No Socks in Triathlon
With more and more people taking up triathlon, I’ve had a few friends and acquaintances ask me about nitty-gritty race details. In fact, in the past month I’ve had three different conversations with first-time triathletes about running without socks in sprint and Olympic distance races. So, this post is for you.
I’m of the opinion that first-time short course triathletes should race without socks. Here’s some reasons why:
- If you practice training without socks then you will not need them race day. Plan to build up a few callouses gradually in the weeks prior to your race. Start small, do one run or bike without socks and then go back to socks for a few workouts. Over time, increase the amount of time sockless until you can do a long run and bike comfortably without socks.
- If you’re at a race, then you’ve likely trained to be there. Putting socks on wet feet takes time and can be an added frustration in the madness of transition. Save yourself some time and a headache and leave the socks at home. Hop on your bike and enjoy the race!
- The pros don’t wear socks. Sure, you might not shave your legs for a race or do a running jump onto your bike, but you’ll feel a little more elite running sans socks.
- Baby powder in your shoes will keep your feet from rubbing. If you don’t like baby powder, there are lots of fancy, sports-specific lubricants that can be applied to run or bike shoes before the race.
- Oh yeah, make sure you race in shoes that you’ve trained in. Buying new fancy race shoes and racing in them without breaking them in is a sure-fire way to get blisters.
To be clear, I’m no anti-sockite. I wear socks. Some of my best friends wear socks. Socks definitely have a special place in my heart . . . or at least my training.
When I do wear run or cycle with socks, I train in SOLE Lightweight Sports Performance socks. In fact, I’ve noticed these socks on a lot of the athletes I train with. I think that these socks are a particularly great product because they wick moisture and are really thin, which aids the transition into running without socks. Check ‘em out.
I hope this advice further aid those of you who I’ve spoken with and anyone else in internet land who finds his or her way to this post!
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