- Morning Trainiacs.
Oh, let's let you brighten up a little bit
so you can see my gorgeous face.
There, about to do about a 4 1/2 kilometer swim set here,
but that's not what we're talking about here today.
With a lotta people just getting into setting
those New Year's resolutions,
and one of those resolutions being that they want
to do their first triathlon,
I'm getting a lotta questions from people saying
what do they wear?
What do they wear under the wetsuit?
What type of wetsuit should they use?
Do they even need to use a wetsuit?
Then what or do they even need to change into anything
for the bike and the run?
Today I'm gonna talk about what you need to wear
for your first triathlon, give you some guidelines
about how you do that whether you are racing
in cold weather, rainy weather, if you're a female.
And at the end of the video we are going to talk
about four do not dos,
specifically for beginner triathletes.
All things like that, we'll do that right now.
(melodic instrumental music)
So, what's up triathletes?
Today we're getting into what to wear
for your first triathlon.
If you're completely new here on this channel,
and on Instagram, and our podcast
we cover all things triathlon.
We've done so for five years,
and we've done so with a slight slant
on helping the new triathletes in your first few years
understand how to train, how to prepare,
what gear to get, all those sorts of things.
So, today let's talk about what to wear
for your first triathlon.
And we're going to do this with the context
of this is gonna be your first triathlon.
This isn't going to be the ideal gear
that you get for the rest of your life,
but it's gonna get you to your first race,
it's going to get you training,
and not break the bank.
So, let's start off on race day with the swim.
I'm gonna start with the wetsuit.
Everyone asks, should I wear a wetsuit?
Do I really need to wear a wetsuit?
Do I even really bother investing in a wetsuit
if I'm not sure if I'm going to be in the sport?
Yes, you definitely need to have a wetsuit.
And the reason for that is if you're new to the sport
you're probably not very confident swimming.
Having that wetsuit to warm you up is going to eliminate
that little bit of a chatter,
so you're gonna feel a lot less nervous.
You're also gonna have the added buoyancy of the wetsuit
so that if you freak out in the water it's okay.
You just lay on your back, float, and you're fine.
Everything is completely safe.
So, from an enjoyment standpoint,
from a keeping you up on the water standpoint,
from a safety standpoint, get a wetsuit.
But the trick that I recommend isn't renting a wetsuit,
or borrowing a wetsuit, or buying like a,
kind of a top of the line wetsuit.
If you're just new to triathlon
there is a wetsuit that I recommend that's on Amazon.
And I will put an affiliate link in the description below,
so if you end up buying it it does help us out.
But it's only in between about 100 and $200.
A rental wetsuit might cost you about 80 to $100.
So, you're going to pay a little bit more,
but you're going to get your own wetsuit
that doesn't have somebody else's pee in.
Trust me, it's there.
And if you don't end up staying in the sport
you can end up reselling that wetsuit
for almost as much as you paid for it.
So, it ends up costing you less than renting a wetsuit.
Next, underneath the wetsuit what you want to do
is wear what you are going to wear for the rest of the race.
That means that you're not changing in transition.
And how to set this up is first, with a top.
I recommend not a triathlon top,
I recommend a tight-fitting cycling top that has sleeves.
Why I recommend this is because you can use
that cycling top in the race,
and it's gonna be nice and aerodynamic if it fits tightly,
if there isn't a bunch of loose material around,
and you can wear it in training.
Now, if you buy a triathlon one-piece,
you're gonna look like this.
And you're probably not gonna want to be seen
out in public when you're not doing
a triathlon wearing that.
So, a tight-fitting cycling top will work
for both equally well.
Tight-fitting cycling top will have the pockets
that'll be able to store your nutrition on race day,
it's also going to have sleeves
so that when you're out in the sun training
you're gonna be less likely to burn on your shoulders.
It's just a little bit more versatile.
Conversely, let's go to what happens
on the bottom underneath the wetsuit,
and I would recommend actually tri shorts for that.
And the reason for that is because cycling shorts
have a really big chamois, a big pad in the butt.
And if you swim in that you can get onto the bike and bike,
but by the time you get to the run
you're gonna have a really soggy butt
and it might lead to chafing
and a bit of discomfort in the triathlon.
Whereas triathlon shorts, they've got a chamois
for some padding in the middle,
but it's not so much that you can't run in it.
So, you can use it again,
both for the triathlon and for training.
Again, make sure there isn't any loose fabric around,
that it's nice and aero, sucked tightly to your body.
Now, let's get into the bike.
