Bike Shoes?????

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Hey there fellow Triathletes!!
I am brand new to posting on forum, although I have lurked for quite a while.
I just want to say that as I am going through my day, snippets of your colletictive wisdom keep me going.

A little about me. I had begun training for my first triathlon 6 years ago, and 3 weeks away from the race, found out that I was expecting our third child. It took me a while to get things settled out and begin training again, but here I am, preparing for a Mothers' Day Tri at Disney World.

I am soo excited (most of the time) and this will be fun for us all. I will log in daily to see what everyone else is doing as the season cranks up.

Okay, here is the question, because you knew that was coming, right?
Do you reccommend bike shoes for the first sprint Tri?
I just thought that I would throw on my running shoes during T1 and go. Plus, I am trying to get out of this an inexpensively as possible. However, I have been told that they really make a difference. I really don't see myself doing this more than once or twice a year, and never more than a sprint, as I am the world worst runner.

Thanks for all your input!!!

Welcome! I am fairly new here, too. Just gearing up for tris as well.

Cycle shoes make a huge difference for me. They are more comfortable and you get more power from each stroke (this will help you save your energy for the run). I wear them anytime on the bike--even for spin classes. I highly recommend them.

If you are comfortable on your bike with running shoes on... and that is how you have trained, DO NOT change it up at the last minute. Train like you race, race like you train.

Learning how to ride with clipless pedals/cycling shoes will probably add more stress and money... that it will be worth to you. I say this because you said that you won't be doing this that much.

This past weekend, I observed a duathlon, and many of the competitors wore their running shoes on/off the bike... no cycling shoes. They still did a great job and didn't come in last.

I would also ask you how much you are cycling, outside of competition. I love my cycling shoes... but then again I ride 30-100 miles a week. When you ride that much, you want clipless pedals. If you don't ride that much, then why bother?

Do your first sprint without them. If you *feel* like you need them... then you can upgrade later. For now, don't worry about all the details... just go out there and have fun... and race like you train.

Like KSH says, it's probably not worth getting cycling shoes for two tri's a year, but if you love cycling and are on your bike several days a week, then cycling shoes/clipless pedals are _so_ nice. I would _never_ go back to not having them.

I think you have enough time, between now and Mother's Day, though, to get used to clipless pedals if you wanted to.

OTOH, you could do the first tri and ride your bike in your running shoes and have one less little thing to stress about in transition for your first time.

Still, I know it would stress me _more_ to try to ride in running shoes rather than worrying about one extra shoe change.

PS, you may get addicted!!!

Nanci

Me? Get addicted?? Naaahhhh!! I am perfectly balanced and never obesessively pursue anything;)! I just have the latest issue of Triathlete and am mentally recording times of the top IronMan finishers for a hobby. (Did I mention that it came with an event guide for the rest of 2006?)

Thank you for the insight... I have decided that if I can get some shoes at a bargain price, it's a done deal.Otherwise, it's my trusty Adidas for this first race.

Hope your day is a blast!!!