Whenever possible, ride your bike on the painted white line. It has less rolling resistance than the opposing road surface. ALso helps keep you riding in a straight line, which seems to be a problem with a lot of triathletes....Bet you never heard that one Dev...From the deep archives of Monty's secrets....

1. "Eat and drink on downhills on the bike "

Could be very dangerous, depending on the hill.

Monty, I actually have tried that one and I agree it works. If nothing else riding in straight line ups your speed by almost 1 mph...when I do it, it feels like riding on rollers.

Learn to remove your feet from your shoes without unclipping while coasting into T2. I know it's not much of a secret, but it can shave off a good 10 seconds worth of unclip-hobble-sit-unstrap-pry off. I don't see that many people doing it.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

unless of couse it is raining:)

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http://www.endurancesports.ca
Coaching and Training Camps

I use that a lot, especially on chip seal roads as it smooths out the surface somewhat. The two exceptions are when it marks the edge of a road which is unswept and there is a lot of debris there or in the rain.

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

I gotta agree about number 2, quick transitions. I'd recommend practicing them all season long though, not just in the week before your A race. Figure out exactly what you need to do during T1 and T2 by knowing what you need to take with you on the bike and what you'll need for the run. I was meticulous, down to the nth degree, about my transitions this year, and it paid off: one of my early season victories was sealed by having flawless transitions. This was a Formula 1 duathlon, too, so there were four transitions, not just two! I think I was through each one in about 20 seconds.

My tidbits about transition (I'm a duathlete, but most will work for tris as well):

1. Set your helmet, upside-down, on top of your aerobars or in the space between the aerobars and base bar, with the straps hanging down the sides of the helmet. Orient the helmet so that the front faces you as you approach the bike from the run/swim entrance, so that you can easily flip it on.
2. Put your sunglasses, if you're doing a tri, inside your helmet with the arms out, so that they are easy to put on.
3. For triathletes, start freeing yourself from your wetsuit before you get to your bike, so that you spend as little time standing still as possible. For duathletes, zip up your jersey before transition if you run with it unzipped. It's also helpful to use elastic laces (a la Yankz!, et al.) for your running shoes.
4. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS walk through the transition area once you have racked your bike, so that you know which direction you will approach the rack from, how far of a run in and out it is, and what the fastest way to get to the mount line/from the dismount line is. If you don't, you risk getting confused in the chaos of the race, and could spend valuable seconds or minutes completely lost.
5. Learn how to do flying mounts and dismounts. I've found that dismounts are easier, and flying mounts can be pretty tricky. I modified my flying mount technique so that it works for me, and isn't really any slower than jumping right onto the bike. Figure out what works for you, and practice it a LOT. And don't forget to use rubber bands.
6. As a corrolary to #5, train your feet to go sockless if you can. My LG tri shoes are plenty comfy on my bare feet, and I have made some basic modifications to my running shoes to prevent chafing/blistering. I also do all my indoor riding, outdoor riding above 55 degrees, and track workouts (in my racing flats) sockless.
7. If you need nutrition on the bike, find a way to attach it. There are plenty of options for this, from gel flask holders to bento boxes, as well as all sorts of fluid carriers. The less you have to put in your pockets, the faster your transition.
8. Rack your bike by the nose of your saddle, so that you can get at it easily and it's already facing away from the rack. When you unrack, push your bike back slightly and let your bike disengage from the rack, then pull it forward, under the rack (all but the highest saddles will have no trouble with this) and your bike is already moving forward.
9. Use non-A races to practice your transitions in a real race setting, without having to stress about getting everything right. Since you just came out of the water or off the first run working as hard as you would in a race (duh, since you ARE racing), you'll know exactly what it's like to try to think and concentrate when under racing stress.
10. Above all else, visualize your transitions mentally. The more mental practice you have, the better, because then you'll have your entire routine pre-planned in your head and all you ahve to do is modify it to the particulars of that race's transition area.

