I'm a sock guy
Part of my prepartion for Ironman Arizona is not just to get the training in, part of being fit for the race is to be mentally prepared. As journaled previously, I'm pretty straight on my nutrition plan already, although I've got a couple more weeks of fine tuning. I was fortunate enough a few weeks back to get to spend the w/e with the Heathe rFuhr, Roch Frey(1), Paula Newby-Fraser, Matt, Jimmy and the rest of the multisports.com crew. Amongst the gems of wisdom gained was one from Heather, she said something to the effect that once you've done the training, you have to make friends with yourself, because of race day you going to be out there on your own for a long time.
Given I'm a habitual procrastinator, for IMAZ, I'm trying to finalize plans as early as I can. I've even started a packing pile in the guest room, even though the race is still 5-weeks away. First item, a small ziplopc bag with one sock in it. I'm trying to be the best friend I have.
At the recent Austin Marathon Relays, Tune and Terry asked me about race wear. They wanted to know if I wore different gear for the bike and the run. My initial, reaction was no. I'd thought I would just swim in my typically tri race gear, add helmet, etc. for the bike and then just change shoes for the run and add a run hat. Well thats what I did for the Longest Day.
They were interested in shorts mostly I think(right guys?). I definately won't wear swim trunks, change into bike shorts, then change into something for the run. Some will do, but not me. I can certainly understand though why women would want to, they certainly have more to benefit from a good pair of cycling shorts.
I've made another decision though, I'm going to do the run in one sock. I never normally wear socks for racing, even up to half ironman. Currently if I wear a pair of socks, my left foot on the outside front blisters. Thats mostly a result of my new toe-strike run and the fact that my left foot still takes more impact than my right. If I run with no socks, anything over about 9-miles, then the stitching on the inside right foot arch starts rubbing on my foot, and I get blisters.
So the decision is, run with a right sock. I'll put the left sock in a small baggie and put it in one of the De Soto Forza tri shorts pockets. I have three pairs of these now, and I have to say, they are the best piece of triathlon kit I own, bar none. So, thats shorts and sock sorted out, if it rains I'll have a dry sock available anytime. Sweet!
(1) Yes, Roch is the race director for IMAZ
Given I'm a habitual procrastinator, for IMAZ, I'm trying to finalize plans as early as I can. I've even started a packing pile in the guest room, even though the race is still 5-weeks away. First item, a small ziplopc bag with one sock in it. I'm trying to be the best friend I have.
At the recent Austin Marathon Relays, Tune and Terry asked me about race wear. They wanted to know if I wore different gear for the bike and the run. My initial, reaction was no. I'd thought I would just swim in my typically tri race gear, add helmet, etc. for the bike and then just change shoes for the run and add a run hat. Well thats what I did for the Longest Day.
They were interested in shorts mostly I think(right guys?). I definately won't wear swim trunks, change into bike shorts, then change into something for the run. Some will do, but not me. I can certainly understand though why women would want to, they certainly have more to benefit from a good pair of cycling shorts.
I've made another decision though, I'm going to do the run in one sock. I never normally wear socks for racing, even up to half ironman. Currently if I wear a pair of socks, my left foot on the outside front blisters. Thats mostly a result of my new toe-strike run and the fact that my left foot still takes more impact than my right. If I run with no socks, anything over about 9-miles, then the stitching on the inside right foot arch starts rubbing on my foot, and I get blisters.
So the decision is, run with a right sock. I'll put the left sock in a small baggie and put it in one of the De Soto Forza tri shorts pockets. I have three pairs of these now, and I have to say, they are the best piece of triathlon kit I own, bar none. So, thats shorts and sock sorted out, if it rains I'll have a dry sock available anytime. Sweet!
(1) Yes, Roch is the race director for IMAZ