Barefoot Triathlon

[jameskulchyk]

Good day all you fellow barefoot whackos!!

On August 29, I completed my first Sprint Distance Triathlon. Went for a 750m swim, 20k bike and then a 5k run, which, as my shiney new photo shows...I ran barefoot.

The race was in Cobourg, Ontario and it was one of the funnest things I've ever done.

Of course, I was the only barefoot whacko in the field of 177, so while, technically I was 126th out of the 177, I did finish first in the barefoot category.

I also won the award for the blackest feet across the finish line.

Yippeeee!!!!

I got lots of ooo's and ahhhh's from the spectators and fellow competitors....all were curious and friendly!

I would highly recommend a triathlon of any distance to you bunch of barefoot whackos.

You can swim barefoot too!!

James.

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 you can bike barefoot too

you can bike barefoot too ....I mountain biked with my brother-in-law when I was on vacation, barefoot, to his chagrin

 

[SillyC]

Nice!I did two triathlons

Nice!

I did two triathlons this summer. Barefoot at the first, huaraches at the 2nd (trail run). At the one I ran bare, people really did yell at me that I forgot to put on my shoes in transition!

 

[Tender Toes Mark]

Great job, James! Triathlons

Great job, James!

Triathlons are fun. I like the variety of activities.

I ran - and swam - barefoot in my local tri, this summer. I couldn't bike barefoot, though, because the pedals on my bike have uncomfortable metal "grippers" on them (Ha! I'm so non-technical about the gear. No wonder I like barefooting). What are your pedals like? Are they just plain flat rubber pedals? With or without straps? I do like the straps. Anyway, I need to find alternative pedals that work with bare feet. Any suggestions?

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 I don't actually have a

I don't actually have a bike...I rode my dad's mountain bike (had little tiny "spike" thingies on the peddles) when I was visiting, and took a nice long trail ride with my brother in law....didn't bother my feet at all....although, I do have to say, I was very conscious of not stopping via dragging my feet :-D...



BUT I do know that they make peddles for barefooters....I think someone on this forum posted about them at some time in the past

 

[mokaman]

 I just did 2 Sprint

I just did 2 Sprint triathlons in the last 2 weeks...heck of a lot fun. I do wear bike shoes though...biking isn't natural at all anyway.

Saw no barefooters on the first tri but did pass a barefoot runner on the 2nd race...talked to him a bit after the race, he is a teenage kid just out having fun! Lots of people were cheering for the "barefoot runner" as I went by.

 

[Longboard]

I used to always ride shod,

I used to always ride shod, then started doing recreational rides barefoot, but have fully transitioned to doing all riding barefoot (road) on these:

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=01-117595&source=froogle

I don't miss the supposedly required stiffness of cycling shoes a bit, my feet have just strengthened enough to make up for it.

The lack of clips would be an issue to a rider that really does unweight the up-stroking leg like a serious rider is supposed to, but lets face it, only the elite really do.

The only drawback to barefoot cycling for most is the increased potential for injury in a crash, but realisticaly in that event my feet are the least I will be concerned about.

I always wear a helmet and gloves, and along with real bike shorts I look pretty funny riding an expensive bike with $11.00 pedals, but so what!

 

[SillyC]

Longboard - personally, I

Longboard - personally, I find the toeclips make a big difference in extending my pedal stroke. No, I still can't do a real "upstroke", but when I flip my clips to the bottom, I genuinely can't do such a wonderful downstroke. I also find that the toeclips help a bunch with my bike handling, and they make it a lot easier for me to keep pedaling while I eat gummy bears or drink water.

Those barefoot pedals do look cool, but I don't think I'd like to race with them.

 

[Longboard]

I can never be sure, but the

I can never be sure, but the only thing my podiatrist can attribute my total loss of cartilage at the first metatarso-phalangial joint to is my tens of thousands of miles logged cycling in one specific position dictated by my SPD clipless pedals/cleat.

I loved the instant replication of the exactly correct position each time I clipped in, but slowly the damage was being done.

Gummy Bears!? Are'nt you worried about Strep Mutans and the havoc the combination will wreak?

 

[SillyC]

You need to get a dentist

You need to get a dentist that is a runner. Mine is!

She did a great job of explaining to me how to eat things like candy and drink Gatorade with causing minimal damage to my teeth. Apparently, candy isn't really all that bad for your teeth if it's eaten relatively quickly - and Gummy Bears are okay because they are chewed and swallowed, rather than sucked on for a 1/2 hour. Same thing with gatorade. She said Gatorade is fine so long as I don't "nurse" a gatorade bottle for hours. She recommended NOT putting the gatorade in a hand-held or in the bike cage - rather, use water in those bottles.

