I know that this sounds like some bad reality show, but I am doing my first duathlon next month and don’t really know what to wear. 5K run, 20K bike, 5K run. It being March, I assume it will be chilly, maybe even raining.
tri shorts and top and arm warmers. done.
Agreed, i have a duathlon next week and it will probably be colder and wet. Only use socks if it is dry outside, made that mistake before.
What is the expected weather?
I usually go with a trisuit and arm warmers. You can have them pushed down on the first run, pulled up on the bike, and off for the second run. Also remember toe covers for the cycling shoes.
I also usually have a 12x18 sheet of wrapping foam in T1 to stuff into my trisuit as a chest windblock if it’s going to be freezing (easy to pull out and stuff into the trisuit’s rear pocket if it gets too hot. Rarely need this though due to all the body heat from the run.
Saucony mankini. fuck the weather
I’ve done that race every year for the past 8 years and we can really get a variety of weather conditions. After a bunch of different configurations I usually now go with a pair of thin tights and an aero top. With that 5/20/5 distance the heart rate is pretty high and you can stay pretty warm thru sheer effort, although at times it can be chilly on the run. Maybe try NOT to wear gloves, especially if you have tri bike shoes. Lots of time can be wasted trying to seprate the tri shoe velcro from your gloves!
I would also use platform pedals and running shoes on the bike.
I would also use platform pedals and running shoes on the bike.
Especially if going gloveless. Numb fingers probably make for more difficulty putting on and taking off shoes. I know they wreak havoc with quick transitions and helmet snaps.
It depends how you do with extreme cold. A lightweight cycling vest can be very nice for cold duathlons. Unzip it for the runs and there is ventilation front and back. Zip it on the bike and you are insulated from the cold.
Especially if going gloveless. Numb fingers probably make for more difficulty putting on and taking off shoes.
That wasn’t actually my reasoning for the suggestion, but it would play into it.
The actual suggestion is because of the format of a duo vs a tri. In a duo you start out with running shoes on (and probably socks if it is cold) so there is no time savings to not putting on socks, and if you are not going to do a flying mount, then there is no reason to change shoes. In a 20 K bike the time lost between clips and platforms is pretty low, especially if you just mash, as a lot of triathletes claim to do (see a previous heated thread). So why change shoes twice to gain very little when you can run into and out of transition in actual running shoes, and not have to sit down to change on top of that.
My wife likes to do duo’s and after some video of transition and experimental timing we discoverd that for her doing everyhing in her Zoots was faster.
Your results may vary.