HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (MONTY)
SHORT COURSE RACING––WETSUIT SWIM (DAN EMPFIELD)
SHORT COURSE RACING––NO WETSUITS (DAN EMPFIELD)
LONG COURSE (DAN EMPFIELD)

---

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (MONTY)

When I started racing triathlons in the 1970s there was no thought of merging apparel themes for use for more than one event.

The clothing changes were long and followed each leg of the race. There were showers, changing rooms, aid stations, foot rinses, and all the comforts of home. Some of the changes would be five to ten minutes long.

I realized early on that every second in transition showed up on the finish time at the end of the day. My theme became, "If it doesn't make you go faster, then don't use it." I chucked the cycling gloves, socks, and all the clothing changes. Problem was, then what do you wear?

I was racing bikes at the time, and one of my sponsors was Forte clothing. I asked if they could make me a cycling-type skinsuit that had no arms and a lightweight cloth chamois. They did, and the tri suit was born [Monty in a tri suit at left, 1982]. But I wan't the sole "inventor." I showed up to a race in Malibu, in around 1982, and a guy from Northern California named Dave Horning was at the same race in the same type of suit.

We take the tri suit for granted now, but back then it was a formidable advantage––just as important as any technical speed weapon of the day, maybe more so. I breezed by my competitors through the transition areas, and if I won the race it was often just by those margins.

One thing triathletes aren't, though, is stupid. After a season everyone was suscribing to the "one suit theory."

There proved to be a variety of ways to skin the cat. Kenny Souza went the minimalist route and raced the whole day in a Speedo-type brief (with emphasis on the word "brief"). I tried that once and spent two weeks with bloody scabs on the inside of my thighs. The tri suit didn't catch on and faded after a few years. I chose to swim, bike, and run in a pair of tight-fitting cycling shorts––a precursor to the now high-tech pool swimming shorts. In fact, it appears now that the more that you can wear in the water, the faster you go, as long as the suit is made with "microfiber" material specific to such racing. These full-body speedsuits probably won't find their way into triathlons, but it looks like the old tri suits are staging a big comeback.

The advent of wetsuits in the late '80s changed tri apparel once again. Now you could wear anything under the suit and not give up time in transition. I chose to wear cycling shorts and a running top. Most of my competitors seemed to have gone the "Souza route"––Speedos and lycra singlets. Since about 90 percent of the races were held in hot summer conditions, this set-up suited most people well. Cooler climates require an extra layer or two, depending on your tolerance for colder temperatures.

The distance of the race has always played a large role in clothing selection. Comfort over five- to 15-hour races is very important, and transition splits have less of an impact on your overall placing. A comfortable pair of cycling shorts, along with a cycling jersey and gloves, will be well worth the extra minute of transition time. Then it's onto running shorts, singlet, and socks for the run. The great majority have found that in ultra races comfort translates to time saved in the long run.

In moderately long races you can perhaps cut corners. If you wear a comfortable speedo swimsuit underneath your cycling shorts, you won't have to use the changing rooms. This may add valuable time to your race. But here again perhaps there is a work-around. There's a new product on the market that is essentially a "portable transition tent," and we'll be reviewing that this week.

Determine your goal in each race and the clothing choices—which we'll review throughout the week—will follow. Racing in a short course Worlds qualifier? Go the minimalist route. Want to just finish comfortably? Get out your three-sports wardrobe and start packing your bag [Monty, at right, racing Tom Gallagher, who had one of the more colorful tri suits during the late '80s].

SHORT COURSE RACING––WETSUIT SWIM (DAN EMPFIELD)

Several ways you can skin this cat, and it depends on just how spartan you want to go, and how you've prepared yourself.

While there are some things you can do on race day that will save you some time, you can't just implement them––with no preparation––on race day. For example, in a short course race it's going to take a lot of time to put socks on over wet feet. Abandon the socks. Easy for me to say, if you're the one with the lily-white feet covered with skin like a baby's butt. So toughen those dogs up. Don't have the race be the first time you ride and run sockless. Do a very short run without socks. Like two miles. (Or take your socks off two miles from home during a run). Then a few days later go longer. Do a bit of riding sockless––again, starting with shorter rides. Make sure you're doing your sockless runs and rides at least occasionally in whatever it is you're going to be racing in.

Might I digress for a moment, and say that I generally avoid people who do all their running and riding sockless. These are the sorts of people––and you know who you are––that you want to meet during the ride. You don't want to go to their houses, and you certainly don't want them coming to yours––unless, that is, they buy Lotrimin powder by the case, and use it liberally.