Know what she said she's seen the worst damage from? Iced coffee. She says people will get a sweetened ice coffee, put it on the desk, and sip it for hours. That's apparently really bad.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Now this is hysterical,

Now this is hysterical, Silly! Board IS a dentist!

 

[Longboard]

She's right about everything

She's right about everything except the Gummy Bears.

Chewing and swallowing would be fine, except that the stickiness leaves residue deep inside the pits and fissures, as well as the margins of any existing fillings, allowing the sucrose to sit around all day like sucking candy or sipping a sugary beverage

My dentist not only runs, but is a true barefoot runner ! I thought you knew that!

 

[SillyC]

Barefoot TJ wrote:Now this

Now this is hysterical, Silly! Board IS a dentist!

Funny! I misremembered. For some reason I thought Longboard worked in a cardiac catheterization lab.

He and my dentist will have to duke it out!

 

[Longboard]

Naw,I just do angioplasty on

Naw,

I just do angioplasty on the side for friends after hours.

Been using stents hand woven out of left-over huarachi straps, they seem to be working out o.k.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Board here is a regular Doc

Board here is a regular Doc Holiday, Silly.

 

[SillyC]

Longboard wrote:She's right

She's right about everything except the Gummy Bears.

Chewing and swallowing would be fine, except that the stickiness leaves residue deep inside the pits and fissures, as well as the margins of any existing fillings, allowing the sucrose to sit around all day like sucking candy or sipping a sugary beverage

My dentist not only runs, but is a true barefoot runner ! I thought you knew that!

To be fair, longboard... I'm gonna eat them, or something else that is mostly sugar, on long runs and during long events regardless of what happens to my teeth. We had a lengthy chat about "long run nutrition". She was of the opinion that Gummy Bears are better than raisins and swedish fish (which are stickier), and more or less on par with anything else that is mostly sugar. She thought that my mouth would "probably" recover if the Gummy Bears were a once-a-week thing, rather than eating a pack of them at my desk every day.

Longboard... can you suggest a better alternative? We were chatting about what we thought might be better, and everything we came up with was either difficult to carry, too easily choked on, or too hard on the GI tract while running.

 

[Longboard]

Raisins are worse, and

Raisins are worse, and despite most people's reluctance to accept it, fructose is worse than sucrose for teeth.

People eating honey "because it's natural" instead of sucrose (they must suppose that sugar cane isn't natural or something!)

are making a mistake thinking it is a healthier alternative.

The stickiness thing is mostly a factor in pit and fissure decay. If you have had yours sealed or filled the Gummy Bears pose no greater risk than any other sugary product. If your pits and fissures are not decayed, have never been filled, and are not sealed, by your age that would indicate that pit and fissure decay will not be an issue for you.

The ideal readily available carb for distance in my opinion would also re-hydrate you, numb any pain, reduce the numbers of cariogenic microbes in the oral cavity, create a mild euphoria, and taste good at the same time...........hmmmmmm............

something like...........BEER!!!!

Does anyone make a refrigerated hydration belt?

When I was riding the triple tandem pulling a trailer, we actually carried a cooler filled with beverages!

1 mph uphill, but 50 mph downhill!

 

[GeorgesRun]

Congrats on the Tri, James! 

Congrats on the Tri, James! If I thought I wouldn't drown, I'd want to try one just to be first in the barefoot catagory (as long as there's a field of one!), but I swim like a drowning victim, so I'm always in awe of the triathletes!



I don't do long runs yet barefoot, but back in the before-time, with shoes, I would have a bottle of sugary sport drink in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. I never asked my hygenist if the water swish rinse was enough to mitigate 2 hours of sipping gatoraid, though. I did finally convince her that my sipping iced coffee wasn't a sin, since I drink it unsweetened and black, which leaves the pH pretty close to spit. Um, that sounded a little less appetizing than I meant it to...

 

[Longboard]

One simple thing to remember

One simple thing to remember is that smooth surface decay is 100% preventable through brushing and flossing despite a sugery diet. The catch is you must brush every surface that's brushable (most people keep missing the same ones each time they brush) and you must floss between every single tooth at least once per day.

The pits and fissures can't be cleaned to their depths, but bonded sealent works.

We have three kids, 19, 21, and 29. Not one cavity among the three of them, but every pit asnd fissure was sealed within 6 months of tooth eruption.

Has anybody ever noticed that Halloween and Easter are six months apart?

 

[SillyC]

Longboard - I have very

Longboard - I have very pitted teeth, and a mouth full of very shallow fillings. Every few years, I'll get a couple of fillings put in. I'm anxious to avoid them, though, because I have the phenomenal luck of having a difficult-to-anesthetize lower jaw. This dentist's opinion - which is in line with most of my previous dentists' opinions, is that my diet is already at the point where I'm not likely to see an improvement by eliminating the weekly gummy bears or the monthly can of soda.