Equipment 411: Part Four Plus - Your BOTTOM Outerwear...

Holy cow that's a scary picture. They are supposed to be pumpkins coming out of a really scary scarecrow...but I am afraid to look any closer. I'd advise against it!

Anyway, back to the winter gear discussion! My last post covered the upper half of your swimming and running self, so this one's all about the bottom half...cycling will follow soon...

Swimming: Again, if you don't know what to do here, you are on your own. Actually, if you don't know what to do here, the chances of you being that really scary dude in the five-year old speedo about three lanes over...terrorizing everyone by revealing a bit too much. Do yourself a favor: get a drag suit to wear over your speedo. It makes your speedo last longer and is made of some serious fabric that will wear out long after your shoulders do. NOTE: When you buy a drag suit, you might need to get it one size bigger depending on the manufacturer. Be sure to read and see before you buy!

Running: In a rare show of personal information, I have to admit I am a spandex man. I after 26.2 miles of chafing in my first marathon (Valencia, Spain in 1999), I have never worn short to run in again. To this day I still have nightmares where I stop at an aid station and am desperately yelling, "Donde esta la vaseline?" and only getting shrugs in return. So with that new information, I have to say that I go w/ spandex shorts as a base layer (no undies...unless they are getting to be like Dick's speedo -- see swim issue above). When it gets really cold out, I throw a pair of long spandex over the top...do not go commando in your long spandex...you will regret it (not that I'd know or anything). Worst case in long trou is that if you get too hot, you can strip down to your shorts and run in those...and you are still golden. On wicked cold days, I might wear shorts and two pairs of spandex long trou...but I try to avoid running on those days if necessary...

Up next: Winter Bike Gear breakdown...stay tuned...