If you are shooting for a PB, or to podium in your AG, work on those transitions so that, come race day, you can get yourself underway in your next leg while others are still fumbling around. The mental boost that comes from that is enormous.

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I race duathlons and like it.

"""""Put your sunglasses, if you're doing a tri, inside your helmet with the arms out, so that they are easy to put on.""""

it's actually faster to hook them through your helmet upside down or however you can get them to stay, then put on your sunglasses after you are rolling on your bike. Another option is to slip an arm between the waterbottle cage and the water bottle, then grab just after tightening the final straps on your cycling shoe.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

A-train. This is awesome. I always ride and run with no socks until it gets really cold. Winter no socks cutoff is minus 5. Biking no socks cutoff is plus 7. I had a buddy whose bike shoes were permanently attached to his bike. He mounted and dismounted that way for every training ride.

I agree, that would probably be a bit faster. WHen I did tris, I always put them on before putting on my helmet, but I don't worry about it anymore since I run with them on in duathlons. Good point though, hadn't thought of that!

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I race duathlons and like it.

This one is more geared towards an ironman..

- In the days before the race. Stay off your feet and out of the sun as much as possible. Get your workouts over early and then bring lots of DVD's or in the case of L.P. watch The Tour on the bed in your hotel. Don't ruin a perfectly good taper by walking up and down main street all day window shopping. Promise the Spouse and Kids the vacation will start after the race.

How often does he turtle at red lights?

...he just does track stands :-)

Actually his name is Marty Raymond.

Check out www.ultramanlive.com.

He is competing there this weekend. Not like transitions are a huge deal at Ultraman, but they were when we raced head to head in military competition 15 years ago.

I start and finish each ride with my shoes still attached to the pedals. If I stop for water, I leave the shoes attached to the pedals. The only time I unclip is for a red light or something requiring a quick stop. I mainly do this to extend the life of my cleats, but it does give me faster tranisitions, however the last 3 M-Dot races I have done have not allowed us to leave our shoes on the pedals before the race and this has lead to me fumbling around for a second or two while I clip in. I guess a second or two shouldn't matter in a day that long, but I should practice regular clipping in more frequently to avoid any frustration from that 1-2 secs of fumling around.

Steal some Zipp wheels.

not bad, but you forgot "Do not brake on downhills while biking."

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Where would you want to swim ?

I know this doesn't apply to you Dev, but for most of us, including me, losing five to ten pounds would be a huge factor, even if the overall fitness level remains the same. I am currently at about 14% body fat. I'd like to get down to around 10% by next spring.

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Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (James Bryant Conant)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (Doug Stern)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (William Shakespeare)

[reply]Eat and drink on downhills on the bike[/reply]
Hmmm. this is the worst time to go aero.

What do others think?

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

[reply]Whenever possible, ride your bike on the painted white line. It has less rolling resistance than the opposing road surface. ALso helps keep you riding in a straight line, which seems to be a problem with a lot of triathletes....Bet you never heard that one Dev...From the deep archives of Monty's secrets....[/reply]

Ah, hell - I thought i was taking that secret to the grave.

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

I try to eat and drink on the uphills where air resistance is less important.

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_________________
Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

Spend two minutes running for every minute you spend dinking around on the computer and we are all going to be on the podium, I promise.

LOL, so true, so true

maybe gary Tingley had it right by exiting the board.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I was actually talking about things you can do to gain speed without doing any more training or spending money. Truly free speed. You have to work to lose 5-10 lbs.

I was actually talking about things you can do to gain speed without doing any more training or spending money. Truly free speed. You have to work to lose 5-10 lbs.



Ah, actually... not in my case. If I just spent less time checking out the kitchen. I eat way too much for my size. In fact fewer steps walking to the kitchen, and less money spent at the market would save me both time and money. :-)



I got your original post and your intent, but my free speed is in those next five pounds.

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Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (James Bryant Conant)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (Doug Stern)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (William Shakespeare)