IRONMAN 70.3 OCEANSIDE

I used toe clips my first three years in the sport.  In my last race before my wife got me the pedal upgrade, I average 22 MPH in an Olympic triathlon where the overall winner was just 24.2 MPH on the bike (and 24.5 for the top bike split).  

After 4 years with bike shoes and clipless pedals, I have improved to where my bike split at my last race was 23.5 MPH at an Olympic Triathlon 6 months ago (top bike splits were around 24.6 MPH).  During those same 4 years, I increased my FTP from 268W to 315W so I really don't know how much the bike shoes are saving me. 

I didn't do my first duathlon until 2019 but when I was still using top clips and running shoes on the bike I thought that if I ever did a duathlon I would consider using the toe clips again since I save 15 seconds in transitions by not having to change shoes.  When it came right down to it I just practiced until I could shave another 5-10 seconds off the shoe change.  

My best run splits have come after starting to use bike shoes.  I am wondering if the bike shoes help save my legs for the run because I am feeling fresher when I get to the run these days than I ever was in my first four years in the sport.  I am not sure on that either though.

Oh...and my first triathlon was a 70.3 event with two transitions areas.  One guy left his bike shoes in the run transition area and got to T1 with no shoes.  He road the entire 56 miles barefoot just curling his feet around his speed play popsicle pedals.  He had the fastest bike split of the day (24 MPH) and was the overall winner.  So...bike shoes are not going to make or break your race.