How do you keep your feet toughened, then, without cultivating a tinia pedis farm in your closet? Me, I ride my tri bike only perhaps once every week or two. The rest of the time I'm on my road bike. If I limit my sockless riding to my tri bike days, and my sockless running to those days in which I'm running in racing flats (speedwork or a short footrace) then I'll be sockless in the footwear, and in the situations, in which I'll find myself while racing in a triathlon. Oh, yeah, and I buy Lotrimin powder by the case.

Now, this isn't precisely apparel related, but if you're going to try to cut all the corners you can, you've got to go to the race prepared. You should have a water pan, or bucket, at your transition area or close by. You then run up the beach to T1, step into the bucket and back out, and then your clean, sandless, dirtless––and sockless––feet will go into your cycling shoes ready to go.

The strategy I'll now describe calls for having your cycling clothing on underneath your wetsuit. Three ways you can go here, all equally good. You can go the skinsuit route [like the Zoot skinsuit Monty's wearing at right], or you can wear a tri short and singlet or jersey, or you might choose swim briefs with singlet or jersey.

Whatever you choose, I don't think I'd wear my race number under the wetsuit. I prefer a race number belt. One advantage to a race belt is that some races require a number to be on the back during the ride, and on the front during the run. With the number belt you can have your number rotated in whatever direction is appropriate at any time. The number belt is quick to get on, and rather than risk ripping your number off while exiting the wetsuit I think the two or three seconds needed to step into the race belt is worth it. I definitely think, though, I'd have everything else already on under the wetsuit (except cold-weather gear, explained further below).

I'm ambivalent about pockets in the jersey. One of the nice tri jerseys/singlets out there is the standard mesh model made by Zoot, which Monty is wearing at left. It's sort of inbetween a sleeveless jersey and a singlet, is very lightweight, comfortable, and has enough shoulder coverage to work well on the bike––but not so much bulk and beef that it isn't also good on the run.

I can do without pockets in a short course race. I'm probably not going to be eating a gel in an Olympic distance or shorter, except perhaps on the bike, in which case my gel won't be in my singlet pocket but somewhere on the bike (perhaps taped to the top tube).

Tri-specific companies like Zoot, De Soto, Rip 'n Hammer, Garneau, and others make tri singlets like the one Monty's using at right, and these almost always have pockets. They're a little less breezy during the bike––they flap a little less in the wind than the mesh singlet above––but because the fabric is a little heavier and they're a little tighter-fitting they require a zipper down the front. This is useful––and on a hot day mandatory––later on in the run. These garments may be a tad more aero on the bike, and perhaps skinsuits are the ultimate in aero efficiency. Just make sure whatever you get has a three-quarter zip.

Another popular route is a swimming brief. De Soto makes a brief with a liner that is just enough for cycling––pretty much a tri short but without the legs. It's a true multisport garment only a tri-maker would have the foresight to come up with.

How much leg you have showing is really up to you and your thighs. Lots of people can run in a brief, others rub the insides of their thighs raw. Best to find out what's going to happen to you before the race. Most tri shorts have a leg length that is somewhere in between a brief and a cycling short. While these garments look great on Spencer Smith and Peter Reid, most age-groupers think hard before racing in a short-legged tri short. I'm not making a judgement on function or fashion. I'm just stating the results of my very unscientific, anecdotal poll––many tri short manufacturers are finding that their customers prefer a cycling short length.

The only unrecommended garment is a running short. It's uncomfortable to ride on, and although the aerodynamic penalty is no-doubt small, it's there.

If you do choose something less than a full bicycle short to race in, the omission of a saddle chamois means it's a good idea to compensate for both the lack of padding and the diminished seat height. My way to compensate is via a neoprene seat pad like those made by QR or De Soto. They are lightweight, fit the saddle tightly, and compensate perfectly. One of these seat pads plus a tri short just about equals a pair of cycling shorts in terms of comfort.

All this is easy enough in warm weather. What happens if its cold outside? An example of just such a race was the 2001 Short Course Worlds Qualifier in Lake Placid. It was less the temperature of the water that caused concern, but of the air. It's a good idea to be ready. Speedos and a singlet is not the triathlete's all-weather uniform, appearances to the contrary.

If I was at a cold-weather race, here's how I'd play it. I'd swim with my eventual running outfit underneath my wetsuit, and I'd probably choose a swim brief for the run in this particular case. As I exit the water I'd slip on some dry cycling shorts, and this is why I'd choose the Speedo. It would be hard to get cycling shorts over a tri short, I think.

