New Racing Digs

I've been racing in my LG Comp Tri Suit for the last 2 years.  I actually really like it, and I say it that way because I got it for $50 on sale.  So for that amount of cash it has been awesomely worth it.  I've never really seen a need to go to a 2 piece race setup, even though a lot of people racing in the half distance go that route.

The only thing is that the suit is 100% black, and unabashadly so.  Racing in Las Vegas in September got me thinking.  I felt I really needed a setup that was cooler on race day, so I kinda started looking around.  I still didn't want to spend a ton of coin, so when I saw the TYR competitor series and the summer 25% discount I thought I would give it a shot.

I ordered online and it shipped quickly enough, but unfortunately it came from California, so it took a while.  I also got a swimsuit that was marked way down.  Its kinda a cross between a square and a brief.  Whatever, it was dang cheap.

So obviously I went with the lime green color to match Green Lightning.  It looks sharp and fits nice and tightly.  It has a front zipper, which I'm used to .  I really like the look of it. Did I say that already?

But the biggest thing is the back of the top, which will be exposed to the Vegas sun for 2+ hours straight.

The mostly white top should help sufficiently on Race Day.  The only thing I don't like is the big bike jersey type pocket in the back.  It really doesn't pass the 'aero' eyeball test.  I'm planning on cutting it out before Vegas.

One of the reasons I had been hesitant to get a 2 piece tri race setup is that for non-wetsuit swims I just felt there would be a lot more drag in the water.  So when my wife asked me what I wanted to buy for my summer bonus, and that she was sick of me getting bike stuff, a swimskin was the perfect solution for everything.

So I debated between the BlueSeventy PZ3TX and the TYR Torque.  I knew James at IOS was big on the B70, so I talked to him about it and he let me try on the one he had to check the fit.  His 'small' was perfect so I placed the order through IOS and they told me it was backordered for like 6 weeks.  Luckily 2 weeks later it shipped.

It came in this nice little bag.

Pretty sweet looking.  It fits pretty tight, but you get used to it.  Its not much tighter than my trisuit when I'm wearing a wetsuit.  It unzips in the back.  It has a nice little feature with the zipper in that when the zipper pull is down it unzips like normal.  But when the zipper pull is up you can just pull it apart.  So you don't need a string or anything like in a wetsuit.

So I wore everything for the Stumpy Creek Race.  I wore my Zoot tri shorts that I train in all the time to go with the TYR top.  Overall it went pretty well.  I had a little trouble getting the swimskin zipper pulled back as I was tugging on the tri top instead of the swimskin initially.  And I was still slow as dog crap in the water so no miracles there.

The tri top was a little tight around my mid section.  Something I'll have to get used to and maybe it will loosen some.  But next race I won't put it on until as late as possible.  It was uncomfortable all morning as I drove 45 minutes to the race site.

This is the setup I will race in Vegas as there will be no wetsuits there.  Highs of 100, and lows in the upper 80's.  I will surely look like a pro, so we'll see how it goes!