Total Noob Question

deepblue

hi deepblue, what most people wear under wetsuits is either trisuits or tri top, bottom. both the suits and bottoms will have some padding but not as much as bike specific shorts. in tri spec cycle shoes they have a more comfortable interior so the need for socks is minimal. i personally still use socks for t2. hope this helps. nick

deepblue

Have just got back into running after a 6 month layoff through injury and have decided to give Triathlon a go. If nothing else it will vary my training regime.

Picked up a copy of the 220 beginners guide and after reading it have a couple of what may be really dumb questions.

In transition from swim to bike do people wear socks to ride in? If not, what about the run, cannot imagine running any distance without padded socks!

Second question. I have to run with long cycling type shorts (without the crotch padding) to prevent chaffing.

In all the races i've seen on the TV people tend to strip off wetsuits from the swim then keep the same shorts on for the bike and the run. Does that mean they are running in padded shorts?



Said they were noob questions.[:)]

deepblue

Nick.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I also ride mountain bikes off road so need reasonable padding for that, but i suppose 20k or so on a road bike means less padding required so would probably get away with Tri specific suit or bottoms.

So much to learn , so much pain to go through!



Thanks again

learner

Deepblue, I am also starting out and have posted a thread with what I thought were obviuos questions, rest assured that no matter how daft you might think your question is someone out there has an answer. It seems that triathlon-ers are a friendly bunch who are willing to help out us novices. Re the shorts issue I also use the lycra type shorts to run in, I have found that after a little while 20 miles with little or no padding makes no difference. (wouldn't want to be doing it off road though) have you entered any events yet?

deepblue

Only made the decision to give Tri a go yesterday, so am still at the planning stage. Need to assess my swimming (usually only once a year on holidays) before i commit to a race. May even start with a Dualathon.

Lucky

With regards to the swimming you'll be surprised at how much difference wearing a wetsuit will make, jumped into Heron Lake for my first open water swim last year and loved the way the wetsuit helps you float...



Still didn't manage to complete a sprint swim using crawl the whole way, but I got round and had enough to complete the rest of the race, working on my swim more now and am looking forward to the first race of my season (although not looking forward to the swim start at London)



Good luck, best thing I ever did last year was start doing Triathlons

leekyboy

[color=#006666]Hey deepblue, congrats on even thinking about doing Tri..I jumped in two footed last year having absolutely no experience in run or swim, and stumbled my way thru various events, discovering along the way how it's all done by burying my nose in 220, and watching and picking the brains of others(you will find that generally tri guys are very approachable)..[/color]



[color=#006666]Personally i have found that one piece tri suits will make life so much easier, go under a wetsuit comfortably and take any worry bout extra kit for bike/run out the equasion..and socks really aren't needed-i have never not worn them for sport before tri, but have had no probs due to picking footwear wisely(i.e.,comfort is paramount). Trawl around various sites and try and grab some bargain 'last season' stuff, as you WILL need to experiment with what works for you, and you really do not want to be wasting money in a sport that can do that for you if you ain't careful!![/color]



[color=#006666]If you need any advice from a 'nooby' perspective then i'll gladly fill you in from my experiences..[/color]

[color=#006666]Good luck,[/color]

[color=#006666] Leeky [;)] [/color]

deepblue

Ok, next question relates to HRM's.

I have a Garmin 305 which i usually use for monitoring my running and cycle training. Do people actually compete with these or do you just use a normal watch with a hh:mm:ss facility.