The Philly SheRox triathlon is less than 2 days away and I’m a bit jittery, mainly about the bike portion of the tri. I still don’t feel 100% confident on my new wheels but since there won’t be any traffic on the route the worst that can happen is I’ll fall off my bike (been there, done that) and scrape myself up. Of course I could always hit a slippery spot on the course and wipeout in a spectacular crash taking down all the other riders around me. But since I’ll pretty much be right at the back of the pack with the other newbies I don’t think that’s too likely!
To help control my jitters this evening I headed over to the pool in my planned tri outfit for one last dry run – a quick swim immediately followed by an easy bike ride. I guess technically that’s more of a wet run than a dry run, but you get the picture. Anyway, as soon as I was done swimming I hopped out of the water, whipped off my cap and goggles then ran outside to my car still wearing my swim gear (and soaking wet). I yanked my bike out of the trunk, threw on my helmet & gloves, flung my flip flops into the backseat, dragged on my socks and shoes then jumped on my bike, remembering to lock the car remotely just as I was riding away. The whole thing took only a few minutes and I noticed a few people looking on in amusement when I left a puddle of water behind me! After a short ride I felt comfortable that I could easily transition without forgetting anything critical and rode back to my car to dry off and head home. Mission accomplished.
One thing that I found surprisingly challenging over the past few months is deciding exactly what clothing to wear during the triathlon. There is no privacy in the transition area (and public nudity is frowned upon by the race organizers), so whatever I wear for the swim will be what I wear for the rest of the race. As a more – ahem – well-endowed gal, this means a sports bra underneath my swim gear. And since I have no desire to ride my bike wearing just a swimsuit (bra or no bra, nobody needs to see that) I will swim in my bike shorts and shirt – which means anything made of cotton is completely out of the question unless I want to emerge from the water 10 pounds heavier than I started! Also, experienced triathletes have told me that padded bike shorts absorb a lot of water during the swim – the feeling has been likened to a wet diaper. So I think I’ll risk a bruised booty and wear unpadded shorts.
After a lot of trial and error I settled on this tankini top from Junonia, an Enell sports bra and black Danskin bike shorts. The top is made of a nice stretchy swimsuit material and fits snugly to my ribs, then flares a bit to loosely cover my hips. It is tres comfortable and also has the added bonus of not floating up over my head once I get in the water (like I said, this has been a trial and error process – mostly error). The Enell is incredible, a feat of modern engineering. If you are looking for complete lockdown during high impact activities, the Enell is without question the best choice. Unfortunately that type of structure and strength is not sexy by any stretch of the imagination and is best covered up by cute workout clothes – fortunately my new tankini top fits the bill.
Finally, if the water temperature is below 84F, I’ll wear my new X-Terra Volt sleeveless wetsuit over my clothes. This means I’ll have to struggle out of my wetsuit in addition to getting my bike gear on while still soaking wet. But I have my fingers crossed that it will be cool enough because:
- I love my wetsuit – it’s fun to wear and makes me feel like Catwoman!
- It keeps me afloat without even having to tread water – a big advantage if I get tired during the swim.
- It makes me swim faster
- I feel like more of a triathlete with it on.
- Did I mention it makes me feel like Catwoman? Raaaawwrrr!
All of those advantages outweigh the extra time it will take to get the suit off before I hop on the bike. And who am I kidding – if it takes me an extra 2 minutes in transition it’s not exactly going to cost me a podium finish!
After the swim I’ll put on my Balega Lady Enduro socks (OMG, these are the BEST socks I have ever worn and they hold up incredibly well in the washing machine), and my Forte cycling shoes that I got uber-cheap from Performance bike. After the bike I’ll wear my Brooks Adrenaline GTS10 running shoes which I absolutely love. Post-race I’ll be wearing a plush robe and slippers after a hot bath with a glass of champagne. And maybe a pepperoni pizza.
Tomorrow I have to pickup my race packet and attend an information session. There’s also a race expo where vendors will have lots of gear and goodies – I’ll definitely bring my wallet because I’m hoping to pick up some new gloves and maybe a new helmet. After that I’m going to get my gear bag organized and packed and get a good night’s sleep.
CAN’T WAIT!
I am so excited for you!! Good luck