To sock or not to sock - Triathlon

acurno

Hey all,
Just wondering what ye all do with regards the switch from Swim to Cycle in transition. Spent about 38 hours in transition over the weekend, hands were so cold could barely get the wetsuit off and the socks on. Do most triathletes bother with socks? If not, is it blister central? Especially for the run, or are those triathlon Zoot runners that I see all the elites wearing have some sort of inner cushion?

jfrice

I am prone to blistering after a certain distance but I personally would go without socks in a sprint triathlon because I think the small blisters I get are worth the time saving. I tend not to blister in my cycling shoes and I just use normal runners (Mizuno Wave Rider) with elastic laces for the run.

But as the blisters are proportional to the distance anything more than a Sprint I would wear socks. I have tried it before in an Olympic but It wasn't worth the level of blistering. I use these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/1000-mile-marfil-tri-socks-twin-pack/ they dry very quickly and are very easy to get on when a little talcum powder is used.

I know some people line there runners/Shoes with Vaseline you could try this your self in a training session.

911sc

Saw few guys running barefoot holding their shoes in their hands during the Olympic in Athy. I am sure they would have prefered spending few more sec in T1/T2 to put socks on.

mloc123

Sprint and oly, no socks. Anything longer... Yeah.

Practice before the race runnig sockless. Some runners are better than others.

dx22

Hands too cold to put socks on after swim but i put on after cycle to make run more comfy!

acurno

Yea I suppose I should really practice these things before race day. Fail to prepare and all that. Don't think the Asics are really conducive to socklessness but I'll give it a go.

elvis jones

I wear orthotics and its very hard to go sock free with them as your foot just keeps sliding around in the shoes. I am going to try doing sprints without the orthotics and wear lighter specific runners i'm going to buy for tri. I don't think my legs would be in a good state if i tried 10k in an olympic, but as a once off how bad can they be.

Mr Marri

10Km should be no problem if you tape the pressure points on your feet, my only question is can you get tape to survive the swim, I'm sure it's possible but might take a bit of searching.

Bambaata

can depend on the shoes but i know i can get to about 8k no issues, have had minor blistering at around this point in my race runners but it hasnt been so bad as to stop me and it only happens now and then, not all races. anything beyond 10k i'd wear socks.

mloc123

My guide so far...

Nike mayfly - good
Nike lunaracer - good providing the ankle area is broken in.
Nike maria lunar - perfect, like wearing a sock.
Nike marathoner - I have a heavily blood stained pair to prove they do not work.

elvis jones

mloc123 wrote: »

My guide so far...

Nike mayfly - good
Nike lunaracer - good providing the ankle area is broken in.
Nike maria lunar - perfect, like wearing a sock.
Nike marathoner - I have a heavily blood stained pair to prove they do not work.

From my own point of view, stopped wearing nike and stopped getting in grown toe nails that plauged me for years.......it can take ages but eventually you'll find runners that suit you, Asics Nimbus are my ones and i'm on my 3rd pair and looking at a 5th soon.

About the tape, i agree that finding one that would last the swim is the hard part.

n-dawg

acurno wrote: »

Hey all,
Just wondering what ye all do with regards the switch from Swim to Cycle in transition. Spent about 38 hours in transition over the weekend, hands were so cold could barely get the wetsuit off and the socks on. Do most triathletes bother with socks? If not, is it blister central? Especially for the run, or are those triathlon Zoot runners that I see all the elites wearing have some sort of inner cushion?

Simple answer is cover the heal, arch, and tongue of the shoe with Vaseline... It feels a bit slimy at the start but you wont get blisters. I've done this for up to HIM and never had a problem.

gottarun

I line my shoes with a dusting of talcum powder (unless its raining) and go sockless up to olympic distance. For half distance the extra 10 seconds for throwing on socks makes little difference to your overall time.

Always do a few training runs without socks to test your runners for seams etc that you don't notice with socks. I would regularly cycle without socks for the same purpose.

KT Tape is probably the most durable athletic tape and will last in the pool / sea too.

kingQuez

I dont wear socks on the bike, and wouldnt bother in sprint/olympic distance on the run. Start with a couple of K on the bike or run without socks and see where your feet are getting affected, then the next time use some vaseline/bodyglide anywhere you chaffed and try it again. It took me a few months to build up to being able to do 10k without getting a blister in runners, just build up the distance slowly and figure out what's going to work for you.

Nwm2

mloc123 wrote: »

My guide so far...

Nike mayfly - good
Nike lunaracer - good providing the ankle area is broken in.
Nike maria lunar - perfect, like wearing a sock.
Nike marathoner - I have a heavily blood stained pair to prove they do not work.

I have a pair of Lunaracer 2s.

First sprint this year = no problems

First oly this year = single blister on one foot, on the upper side of my foot

Tri Athy oly = blister city, blisters all over the pace.

Can't understand why Athy was so bad for me, on the same pair of shoes.

Might go with socks for next oly

EC1000

Nwm2 wrote: »

I have a pair of Lunaracer 2s.

First sprint this year = no problems

First oly this year = single blister on one foot, on the upper side of my foot

Tri Athy oly = blister city, blisters all over the pace.

Can't understand why Athy was so bad for me, on the same pair of shoes.

Might go with socks for next oly

I would never usually get blisters up to Oly distance but found the same as you in Athy this year. I think it was a combination of the cross country style run and the brief and localised heatwave that hit during the run section:)

Nwm2

EC1000 wrote: »

I would never usually get blisters up to Oly distance but found the same as you in Athy this year. I think it was a combination of the cross country style run and the brief and localised heatwave that hit during the run section:)

Good to hear that. My run started off with me holding my goal pace of about 4:10/km but as I ran down the bank of that damn river it began to creep up to 4:20, then 4:30 with a couple of km to go, then cramps hit me and I had to stop and stretch. F**king disaster. Not sure if I noticed the blisters until afterwards, so they didn't actually cost me any time I'd say.

shotgunmcos

EC1000 wrote: »

I would never usually get blisters up to Oly distance but found the same as you in Athy this year. I think it was a combination of the cross country style run and the brief and localised heatwave that hit during the run section:)

Ditto, I'm not prone to blisters but heat is a major factor if you do and any moisture in your shoe. If its a hot day avoid puddles and try not to pour cups of water down your shoes

No socks up to OLY, its too time consuming and fumbly when goin at that pace. If a blister develops half way through, you only have 20 mins or so left so SIU

Different ball game for HIM and even more so for IM where comfort is everything

Macanri

gottarun wrote: »

I line my shoes with a dusting of talcum powder (unless its raining) and go sockless up to olympic distance. For half distance the extra 10 seconds for throwing on socks makes little difference to your overall time.

Always do a few training runs without socks to test your runners for seams etc that you don't notice with socks. I would regularly cycle without socks for the same purpose.

KT Tape is probably the most durable athletic tape and will last in the pool / sea too.

+ 1 on the talcum powder - it's great stuff.