transitions, and why they are important!

Newbz, do you practice swim to bike transitions?

How do you go about practicing for them.

i think about them/walk through transition to get the layout more than i ever actually do them at race speeds.

when i first started leaving my shoes clipped in i spent two afternoons getting on the bike slowly at first, and then gradually faster and faster until i could do it at race speeds, getting off it is easy.

after that i left the shoes attached to the bike for the next month or so, so i would have to get used to getting in/out of them without unclipping. however, unless you are racing short races and lookign for 1 or 2 seconds, this is not something i would do, as if you dont do it well and fast, you are more likely to hurt yourself or others than you are to save time and will prob be slower.

as far as actually going through the transitions (both of them), keep everything simple. NOTHING goes in there that does not need to be there. in a sprint race for me this means bike it set up and ready to go. running shoes are on the ground UNDER, not next to the bike, bike is hung by the seat and this stuff is under the back wheel. shoes are sitting toes together, heals apart. helmet goes upside down between them. straps laid out over the sides. if you are going to wear glasses set them in there. you come in from the swim, strip suit, flip helmet up and on, glasses on, bike shoes on (unless they are clipped in), grab bike by seat and go.

comign back in, feet out of shoes, jump off a few feet before the line and grab bike by seat, run to rack. helmet off while running back. shoes on and go. if its a race that requires a number i put it on while i am running.

if you are going to practice it, and even if yo uare not. keep it smooth before you worry about fast. if you can go through and know the order, and what needs to happen, you wont fumble for things, which slows you down. once you have it down well, you go a bit faster. next time a bit faster.

I too was shocked as how effective transitions were in cutting down time in my last 2 Oly races, and even more shocked at how easy it was to get that improvement.

With only ONE two-hour practice session of non-wetsuit bike-run and run-bike transitions, I went from bottom 20% AG transitions to full out flying dismounts at speed with shoes left on the bike, with top 4% (even top 2%!) transition times. Literally in ONE day.

I also think this type of improvement is typical for beginners who invest this sort of time.Doesn't seem like a lot in a 2+hr race, but for those who aren't comfortable with transitions, this is definitely the highest yield 2 hours you can possibly spend for race day, both in terms of time gained, as well as reduction of fear/anxiety (which for me was by far the biggest factor.)

Newbz - any chance you have a picture of your transition race setup?

One thing, while watching one of the transition videos the guy had his glasses on his helmet (stuck thru the vents on the front).    May try that as I currently put my glasses in my helmet (put glasses on first, then helmet).

I think people have very little excuse to not do well in transition.

In my very first triathlon with no transition practice and never wearing a wetsuit before, my T1 + T2 time was 11th fastest of 341 participants.  This helped me jump 8 spots overall from 61st to 53rd.

I had spent months on BT before my first race and read transition tips from everyone. Just keep it simple.  I do my transitions nearly identical to how newbz described it.

T1:
Run to TA while striping wetsuit down to waist
Rip wetsuit off
Put pre-rolled up socks on
Put on shoes
Put on glasses
Put on helmet
Grab bike and go

T2:
Take feet out of shoes during last 100m of ride
Hop off bike in full stride
Run to TA while taking helmet off
Put on shoes w/ pre-tightened elastic laces
Run

Of course it's personal preference if you want to wear socks, have your shoes pre-clipped into your bike, and taking your shoes off while riding.

Just visualize every little step in your head over and over again, and don't panic.  Piece of cake
 

For sprints, just do away with the glasses.

I always place best in transitions in races...free gains on others.

Transitions is both movement through the transition area and how quickly you transition at your bike. I'm good at the later but not so good at former as I'm a slow runner but still do well relative to others. I think it speaks volumes as to how much time folks waste normally at their bike in transitions.

I'm not a fast runner and place normally over all in Olys or longer bottom 10-15% on the run but still place top few in my AG and usually top 20-30% of women in T1 & T2.

I do well in chaos and I think that helps plus I have a system.

Ever heard of contact lenses? I've had mine since I was 15, which is a few years... 



Worn mine in every race i've ever done, without mishap. No, it doesn't save a ton of time, but it is one less thing to worry about.

Face shield on the aero helmet keeps the bugs out.

Edited by the bear 2009-12-22 9:03 AM

Well, since I'm not wasting time "stepping into my shoes" while standing around at the rack, there's nothing to multi-task with.



As I said, it's not always about the time savings. One less thing to worry about, simplification is the primary key. Probably why I don't need a >$50 transition bag to carry and organize my stuff.

Edited by the bear 2009-12-22 9:22 AM

I have always looked at transitions as easy time savings. If I can save 30 seconds in transition during a tri with a 5k run on the end, for me that is equivalent to 10 sec per mile. How much harder would someone have to train in the running discipline to save that kind of time?

