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The Search for a Tri Suit

By now you should know that when I set my sights on something—be it a marathon or an antidote to shin splints—I can get pretty obsessive about it. The upcoming Animo tri was not an exception. With my training in running, biking, and swimming (more emphasis on the swim portion to avoid potentially embarrassing incidents at the pool) in progress, I had to worry about what to wear.

For two weeks, I pondered over this issue, surfed the net, and asked several friends exactly what should be worn to a mini-sprint. Marga advised me to purchase a tri suit and achieve that “Lara Croft” feeling (with the option of pouting my lips just like Angie).  Mary Anne told me she was sticking to a bathing suit with leggings and pulling a singlet on top of it for the bike and run.  Annie lent me her Speedo long sleeve rashguard with matching teeny-weeny biking shorts (which did end up looking too tiny for my not-so-size-0 body).

Aaah, so many options, so little time!  Early this week, I surrendered to the idea that no one really cares what one wears because they are too busy doing their own thing.  Wear what is comfortable and easy during transitions. One that doesn’t need to be squeezed into, pulled down, or yanked up all the time. So, I opted to purchase the tri suit: the most convenient option but not necessarily the cheapest one. I never knew tri suits cost so much:

Speedo Bodyskin, Speedo BHS……….P13,000++
Orca tri suit, Bike King BHS……….P5,000
Epic tri suit, ROX BHS……….P2,500

Do you have to ask what I ended up buying?  Last Monday, I dropped by ROX (yes, on that stormy evening) to make the big Epic tri suit purchase. I liked the material (available at Bloomingdale’s store in Shang) and it fit well, like second skin. One wouldn’t even know this was locally manufactured. I was slightly concerned about the color (I wanted a black one to make me look 10lbs. lighter) but settled on the only one available, a grey/aqua/white design. 

Buying the tri suit was quite an adventure. I love ROX and all (it’s my new favorite store in Manila) but that night was terrible. I was alone in the dressing room when a blackout occurred. When I tried to pay with my card, they couldn’t process it due to the blackout so I had to part with my cash.  They did not allow for a 10% discount from my Nike+ Human Race participation; in fact, the cashier had no idea about it.  Last but not the least, it took them more than 5 mins to look for my umbrella which I left at the door (they had apparently used it at the 2/F! What?!)  

Oh well, I’m not complaining. I’m happy with my tri suit. I took it for a 650m swim test yesterday and it passed with flying colors. My only prayer is that I don’t have to run to the little girl’s room too often on race day—zipping in and out of that thing alone is a wannabe triathlete’s worst nightmare.

Posted on 09.11.08 to 04 Gear & Product Reviews. Tags: , , , . Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 25 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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25 Responses to “The Search for a Tri Suit”

  1. correct – you should wear what is comfortable, jaymie! post some pics with you wearing that tri suit ha, good luck on your 1st tri race!

    Odie, let’s hope the photographer hubby wakes up for my race :)

    odie said on Sep 11 08 at 12:23 PM Reply

  2. God bless on you tri event on sunday! Just have fun! and keep on swimming,biking and running!

    Bro J said on Sep 11 08 at 12:58 PM Reply

  3. God bless on your tri event on sunday! Just have fun! and keep on swimming,biking and running!

    Thanks broj! Oh yes, I need the Holy Spirit and all the angels and saints with me in the pool. :)

    Bro J said on Sep 11 08 at 12:59 PM Reply

  4. hi jaymie,

    glad you invested in a trisuit. i think you got a good deal on yours. am still using my one and only trisuit for over a year and a half now :) i’m sure masusulit mo din yung sa yo :) don’t worry about peeing….you know the saying, if you gotta go, you just gotta go…. that applies during the race as well ( i think this is what triathletes do, they just don’t want to talk about it much) hahaha….

    BTW, ok pa ang trisuit….just read somewhere that those Speedo LZR suits that set world records…..it takes about 30 minutes to put it on….ganun siya kaskin tight

    Wow 30mins?! That’s a workout in itself. If I had one, I’d probably live in it.

    levyang said on Sep 11 08 at 1:58 PM Reply

  5. Alone in the dressing room, in the dark, screaming. Hahaha. Just kidding haneh! :D

    That was one helluva night! Oh the misadventures!

    Minus the screaming! But I was definitely frightened. Me and my imagination! Hope to see you tonight!

    marga said on Sep 11 08 at 2:03 PM Reply

  6. is that the same tri suit worn by becky lavelle in the 2008 LA Triathlon (as seen from my blog)? good luck on your 1st tri. you can do it!

    BR, I think she was wearing TYR. Speedo has the LZR, the one Michael Phelps wore.

    kingofpots said on Sep 11 08 at 2:03 PM Reply

  7. Haha yeah, triathlon is an expensive sport. Always something to buy. Fortunately you don’t have to buy it all at once.

    levyang: Speedo LZR suits take 30 minutes to put on? Is that true cause that’s worse than a wetsuit!

    Thank God! Next purchase: road bike!

    rick said on Sep 11 08 at 2:05 PM Reply

  8. Rick: Yup, I read it somewhere just couldn’t remember the actual source. The suit must be really tight I guess and they have to put in on carefully and make sure it doesn’t get ripped like what happened to our swimmers in the last Olympics.

    levyang said on Sep 11 08 at 2:19 PM Reply

  9. you actually bought a tri suit!!! Go girl! I admire your courage…I saw that same tri suit at ROX but I just held it, admired it but didn’t have the guts to fit it :-) …but if it came in black I would have given it second thoughts…anyway I’m sure you’ll look good in it…by the way i just remembered that I talked to someone in Sabak (the bike store) and they can custom made tri suits daw so if you’re planning to make a career out of this just keep it in mind….gosh a few days to go…I’m sure I’ll be so lagging behind there but what the heck let’s just finish!!! see ya!

