went to the tri-shop over the weekend for much-needed supplies, and thought i’d check out new race togs … the sales guy convinced me to try on a one-piece … and i bought it, despite my concerns that it is actually quite gay … not that there’s anything wrong with that.
i felt myself generating come-backs for the snide remarks of my friends (them: “you wear tights?” … me: “i wear the required uniform” … them: “tights!”)
i’m not entirely certain i can wear it in public.
You’d be much happier sporting a pink Speedo.
It’s not quite as gay as, say, riding a bike with no seat and enjoying it. But you’re one step away from getting a sun-burst tatoo around your bellybutton.
Which you can get away with…but only if you’re an Ironman Champion.
In all seriousness, who cares? Dressing ‘gay’ and having fun is better than dressing butch and being a miserable piece of shit. And there are a lot of those at these races, i’ve noticed.
but NO! sunburst tatoo…
and if your name is any indication, this is a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ question.
carry on smartly.
it’s not about dressing “butch,” i mean i wear typical tri clothes regardless, there’s just something about a singlet that feels more freddy mercury than other stuff … ? so i guess i willingly go out in public in lightly padded lycra-spandex shorts and matching top, rigid-soled shoes with no socks, and a $125 piece of ventilated styrofoam strapped to my head, but sew the shorts and top together, add a navel-to-neck zipper, and i suddenly feel conspicuous!
oh, and name refers to location only, no navy implications, so off the hook there 
yeah, while i own one, i can’t quite wear the speedo in public either … i think this is all about my imagined sports heirarchy … wherein i’ve got to be “worthy” of sporting the “insider” look for whatever sport i’m participating in … i.e. i’m not worthy of shaving my legs for cycling, not worthy of a speedo in the pool, my running shorts are not too short and no racing flats … etc.
I guess the question is,
Gay? or cross-dresser?
One piece? or Speedo and a jog bra?
It’s triathlon man, there’s no masquiline way around it. (Unless you run without a shirt, like me.)
I think it all depends on how fast you are. If you’re fast, it’s not gay. If you’re slow, it is. I’m slow. I don’t think I’d ever wear a one piece tri suit. I wouldn’t wear a Speedo, either. Speedos are gay, even if you’re fast.
RP
Not nearly as ‘gay’ as the crop top/tank top/midriff short course top that a lot of the ITU guys wear. Those tops are glorified ‘man bras’ made from a technical fabric. They also seem to be designed for guys that are 5’ 8" tall, so if you’re over 6’ then the ‘man bra’ effect is even more pronounced.
riiight … see, dude at the tri-shop, he’s fast, has plenty of tri-cred … cervelo p3-sl and all … i explained my MOP status and my currently under-trained state … AND my “must be worthy” concept with gear … he said “wear what’s comfortable” … and i must admit, it was nicer and more comfortable than the other stuff in the store … and the tri-tops were doing the whole mid-drift exposure thing which i just didn’t dig … i mean i might commit to shaving my legs, but i’m NOT commiting to shaving the rest of my body! too much maintenance!
You’re definitely onto something there…I think they “gay clothing” factor is inversely proportional to speed. Two guys - one wearing a man-bra and a speedo finishes first , the other is 210 pounds and finishes near the bottom of his age group wearing the same stuff… That second dude is totally gay!
It’s exactly like fashion…a model wearing mismatched funky clothing is cool, a huge overweight woman (or man) wearing the same stuff is a mess.
That’s why I cover up…I’m far too slow to make the jump.
i more or less look the part of fast athlete, i’m just missing the fast part … the clothes fit me like they’re supposed to and i’m not ashamed of how i look … if i were to think about it, i’d prefer to think that as i’m coming into the finish, that people would say, “hmm that guy must’ve just had a bad day” to be way back here … and not “holy christ in heaven, how did that tub make it across the finish line? was he part of relay or something?”
I hope it is not too gay, since I am a fan of the skinsuit. I think they are more comfortable because you don’t have the band of elastic around your waist like you do on a pair of shorts and you avoid the dreaded three inch band of sunburn on your lower back that you tend to get with a tri-top.
Big problem is taking a leak. All the new ‘Power Lycra’ that they are putting in suits these days is really comfortable and supportive during exercise, but is less stretchy so you have to either pull down the top for regular access or do some hard work to pull it out of the leg. Sure, you can just pee out on the bike and rinse yourself off, but that doesn’t help you much when you are 25 minutes out from the start of a run-bike-swim sprint race - you can’t exactly just let it loose in the transition area.
I race in a skinsuit too and peeing is more of a challenge than when wearing a pair of bibshorts.
Wear what is comfortable. No one was laughing at me when I finish a HIM in 8:35 in my skinsuit.
I wear what’s comfortable, but it’s not a tri suit or skinsuit or anything like that. I go old school and simply wear a pair of tri shorts and a running singlet. I put on my singlet after the swim and bike and run in it. It’s not tight, but it’s not flapping in the wind, either. I was looking at a copy of Dave Scott’s triathlon training book, and that’s what he wore in a majority of the photos. I do a lot of training tris, so I decided to do one in the singlet. Worked fine, much more comfy than a cycling jersey. No tri suits for me.
But if I were a serious time trialist, I’d wear a skinsuit. But not a one piece garment for a tri.
RP
If I want to poke at triathlons around my non-multisport friends, I usually use the term “singlet” or “spandex” once or twice in the conversation. But it’s the best piece of racing apparel I own. For races or training, they present smooth surfaces for swimming and bicycling and prevent muscles from jiggling too much. Actually they are quite comfortable. In my DeSoto spandex singlet, I’m just one piece of hairy aero compressed fat.
Personally, I like them a lot more than the gay half shirts with the short shorts. But, the one piece tri suits are very similar to the one piece racing singlets that I wore for rowing for a long time.
They are certainly at least 10 times less gay than racing in a speedo.
I guess the question is, what other options do you really have? Seems like most race wear is made of spandex in some form.
BTW…if you develop a nice set of guns then the one piece singlet looks a little less gay.
like i say, i wear the spandex garb … there’s just something about it all being sewn together that makes me feel like i should have “footies” or something …
My girlfriend has informed me at many a tri, if I ever wear one of those in public, don’t expect to be getting any at any point soon. She doesn’t think they are at all masculine and really REALLY doesn’t like them. She says, if you are a single dude doing tri’s, wear a two piece so the girls can see the merchandise.
I raced a one piece yesterday and loved it. When telling my wife about peeing on the bike—unclick right foot, extend leg, lift shorts, release—she gave me shit, then asked how women could do that. Good question. But peeing wasn’t that bad. Also, what’s with the title of the post? Gay? Nice stereotype, sailor.
I got one very, very cheap. I wore it to one race. A co-worker saw it and the first question she asked, “What is with the gay onesie you’re wearing?” I went to my wife to confirm, yep, it’s pretty gay.
If you want it I think I may still have it somewhere, but I can’t rememebr where so I may have tossed it to avoid wearing it when everything else was in the laundry.