I dont know if it was mentioned but during a wetsuit swim where there are no wetsuit strippers please make sure you have plenty of body glide around your calves and ankles to ensure the wetusit slips off easily. My first experience with this cost me over a minute in transiton because I forgot to apply it and I panicked and it took what seemed forever to get the thing off!

I've had someone faster than me in the water, very close to me on the bike and faster than me on the run.  I was faster by 1:30 in transition and finished 2nd in AG ahead of them by 8 seconds.

Can make a huge difference, especially in a sprint.

I don't see the point in trying to learn flying mount - that's for the FOP'ers. I hardly "stand around at the rack" - I get my shoes on quickly, esp considering that I have road shoes and not tri shoes, jam my helmet on and go. I don't bother with socks, I don't sit down, I don't have a freakin' bucket. My transition times, considering my low-level of gear are respectable.

Edited by wurkit_gurl 2009-12-22 10:02 AM

body glide for the neck and under arms (sleveless suit) for me, baby oil on the lower legs slips the suit off fast.
I'm not a leg shaver so it'd take me 2 whole sticks of body glide to lube my calves

I placed 15th OA and 3rd in AG in my first tri, would have been 4th AG if I'd had picked up over 1min in transition times over the 4th & 5th place guys.. only a small event, but the transition times got me a medal!

Great thread and tips by all the posters.  I raced 2 IM races this year, and was totally spoiled by not having to set up a transition area (all your T1 stuff goes in a bag that you get handed...same w/ T2 stuff).  I'd forgotten some of the tips that are posted here.

That said, I prefer to be on the sparse side when setting up transition also.  Helmet goes on aero bars, upside down - straps spread.  Shoes are not clipped in, but coming back to T2 I leave them in.  I am partial to socks, which can be a pain on wet feet.  I always keep a small hand-towel to clean and dry them off.  Most tri's I do involve ocean swims - beach sand can be a real PIA if you don't get it off.

gary no photo sorry, but the only two things on the ground for me in a sprint race are my running shoes and my helmet upside down. i will never again put my helmet on my bike (after my first race when it got knocked off). someone bumps the rack once and every single helmet on bikes goes rolling away./

longer races sunglasses and maybe an extra gel for the run come in (half IM on the gel, anything over a sprint for the glasses)

I find its most beneficial to focus more on transitions during shorter races. there is a corelation beween faster transitions and my relative Age Group ranking. My only win came during a Try-a-Tri (s400/b10km/r2.5km) and for that race I got rid of my bike shoes (used platform pedals with nylon traps) and didn't bother with a wetsuit.
Below is a table of some tris I did the past 3 years - my goal is to get my Sprint transition times below 4% of the total time. For a 1hr race each 1% is worth 36 seconds. I can improve my transitions by 36 seconds simply by practicing and planning for a few minutes before the race. Improving a run or bike time by 36s could take weeks of training.

T1+T2 Transition Time vs. Total time	Type of Tri race	Position
5.19%	Tri-a-tri	Bottom 25%
4.73%	Sprint	Mid-Pack
5.24%	Sprint	Mid-Pack
4.14%	Sprint	Top 25%
4.20%	Sprint	Mid-Pack
3.33%	Tri-a-tri	Won AG
2.99%	Olympic Distance	Mid-Pack
5.07%	Sprint	Mid-Pack
4.40%	Sprint	Mid-Pack
3.17%	Sprint	Top 25%
3.28%	Sprint	Top 25%
3.40%	Sprint	Mid-Pack
2.81%	HIM	Bottom 25%
4.37%	Sprint	Mid-Pack

I disagree on a few things here -

Aero helmet may yield as much, if not more savings than an expensive TT bike aero frame. Most studies show that the $200 aero helmet gives more benefit than $1500 race wheels, so if you're talking performance, aero helmet is 2nd only to aerobars in terms of bang for buck. Not ridiculous at all for nonFOPers or road bike users.

Also, practicing transitions for beginners isn't completely about the speed per se, but the confidence and security of doing so on race day. There's a huge difference between approaching the T2 and starting to experience mild panic versus knowing you can not only go through strong, but gain placements in the process. For me, this was the biggest effect.

And again, flying dismounts are NOT hard to learn. I wouldn't call them a cakewalk, but for the motivated, it only takes one day of practice, about 90-120 minutes worth, to get really good at it. I started using running sneakers, and just swinging my leg over the back. Took me 30 more minutes to actually tap the ground, and another 20 minutes to dismount.  If you do it stepwise (google it), it's safe, easy, and very satisfying.


In retrospect, I wish I had learned smooth transitions before I ever did my first tri. Would have saved me a lot of panic and anxiety.

I am always clipped in with the shoes and always helmet on the bars, never had one fall off yet.

I just looked at my T times for IMCOZ:

swim to bike: 10m
bike to run: 12 m

what was I doing? taking a nap? baking a pie???