Triathlon apparel for the girls.

Let me be more specific: if the girls are bigger than a b-cup, you are going to have a tough time finding clothes in which you can swim, bike and run.  I shunned triathlon for a long time, because I was so utterly befuddled by the issue of what to wear.  Prevailing advice on the internet is that if you’re a larger-busted lady, you should wear a sports bra underneath a tri suit and have a good day.  But sports bras, while they wick away sweat, are not designed to be worn while saturated.  There’s a reason many manufacturers have incorporated built into support into so many tri-tops.  Adding actually-high support, built-in bras to tri apparal isn’t rocket science- if we can make a good bra, we should be able to make a good bra out of quick-drying water and attach it to a shirt.  The folks to figure this out are going to make a lot of money.

Of what is available on the market right now, I’ve found that Athleta is doing the best job.  I’ve tried a few of their garments: the Energy Tank and the Hilo Shoreside bikini.

I started with the Hilo Shoreside Bikini, which boasts high support for C-D cups.  This style also comes in a tankini.  First off, I hate bikinis, but I hate bouncing boobs even more, so I was willing to give it a try.  Trying it on the in the store, I found that the bikini top offered substantially more support than the tankini.  The bottom elastic band of the bikini top actually offers some support which is lacking in the tankini since it is longer and doesn’t have that tight elastic around the rib-cage.  The top is essentially an underwire bra-  which means that sadly, you can’t put it in the little suit spinners at the pool.  But it feels great and I felt really good wearing it in the pool.  Unfortunately, I still felt the bounce when I put it through a post-swim run.  So my search continued.

Back at Athleta, the sales girl sympathized with me, as she is preparing for the same triathlon as me and has the same problem. I tried the Energy tank on and once again, it felt like a pretty darn supportive fit.  I used it during my next open water swim, underneath my wetsuit, and gave it a whirl on a bike/run.  It was glorious.  It easily help up as well as my trusty Moving Comfort sports bra (Moving comfort, can you make a tri-top???), although I’ll have to report back later as to whether it holds up well over time.  Another thing I really like about it:  it has a zipper pocket into which I can put my car key into, which is convenient, since my shorts don’t have one.  Things I don’t love:  The removable boob pads.  Every time you wash it, you have to get in there, unfold them, reorient them.  Check them once again when you get the shirt on.  Why aren’t they a permanent component of the shirt??  And finally, the pocket on the back of the shirt doesn’t have a flap over it, and people have complained that it catches quite a bit of water if worn without a wetsuit over top.  In all, it’s the best solution that I’ve found, and it’s what I wore Sunday during my first Tri!!! (Race review to come!)

If any other ladies stumble across this post, I would love to hear what solutions you’ve come up with!