Just roll with it
August 18, 2011It’s true that I am just a triathlon newbie. But tonight I am packing for my second sprint triathlon, and I have trick that I think is worth sharing.
In the spring when I was doing my first race, I went to an informational meeting and was told most people don’t wear socks for sprint triathlons. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Biking without socks didn’t sound too, too bad, but running without them? It just sounded painful! We were encouraged to give this a try because getting socks on wet feet is nigh impossible, especially if you are trying to hurry things along in transition. So I ran without socks. And it wasn’t so bad. I thought, hey, I can do this. Then on my second or third sockless run I ran through a patch of sandy gravel, which then got in my shoe and then rubbed me raw in all the horrific ways I had first imagined. I ended up cutting the run short and limping back to my car. Sockless running was NOT going to cut it for race day. So, what to do?
The answer: roll the darn socks on.
When you are packing your race bag, put your socks on your clean, DRY feet.
Clean and dry, put on the normal way.
Fold the cuff down about a quarter of an inch.
One tiny fold to start.
Using your fingers, or hand push the fold until it starts to roll in on itself. Roll down the whole cuff and keep rolling. The heel seems like it will cause a bit of an issue, but it truly doesn’t. Just push hard.
Soon you will have rolled them right off your feet and your sock will be ready to go.
Yes, basically you have made a sock condom. But just roll with it. Literally! Your socks will totally keep this shape and you can just tuck them into your shoes.
You can test out the effectiveness by soaking your feet in the bathtub and then rolling the socks back on. I promise you can roll a sock on a wet foot just as fast as you can slip one on a dry one.
What fun race tips do you have?
