apparel for cold water tri (sprint distance)

Definitely you need to wear something under your wetsuit LOL. Normally you don't change in a sprint-distance tri--you wear a tri suit, or at least tri shorts (for guys), under the suit and then you are good to go once the wetsuit comes off. There are variations, like some guys will just wear shorts under the suit, then put on a top or bike jersey in transition, or women might wear a swimsuit and either do the whole race in it or put something on over it for bike and run but the most comfortable option is tri-shorts and top or suit. They are designed to get wet and dry quickly; the shorts will have a little padding for the bike but not so much it will absorb a lot of water on the swim. (Regular bike shorts will feel like a wet diaper after swimming in them!) There should also be little issue with riding in wet shorts, since they dry quickly. I've done several half-iron distance races with tri suit or shorts, including ocean swims, and don't recall any chafing issues due to being wet on the bike.

For a sprint, you can probably get by with jammers or compression shorts (plus sports bra for women) and pulling on a top in T1 (what I did for my first sprint--there were no tri clothes in country), but biking is less comfortable with those options, especially when wet. My first race had a 25 km bike leg, and I had more problems with chafing than I have in any race since when wearing a well-fitting tri suit or shorts!

https://youtu.be/zgGrganzNKo

This is a recent world cup race ... yes its elites but all age groupers wear a kit of some sort under the wetsuit. Tri shorts have a smaller pad and a quick dry fabric. I use a one piece suit for sprint distance. (Same suit you see the Candians wearing in the video).

I would probably just wear a tri suit 2 piece. 750 yards is pretty short, so one could just power through. If you don't care about time, you can wear a wetsuit over your tri suit. Everyone bikes in wet shorts, you dry off pretty quickly on the bike.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

I see there's a whole category of 'tri suits'. Any recommendations in particular? I'd like to buy one so I can start training in it and get comfortable.

It's very individual and mainly a matter of fit profile and comfort. That's true for onesie vs. two piece (tri top and shorts) as well as brand. For sprint distance, you don't have to worry so much about ease of getting the suit off/on in the event of a potty stop (and actually, if you have a front-entry suit, it's not that hard anyway), so you could choose whichever you like. I personally prefer a one-piece even for wetsuit swims, but that is just me--mainly a fit issue. If you have a small waist size relative to hips and/or chest, it can be hard to find a comfortable fit with tops and shorts. But one piece may be difficult for really tall or long-waisted people. Personally I have had good luck with 2XU and Pearl Izumi suits; Zoot and Sugoi are also popular brands.

Normally for a beginner I would recommend top and shorts, because you can use the pieces for other workouts (runs, rides, gym) even if you don't decide to keep going with triathlon. But if you do a lot of open water swimming or surfing, a one piece trisuit could be something to wear for warm water, or if you wanted some modesty under the wetsuit!

Edited by Hot Runner 2017-05-22 6:31 AM

Thanks again for the advice!