Forums » General Training » Triathlon

1. kimmy23
   Member

   Few questions...
   Can I wear a swim suit and then throw shorts on after? Can you use an IPod for the run and bike portions? I seen alot of videos of tris and most people dont wear socks, is it normal to do this? i have never ran w/o socks but i know it will slow down my transition time. Any suggestions?

   Posted 2 months ago #

2. rschad
   Member

   I'm no expert, but I did finish my first tri last weekend... and I also stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night ;)
   Q: Can I wear a swim suit and then throw shorts on after?
   A: From your screenname I am guessing you are a woman. I'm not so I wore tri shorts to swim and bike and added running shorts for run. Women in my event were fairly evenly split between wetsuits, trisuits or tri shorts/swim tops, and swimsuits. All of those require a bit of a change in transition so swim in whatever you are comfortable swimming in that can easily go under bike/run gear.
   Q; Can you use an IPod for the run and bike portions?
   A: Check your event specific rules. Generally headphones are not allowed on bike and discouraged on run - longer events might be more likely to allow them.
   Q: I seen alot of videos of tris and most people don't wear socks, is it normal to do this?
   A: If you've never run w/o socks, the tri is a bad time to start. Seriously, I wore socks and figure it maybe added 5 seconds to my time max. If you were to ask me about flying/running bike to run transitions I'd give you the same advice.
   Relative to transitions generally, lots of good advice on this site and at active.com. There are many things you can do to speed them up: get to event early to set up; clearly memorize where your stuff is (pace your # steps in to your stuff, clearly mark your spot, remember that you're bike will not be there to show you your spot in T2, etc); don't drink or snack in transition as your bike is a rolling buffet; bring a small towel to stand on for shoe changes; helmet and sunglasses upside down on handlebars; have goggles and swimcap off before you get there...

   Remember...it is unlikely you are out to win in your first event so have fun! You'll love it.

   Posted 2 months ago #

3. kimmy23
   Member

   Thanks so much for the advice, much appreciated!!

   Posted 2 months ago #

4. krissyj8
   Member

   My suggestion is to get tri shorts. You can swim, bike, and run in them. I wore a sports bra and tri shorts for my whole race and was happy with my transition times. The shorts didn't hold much water and helped for the bike portion.

   I also put socks on after the swim and kept them on through the run. I am not comfortable running without socks. My feet didn't blister as my feet weren't that much more wet than when I normally run so all was good. One other suggestion is to get a bucket and put water in it for the transition from the swim to the bike so you can dip your feet to get rid of excess gravel or rocks. I dipped my feet and then wiped them off with a towel and then put my socks on and it worked well. GOOD LUCK! I loved my first TRI!

   Posted 2 months ago #

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