I'd pull a cycling vest over my head, or perhaps a polypro short-sleeve pullover if I could find one. Then it would be on with an ear warmer bad, and finally some arm warmers. I might also put on some gloves––not cycling gloves, but cotton gloves––that would cover the ends of my fingers.

Nice thing about this get-up is that it goes on fast, comes off fast, and you can move the arm warmers down your arms if you start to warm up. You can even run in the arm warmers if it's still cold after you exit the bike. In fact, after becoming a cyclist I discovered all sorts of great cold-weather running gear I never knew about as a runner. Much of my cold-weather cycling gear was perfect for running.

SHORT COURSE RACING––NO WETSUITS

In this kind of racing you've got to use George W's favorite word (according to Saturday Night Live)––strategery.

Even if this is not his favorite word, it could have been, and it's become one of my favorites, along with irregardless and nucular. (I say these words constantly, especially when around self-important smarty-pantses. But I digress.)

It can take some strategery to get short-course racing apparel right, irregardless of whether wetsuits are legal. But when they're not legal things get particularly tactitional.

You can't, for example, stuff whatever clothing, race belt, etc., inside your wetsuit irrespective of the fact that the wetsuit––like charity, as the Good Book says––"shall cover a multitude of sins." Nay. When the water is so warm that the very wearing of the wetsuit is a sin, one must figger out a way to swim hydrodynamically, which means you've got to leave your race number, GU gels, and mesh singlet On the Beach (perhaps with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner) or, if you prefer, On the Waterfront (Brando, Steiger).

Lots of people choose to do this the simple way––Speedo (or equivalent) only. In the early years short course races were staged almost exclusively in a swim brief, racing flats, and sunglasses.

For women, it's the one-piece (at right), or two-piece (below), as is preferred. These two nice-fitting and comfortable––sez wife JulieAnne White––suits shown are made by Louis Garneau and are not simply women's swim suits—they're tri-specific.

One rules issue that must be addressed before deciding what else to wear is, what is required from the waist up? Some races require that the chest be covered. For women this is easy, because in every race I have ever attended women racer's chests have always been covered. For men it's not necessarily so. Many males prefer to do the entire race in swim brief alone, and the race number belt goes on either after the swim or after the bike, again depending on the rules of the race—no need to have it on during the ride if it's not mandatory.

A tri short can be substituted for the brief during the swim, but you ought to take it to your regular swim workout first and make sure you can swim in it adequately. If it doesn't work well in the pool, you won't like it in the race.

You don't want to swim in a mesh singlet. A close-fitting lycra tri jersey is an option. Personally, I'd wait, however, until after the swim to put it on—remembering that this is a non-wetsuit swim we're talking about.

I suppose the decision on whether I'd use a form-fitting lycra singlet versus a loosing-fitting mesh singlet depends on whether I was going to simply run in the singlet or ride and run in it. The lycra singlet will not flap in the wind, and I suppose I'd make that my choice for the bike-run. I'd perhaps opt, though, not to wear a singlet at all on the ride (think fast transitions) except in the following cases:

• Race rules require that I wear something on my chest
• Cool weather necessitates it
• Modesty necessitates it

Keep in mind, though, that we're talking a swim in which the water must (for amateurs) be over 78 degrees F. Otherwise, this would be a wetsuit swim, in which case see the section above this one.

So you've got a swim brief or tri short during the swim and throughout the race, and you've then got a lycra tri jersey during the bike if necessitated by rules or weather. If you're going to use a singlet during the run only, I'd recommend a loose mesh kind. These are easy to get on over your head and are quite lightweight and cool. I'd use one of these for two reasons: modesty, and for having something to wipe the sweat from my face during the run.

The other option is a skinsuit. De Soto and Zoot models are the most popular here on the West Coast of the U.S. A well-made skinsuit can be used during the entire race, including during the swim. It can be worn either underneath or without a wetsuit, and can be worn throughout the entire race. This one garment––plus perhaps a race number belt––can suffice for all your racing needs.

LONG COURSE

I used to know a very nice Egyptian gentleman who, like most immigrants, got figures of speech only 75 percent right. "You're making me a nerve wreck!" he'd say when frustrated. "I'm pulling my hair off!"

I know whereof he (mis)spoke. I've been pulling my hair off for about a week now. I've found the solution to one of triathlon's technical and tactical puzzles, but I can't find this product's maker. But first I must meander and digress in my story, in order to eventually move forward...

The determinant in long-course apparel is comfort. This becomes the priority. Transitions have less of an impact on your total time as the race gets longer. Marry that to the fact that while it's not a huge problem to ride your bike in your swim brief for 20 or 25 miles, over 56 miles it becomes another story. Ride for over 112 miles and your backside is going to pay a price even with the best cycling clothing. A swim brief is just out of the question.

