In our opinion compression socks can be beneficial for triathletes. They are great for recovery from hard runs, long days at work, or traveling. They can also be used during hard training runs if you don’t mind getting heckled by 99.9% of the population. Wearing them in a race, however, we’re not sold on. If you can put those things on in under 1 minute, they are most likely not tight enough on your calves to be having any effect anyway. There is a compromise – calf sleeves, that you could tuck under your wetsuit during the swim and not have to waste time in transition putting the full compression sock on.
The people who run the Ironman show (WTC) had recently placed a ban on compression socks – but it does look like they’ve reversed that decision for Kona this year. The issue was that they thought athletes were gaining an unfair advantage by covering up their respective age categories. Sounds like they have eliminated the ritual of putting the athletes age on the back of the calf altogether.
Continue reading Compression Socks
Well, Ironman Triathlon Tips is going to be on hold for a bit. H and T will be starting their full time effort in the sport of long course triathlon and driving south to California. We’ll get going on the Internet connection as soon as possible and get back on the daily tips right away. A few minor details to work out but it should be good. If you sign up for the email feed you’ll start getting emails again once the tips start coming. We’re hoping to incorporate a video section as well.
On that note – today’s tip is about driving to your race.
With the cost of air travel – plus the need to pack your bike, driving to a race can be a great option. If you need to power-drive be sure to get in plenty of rest stops. And not just a quick ‘out of the car and pee’ rest stop either, take the time for a good 10-15 minute jog every few hours. Playing hacky sack is another great way to get the muscles and joints moving. Hacky Sack will loosen up the tight driving muscles. Hip flexors in particular. Kick a soccer ball or lie on the grass and stretch. Anything to shake out the legs every few hours.
Continue reading Driving to a race
Keep this one handy ’cause it will save you a trip to the bike store before and after every race. Swapping your cog set from a training wheel to a racing wheel and back again is super easy and something you can do on your own. You’ll need 3 tools and 2.5 minutes. 5 minutes if you want to clean your cog set at the same time.
You can pick two of these tools up at most bike stores. The other is your standard Vice Grip or Monkey wrench.
Tool #1. Chain Whip – Used to hold your cogset in place while you unscrew the lock ring.
Continue reading Change your cog set
A quick tip for race night, more like a reminder actually. Don’t forget to bring ear plugs to your next race. Most of us are extremely light sleepers the night before a race. Mainly due to race nerves and pre-race angst. Having a set of ear plugs within reach can save the night [...]
In our opinion compression socks can be beneficial for triathletes. They are great for recovery from hard runs, long days at work, or traveling. They can also be used during hard training runs if you don’t mind getting heckled by 99.9% of the population. Wearing them in a race, however, we’re not sold on. If you can put those things on in under 1 minute, they are most likely not tight enough on your calves to be having any effect anyway. There is a compromise – calf sleeves, that you could tuck under your wetsuit during the swim and not have to waste time in transition putting the full compression sock on.
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