! The training can be even more fun than the events !

Thank you both for your advice. Please keep us posted on your next mock tri. If you don't mind some newbies joining you, we'd love to "tri" it out.

Thanks again.

Lisa

We'd love to have you join in the "FUN"... Hey, we all gotta start somewhere!

Doug

I participated in my first tri event of the season, yesterday, and I thought of two other suggestions for you.
One is practice the transitions, it will save you time if you plan ahead and visualize what steps you will be taking during each transition such as putting on shoes, maybe socks, (glasses go on last otherwise they have the potential to fog up). You don't want to waste a lot of time digging around in your bag for things.
And two, buy a can of WD-40, it is the best thing for removing the magic marker from your body! Just spray it on a paper towel gently rub it off. Then shower immediately to remove the WD-40 with plenty of soap and water.