Coming into transition, A, you don't change
because we've set you up going into the swim
with what you need.
B, you typically don't need socks.
Now, there's really no penalty to wearing socks,
but if you want to feel confident,
you want to look like what a lotta the people
around you look like,
and most of them are not going to be wearing socks.
So, you basically just wear exactly
what you wore underneath your wetsuit.
Now, here are a couple of caveats.
If it's really cold you might consider
some neoprene cycling booties that you can buy online
for about five to $10.
Put those over your cycling shoes
when they're clipped into the bike
and you're setting up your bike in transition,
and it's gonna take you no extra time
to end up blocking yourself on your feet from the wind.
It'll save your toes from feeling like bricks
when you got onto the run.
Also, if it's really cold get yourself
a windproof jacket that, again, has very little material,
sucks itself to all of your extremities
very, very tightly so that it's nice and aerodynamic.
And if it's really, really cold and you want to make sure
that you can be dexterous by shifting
and grabbing water bottles, grabbing nutrition,
have windproof gloves.
Wind is a bigger factor to guard against than cold
because you're generating so much body heat
that you don't necessarily need to worry
a lot about the cold, but that body heat
can't really overcome the wind as well.
So, windproof on here, on here, on your feet
is gonna do you a lotta favors.
What if it's just a little bit cold though?
In that case what I recommend is just some arm warmers.
Those are very easy to put on underneath your wetsuit.
You can put them on underneath your cycling top,
and then by the time you get
out of the water they're right there.
You don't have to put them on in transition,
they're going to add a little bit of warmth to that bike.
And if it's rainy, just see if it's cold.
Same sorts of things apply.
Windproof, also typically comes with waterproof,
so it can go both ways.
On the run, again, I don't recommend
a full change in transition.
However, you might want to consider socks.
If it's a sprint or an Olympic-distance triathlon,
I would say you don't necessarily need socks.
However, run about a half a dozen times
in the weeks leading up to the race without socks
to see if your feet can handle it.
If they can't, put on socks.
For Half Ironman and Ironman races
I certainly recommend putting on socks.
Regardless of whether you're going barefoot or wearing socks
I would recommend filling up your shoes with baby powder
to dry off your feet from the sweat or road condensation
if it's raining a little bit.
That's gonna reduce the likelihood of blisters.
If you are likely to blister,
especially if you're going barefoot,
also take some Vaseline
and smear that around the inside edge
on the underside of the tongue of the running shoe.
And that's gonna prevent you from having a massive blister
at the end of the run,
and just having an uncomfortable run.
If it's cold, if it's rainy,
use the same principles that we took on the bike.
If it's just that little bit cool, again, arm warmers.
But knowing that you are going to be a little bit warmer
on the run than the bike, it's not as necessary.
However, if it is really sunny and you're like me
coming from a wintry climate and going into a sunny race,
you might want to consider arm covers and a hat
because sun beating down on your skin
will actually slow you down if you're not used to it.
Get yourself a decent pair of running shoes,
and if you want to be extra cool
and save a little bit of time in transition,
invest about seven bucks into elastic laces.
And those elastic laces are what just about everyone
is going to end up using at some point.
It's a very cheap way to save 20 to 30 seconds.
Now let's get into those do not dos.
If you're a female do not use a typical bra.
It's not meant to carry water or sweat,
use a sports bra, I hear.
As far as swimwear, using a Speedo, or long-leg jammers,
or a one-piece if you're a female, good in theory,
but the issue with that is that there is no padding
in that for when you're on the bike.
So, I'd stay away from that just to save the chafing
and the mashing of things that might happen.
Again, do not change in transition.
And finally, if you are new to triathlon
and you just want to think at the last minute
to stock up on something right before the race,
definitely don't wear anything
for the very first time on race day.
New clothing tends to have sharper edges.
It also might fit, especially when it's tight to the body,
with a little crease.
And if you don't know that that crease is there
and it ends up chafing you in the actual race,
I've seen people develop scars from chafing so bad.
So, that's it triathletes.
If you made it this far into the video
you're likely new to triathlon,
and my guess is swimming might be the most
intimidating thing for you.
For that we've actually created a swim drill program
that upwards of around 20,000 triathletes have gone through,
and we have people from all around the world
saying that it's completely changed their swimming.
You can go and check that out for free
at triathlontaren.com/swimdrillprogram.
And if you like YouTube videos,
you spend a lotta time here and you want to learn
about triathlon and have some fun with it too,
hit the Subscribe button below.
Later Trainiacs, I gotta go swim.
I've been procrastinating for this entire video.