    Mary Anne, it’s more for convenience that anything else :) The guy who owns/manufactures Epic actually accepts orders also but for a minimum of 4. Sayang, we should’ve combined our request for black ones and sold the other 2. Hahaha.

    Mary715 said on Sep 11 08 at 3:56 PM Reply

    • Can I get the number of the manufacturer of Epic, I wn at to custom make for our team. Thanks!

      DC said on Dec 10 09 at 3:16 PM Reply

  10. no pics? :D Goodluck on the tri.

    When I wrote this, the trisuit was being washed :) Pics of the triathlon nalang.

    jinoe said on Sep 11 08 at 6:39 PM Reply

  11. Looking good is feeling good. Anyway you can just break down your purchase into a top and a pair of shorts which would have cost you the same amount anyway.

    After dropping by ROX with DATC last Thursday I can say that this store too is my new favorite.

    Yeah. Congrats to ROX. I think it’s great that they have an area for seminars/talks too.

    prometheuscometh said on Sep 11 08 at 8:11 PM Reply

  12. Congrats on that! Before we’d make a huge purchase like that my dad would have to research and rereseach and…well, you get it. For him, there’s no such thing as buying on impulse. Yeah, considering you researched for 2 weeks, he’d make you his apprentice! He takes more than a month. Go for that tri!

    Cougcat, I hope you take after your dad in handling your finances! I hope to see you in a triathlon soon!

    cougcat said on Sep 11 08 at 8:49 PM Reply

  13. Jaymie, as we discussed tonight I am so scared for the swim but if you dont open the bottle you cant drink the contents. I also bought a tri suit last week at ROX and found the same problems minus the blackout. The 10% is only on branded items. I bought a New Balance suit after finding on the third floor only small sizes in the tri suits. Eventually somebody knew that NB has tri suits. They are black have different sizes and looks quite nice. Sorry you only find out now. They ar 3500 pesos though but still worth paying the extra 100 pesos (I think). Still would like to find out where to get a race belt though. Is there a common Tagalog name for it as nobody and any sports shops know what you talk about as it is still quite a new sport here or there are just few people taking part. Good luck on Sunday and see you at Alabang. You wont even be able to save me in the swimming pool as your race is first. Remember to give me the number of that swimming coach.

    Emailed you already :)

    Foreignrunner said on Sep 11 08 at 10:26 PM Reply

  14. Congrats on your purchase and good luck on your first try at Tri. I hope can Tri sometime soon too.

    Thanks marvs! :)

    marvs said on Sep 12 08 at 12:00 AM Reply

  15. Hi Foreignrunner:

    I think Bikeroom in Cartimar is selling racing belts at around 500. They have quite an impressive selection of Tri suits too both local and imported. De Sotto tops are like 2800 (negotiable), and bottoms at around 2k. Tel no:5516228

    JLA

    JLA, thanks for the info!

    JLA said on Sep 12 08 at 7:04 AM Reply

  16. they used your umbrella?! what?! hahaha!

    Yup yup! Funny :)

    hector yuzon said on Sep 12 08 at 11:19 AM Reply

  17. Can’t wait to read your post and see your pics in a spanking new tri-suit!

    FitMom, I’ll post about it on Monday. As for pics of myself, hmmm I don’t know. :)

    thefitmommy said on Sep 12 08 at 2:56 PM Reply

  18. Do you have another number for the bikeroom? I tried this one but just rings?

    Jaymi, did you manage to get race belts?

    Thanks to Mark Parco! Yes he’ll deliver them on race day. Yahooo! :)

    Foreignrunner said on Sep 12 08 at 3:09 PM Reply

  19. sarap sana manood ng tri… but we’ll be in the Makiling Challenge7.
    Good luck, Ms Jaymi. Be safe. and enjoy every minute of it.

    Good luck in the Makiling Challege, Christy. That sounds like fun too!

    christy said on Sep 12 08 at 6:17 PM Reply

  20. Heres another one 5512453.

    JLA

    JLA said on Sep 12 08 at 6:32 PM Reply

  21. Thanks for the number TBR was so great, she organised us some race belts for ONLY a few pesos, talagang mura. Pero pupunta ako sa bikeroom siguro sa isang linggo kaya salamat po sa phone number kasi kailangan ko ng maraming gamit para sa triathlon

    ForeignRunner, grabe. Ang galing mo talaga magtagalog. Nagugulat ako sa iyo.

    Foreignrunner said on Sep 12 08 at 9:02 PM Reply

  22. There is a used ladies road bike (Giant TCR size XS) and other used bike accessories for sale at the website… http://www.biketradesph.com/

    AC said on Sep 12 08 at 9:03 PM Reply

  23. Hi Foreignrunner,

    Check out this website…. http://www.bikeroom.net/.
    Bikeroom is at Leveriza st. (around 100 mtrs from Gil Puyat at the back of Cartimar), look for Beng.

    Thanks so much for the info, AC!

    AC said on Sep 12 08 at 9:13 PM Reply

  24. Good luck Jaymie! Im sure Mr. Bull Runne

    Thanks Jaimie! :)

    Jaimie said on Sep 13 08 at 10:53 AM Reply

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