HI Guys, Thanks for the great thread.
I have been barefoot running for just over a year, and about to do my big Triathlon race in 3 wks - an Olympic / International distance. It includes 10k swim (0.9miles) 40k bike (24.9 miles) 10k run (oh come on, you all know this one!) - Anyway - 2 big issues came up reading through the previous posts. #1 - My race and many others are sanctioned by USAT (multi-sport) - this group's rules arent discussed yet in this thread. #2 - USATF is the defense for barefoot! If you can run a barefoot according to the running people -then that is precedent for ITU.
Actually - a couple of those rules dont make sense - no bare torso? no crawling? WHY?
Anyway--- here is the post I was originally going to paste here...
This week I was signed up for a "mock" Sprint Triathlon. I think a normal one would be 1/2 mile swim, 12.5 mile bike, 3.1K run. Main reason this was a mock, it ws $15 and pretty self-supported. No signs for bike turns, but there was a volunteer with water on the run and another volunteer telling you to turn around on the out-and-back.
My swimming was pretty bad. I recently bought "better" quality goggles and they werent fitting right. Got water in. Kept adjusting. Form was way off on way out, but got into a rhythm. On way back, I was very far off course. Sun was in my eyes and goggles had zero tint. I said to one of the kayak / lifeguards - "I cant see anything" - finally I saw the buoy and got back on course. - Bike route was fun and easy. Since I was so slow in the water I figured Id catch some people on the bike. Nope. No one? Oh well. Turns out I missed a turn and everyone else did 10.4 miles. I did 14.7. Finally the run. This was a fun group of people and they have been to other races to support each other. One guy asked if I was doing this barefoot and I said, "the swim I am!"
The run route, I didnt know at all. They had mentioned that it would be a little short. It started out with gravel for maybe 50 yrds then was asphalt. As I came off my bike, the shoes felt heavy and I really considered tossing them off. Especially with the barefoot support! But I wore the shoes. I was able to pick off about 5 people on the run and come in 25/30 despite my horrible first 2 legs of the race.
*Part of the reason I didnt want to was because I ran barefoot the day before and with some old dry skin, some soaking in the lake for 27 minutes, I didnt know how messed up my feet would look after the run -
So- I cant stop thinking about barefoot Triathlon. I have done 13 mile races barefoot, but what about an easy Sprint Triathlon? 12 miles on the bike is an issue. I havent done any barefoot biking. I would need to try that out. I mean, the swim is barefoot for everyone. People on bikes (who are "serious" - serious = everyone but me) buy into clipless bike shoes. With Triathlon, you are timed for everything, including getting out of the water and getting onto your bike (Transition 1) - I loved going from bike to run in 37 seconds! Kept the same shoes on. But I imagine I might go faster if I can keep my wet feet on the bike as I take off, and keep those dry feet bare on the asphalt as I start to run.
Race is in 3 weeks. I'll keep thinking. My issues.
-Comfort: how hard will biking be barefoot?
-Safety: What if I stub my toe or worse, fall off the bike going 35 mph?