calling all Triathletes

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bethvandenberg
bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What do you wear on your feet for the entrance/exit from a lake? I'm worried about the rocks and old garbage that may cut my feet. Help please

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  • dianediaz
    dianediaz Posts: 53 Member
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    Hi There - Is this your first triathlon? Good luck and really enjoy the experience!!!

    I am a triathlete and I hate to break it to you but we don't wear anything on our feet while waiting for the swim to start or when running from swim to transition area (bike). It's bare feet all the way. And I have run across sand, cement, pine bark mulch, pine straw, weeds, grass . . . just about everything. I've never had anything cut my feet. Normally the races are pretty planned out so there's a clear way to the transition area from the water. But, I live in Orlando, Florida and I'm not sure where you live, so conditions may differ. But, for the most part, most triathletes just go barefoot.

    Hope this helps. Good luck at your race.
    Diane
  • Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet
    Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet Posts: 486
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    Nothing on the feets. Usually the course/path is safe for a quick trot to the transition area.
  • w_sanford
    w_sanford Posts: 25 Member
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    Nothing! Once I did have wet suit socks on...but your feet should be fine!
  • javaruck
    javaruck Posts: 47 Member
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    Orca makes a swim bootie - here is a link:

    http://www.triathletesports.com/Orca-Hydro-Bootie-p/whb009.htm

    The only downside is whether or not they are legal since they are usually limited to cold water events only. I've read that some people swim in Vibram 5 fingers - again you need to check with your race to insure they don't get you DQ'ed. I've never used anything myself - most races seem to be set to where hazards are minimized.

    Good luck with your race!
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
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    Thanks to y'all for the advice. Yes my first ever Triathlon. I'm nervous but excited. It's 3 mo. away and for the past 5 weeks I've been pretty lazy as I passed some fit test in a book to see if I completed a 3 mo. workout schedule I should finish the tri. :) So then I timed myself and could do the 13.2 mile ride in under an hour (granted not the course) swam the 750m swim in 23 min (hadn't swam laps in 3+ years) and can do the 5k in 42 min. So there you go I passed. LOL. So actually I started my training this past monday with a training schedule of bike 15m twice a week, swim 750m twice a week, and 5k twice a week, along with weight training and core workouts.

    I have started my swimming in the lake as of today. It's so much different than the pool! We live 10 min. from the lake so it's easy for me to grab one of my teens and head down there and swim the bouy line. That's the plan anyway. Since it's kind of a popular swim area and you are allowed to picnic there and some people aren't good about the no glass, or garbage, it makes me nervous about what's under there. Today I swam with my teva's. I will probably do this for a while as I'm not going in where the tri is and so may not be clean.

    Thanks for the advice I really do appreciate it.
  • AZTrailRunner
    AZTrailRunner Posts: 1,199 Member
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    barefoot except for a few races where the swim exit was a 1/4 mile from the T-area (or more), and the path was rough.

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