Socks or No Socks?

I've gone sockless without problems on short bike courses, but the one time I did it for the run (and it was at a sprint, so only 5K), my time dropped quite a bit from what I expected due to blisters.  So I would rather sacrifice the 20 seconds to put my socks on.  And FWIW, I was talking to some other people after the race who I had beat on the bike, but who smoked me on the run, and they told me they have a friend who's done Kona and few other big races, and who always goes with socks for comfort. 

Of course, we were all BOP'ers,  it might be different if you are in contention for hardware.

Second the hardware remark.  I'm a sock fan.  Though I never seem to get all the dirt and gunk off so I'm trying a different tack this week, sockless for bike, figuring my feet will dry out, gunk easier to come of and sockless on the bike it's not so blister prone.  i'll probablyl Body Glide up the inside of the shoes to be cautious.

Then for the run, slip on socks.  I don't care if it's a 5K, I went sockless one time, and had even done the BG thing and it was awful.  the 3.5 seconds it took to slip on the socks are de minimus for a BOPer like me

sharp4850 - 2008-07-24 12:59 AM I would love to be able to go straight from swim to bike to run sockless, as it would quicken the transition, but I can't run sockless! For some reason my feet blister very easily. I found myself pulling on socks in T2 at my last sprint because the thought of blisters in the next week's run made me cringe But if you can pull it off, go for it!

x2, I have weak feet I guess....

Big difference between sprints and olympics and longer distance races.

The advantage is quicker transitions.  In a sprint, 20 seconds can be a lot of time.  It doesn't matter if you're competing for podium spots or not.  Most people are there to get their fastest possible time, and transitions are part of that time.  If you're just there to finish, do whatever will get you to that goal.

In the end, you do this sport for your own reasons.  Listen to the advice of others, but do whatever makes you happy and remember to enjoy the experience.

When I started running and doing tris I used to wear big tube/sweat socks.  It never occured to me to wear anything else.  Trying to put tube socks on wet feet killed a lot of time! 

I never liked going sockless becuase of the smell and becuase of blisters.  I now use ankle socks that I can put on very quickly.

~Mike

I haven't worn socks on the bike since... 1990? Even when I was racing USCF, and socks were "required" per the racing rules, I never wore them (and never got called on it either).

But running... It's really shoe-dependent. I prefer to not wear socks, and I am very careful about the shoes I buy to make sure that there aren't any seams that will cause blisters or overly rough collar material (something Nike really had going for a while). Mostly I can get away with no socks on the run, but I race Oly and shorter. I'd have to REALLY trust the shoes (and take them the distane in training) before I'd go sockless for a half-IM... Assuming I ever race that far.

Shoe stank? Sure. But if YOU can smell them, you're DEFINITELY not going fast enough...

X2

Take a look at my RR from last Sat. to see the result of no socks at a 1/4 Iron race. The xtra 20 seconds in T2 would have saved me probably 3+ minutes on the run.

Here's what my shoes looked like after the race w/ no socks.

(bloody shoe2.jpg)

I'm confident that I run faster with socks.  I've trained and raced both ways quite a bit, and I'm confident on that point.

As for biking, I really don't know -- I don't have enough experience there.  I've ridden both ways and don't feel much difference.

What really gets me about this debate is that some people will assert times that are far too long for putting on socks.  For example, I read in a recent issue of a triathlon magazine published in Britain that putting on socks adds about 1 minute to your T1.  What??  Are they putting them on with their teeth?  Even with wet feet, I can get mine on in about 3-4 seconds.  (I did it just yeterday.  It ain't rocket science.)