I will be participating in my first mini triathlon. 1/4 mile swim, 9 mile bike, 2 mile run.

What do people usually wear for the swim? The same clothes you will be riding and running in? If not where/how would you change.

I can't image riding my bike in a wet swim suit bottom- spandex shorts would be much more comfortable, but swimming in biking short????

I am so cornfused!

Hi, I was just talking to my sister today. Her friends were doing a triathlon today in Austin (Race Distance: Swim - 1/2 mile, Bike - 12 miles, Run - 3.1 miles), put on by Danskin (http://www.danskin.com/raceinfo.html).

Anyway, her friends were practicing "transitions" last night. That's when they change gear between events (remove goggles, get on bike, get off bike, put on running shoes). Search online for triathlon clothes and look for materials that wick moisture away from your skin.

Here is one essay that talks about women's triathlon clothing: http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~texastri/essays/clothes.html

Here is one article by a man about how he minimizes his transition time (holy cow he thinks of every detail):
http://www.triweek.com/showthread.php?p=9590

And here is Wikipedia's article, it mentions the development of specialized triathlon clothing adequate for swimming, cycling and running (scroll down to How a Triathlon Works) and also talks about arriving and setting up for transitions before a race:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triathlon

I know none of this tells you exactly what clothing to use or where to buy it, but I found it interesting as I want to do a Triathlon someday. I hope it helps.

Good luck in your race!

Thanks, I will definately check out these sites.