America's best velodrome cyclist during the late '80s and throughout the '90s was Janie Eickhoff, who upon marriage became Janie Quigley. She lives in San Diego and is now somewhat, mostly, or entirely retired from cycling. I'd like to tell you more about Janie, but I cannot find her, nor can any of my contacts. I bring her up at this point in my tri apparel story because I've finished my digression and, my hair having been pulled almost entirely off this past week in my search for Janie, I am now able to bring my story full-circle.

She makes a product for cyclists––I know because I've seen it––and it is the solution to a long-distance triathlete's dilemma. Her product looks a bit like a kilt, yet attaches (and detatches) via a velcro enclosure in front. It is used by cyclists who want to change in privacy out of their bike shorts and into their street apparel. It would also, of course, make the perfect triathlete's "personal changing tent." It is quick to get on and off, affords modesty, protects one from a nudity rules violation, and you don't have to make your way to a changing tent. You can do it all at your transition rack station.

Fortunately, with 40,000 or so Slowtwitch readers regularly perusing this site, I expect to be on the phone with Janie by tomorrow, and the product review of whatever-it's-called (I do not know the product's name) ought to be up by next week, if it's still being made.

I can't imagine why it's taken this long for somebody to make a product so simple in concept. It is perfect for the half-Ironman distance. It is also probably a good idea for Olympic distance racing, if the user has a real comfort problem and/or is a B.O.P'er who is going to spend a long time on his or her bike. Such a person may want to ride in a dry pair of full cycling shorts, and to run in a clean, dry pair of run shorts. Unfortunately, for somebody so inclined, fat chance one will find a changing tent in an Olympic distance race. You'll be hard-pressed even to find one in a half.

Once you get to the half distance and above, you've got some other issues to consider. You might be able to ride bare from the waist up in a short-course race, since you're off the bike in anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes. This means you're onto the run by nine or ten in the morning. In a half, you could easily still be on your bike at late as noon. With the sun this high, and for this long, you'll not want to have your skin exposed throughout the bike ride. So what do you wear?

You could wear a skinsuit. Careful, though. Is the swim in salt water? You'll have to take a slightly longer shower to get the salt out of the suit, and you will want to get most of the salt off. You also may want to have more of your body covered than a skinsuit can do. The sun will take its toll, and you might find that a short-sleeve cycling jersey is what the doctor ordered.

On the other hand, there are some sleeveless cycling jerseys that are lightweight, with mesh panels. They're made by some of the tri companies. De Soto makes a nice tri jersey (at right). These are lighter and more breatheable than standard cycling jerseys, and can be worn in the run as well. De Soto has taken to putting small pockets (for gels, etc.) on the sides of at least some of its jerseys, and for race purposes I think this is an improvement if the jersey is to be worn in the bike and the run. While rear pockets are great for cycling, things back there can get a bit bouncy on the run, and it's hard to fish stuff out while running. A tri jersey like this one has the weight of such carry-alongs distributed on either side.

I would be more inclined to wear a top both for the ride and the run in a half-distance event, but I think I'd change my shorts. This would depend, again, on what you're able to endure and for how long. If riding in a tri short, or even a swim brief, is not a problem for you, you might be able to endure this for a half-IM event, in which case you'll have no need to change.

I've sometimes come across people who have no problem riding in a swim brief, or a "tri-built" swim brief (with a minimal velour pad), but cannot run in one because of thigh chafing. This sometimes occurs with women as well. Many women can ride in a one- or two-piece without a problem, but do not like to run with bare thighs. In that case, simply have a pair of running shorts at your transition spot and slide them on over your briefs or two-piece bottoms for the run.

But I hearken back to the Quigley's Personal Changing Tent. I can easily imagine a woman exiting the swim in, say, a De Soto, Zoot, Garneau, or Irongirl two-piece, getting onto the bike, and then getting off the bike and heading out onto the run. At T1 one might wish to slide out of a two-piece bottom and into a cycling short. Or perhaps the two-piece bottom is sufficient for the ride, in which case it might be nice to exit the bottom after the bike and put on a pair of run shorts. Or changes could be made at both transitions. Having Quigley's tent around for any of those transitions would be handy.

ADDENDUM

One advantage to having several tens of thousands of regular readers is that it makes research easy for the lazy man. While it appears that Jane Quigley is not involved in this project, the product to which I refer above seems to be Sportkilt., as has been pointed out by quite a few Slowtwitch readers in the last 24 hours. (And thanks to those of you who did so.)