14 seconds: how much I missed the podium by this past weekend.
27 seconds: how much slower in transition I was than the #3 finisher.
I actually felt I was pretty quick in the transitions, but I guess not. Help me out: How can I transition faster? Where’s all the free speed?
Jonathan
What others who are faster. Talk to them. Then practice and improve.
As you get better, they are critical.
Dave
Talk to them.
OK, here goes:
" Hi, all you fast transitioners. Wow, that’s a pretty nice bike you have. Although I think your seat may be a little too high. Hmmm, I wonder how you can be so fast in the transitions. What’s your secret?"
Michael Boehmer is the fastest transition guy I have ever seen. He took first place at the Pewaukee sprint tri this weekend. Check out these times:
T1: 40.3
T2: 18.7
Sick! From the water to the transition area was a ridiculous distance, so, his T1 time is mostly running from one location to the other.
Highlights from T1: No wetsuit. No sunglasses. Shoes already clipped in. RUN to bike, throw on helmet and RUN out. Start pedaling right out of T1 and slide feet into shoes.
Highlights from T2: No socks. Yankz on shoes. He was FLYING into transition. Puts one leg over the bike, sitting almost side-saddle. From bike to feet is one fluid motion, going full speed. Shoes stay in clips. Feet on top of shoes as he nears T2. Just off bike, grab by seat and run like hell to spot. Hook bike, drop helmet. Shoes go on while still standing (never sits) and he is off like a flash.
This guy is unreal. He gives clinics at Transition (cycle and fitness) in Pewaukee on how to do transitions.
1 1 Boehmer, Michael 5 Oconomowoc, 00:05:23.5 00:00:40.3 00:36:02.9 00:00:18.7 00:17:59.0 01:00:24.7
Hahaha, awesome. My transitions are variable, sometimes good, sometimes very not so good. But half an hour or an hour spent practicing can pay huge dividends. Even better if you can get someone to time you.
Practice the whole thing. Bike in from 20 meters out, rack your bike on something, change your shoes, etc. Run out (check the time!), turn, run back in, change your shoes, do the flying cyclocross mount, bike out, check the time, turn, bike back in, etc etc etc etc.
Practice taking off your wetsuit. Ugh, this never gets easy.
Especially for short races, consider going sockless.
You can save the most time in transition not by doing things faster but by not doing them at all. So if you can get away with no socks, sunglasses, race number belt, etc. all those things will save you time. Also, learn the cyclocross mounts and dismounts. Don’t be one of those people who comes to a dead stop on the mount/dismount line!
Well, depends. I had a guy who flew buy me on his bike at mile 20. I was able to stay with him for the rest of the race. But, as we were getting to the T area,
he started to have to slow down to start getting his feet out of his shoes. So, I flew by him on the bike, hit the dismount with one shoe unclipped, stopped as I
was getting the other shoe unclipped, tore into transistion, and was out was before him. So, yes, if you can do it all perfect, and somehow get your feet out
of the shoes without slowing down, great. But, for me, I would rather be safe, not lose any speed to the dismount, and still fly into T.
Everyone has to find their optimum process.
Dave
Everyone does have to find their own optimal process. Cyclocross mounts and dismounts are the fastest, though, so if your optimal process includes going as fast as possible, best to learn how to do those.
Na. I have seen the good ones. But I have also seen the folks crash, drop shoes, etc. I may lose a little with putting my socks on and stopping
at dismount, but, this is all for fun and being safe.
Dave
What do you do in transition? How much stuff do you have? Here is what I do and I have some decently fast transitions.
T1:
Helmet is upside down on the aerobars and the front of the helmet is facing me. The glasses are inside the helmet. My shoes are on the pedals already. Sometimes, I’ll have a bento box (shut up) on the bike if I need a lot of nutrition. Otherwise, I’ll either have it in my tri top pockets already or I’ll have it sitting in my helmet to quickly shove in my pockets. So, T1 is is strip off wetsuit, put on sunglasses, put on helmet, put Gus in pockets in feasible, and I’m off. My T1 times tend to be quicker compared to others than my T2 times for some reason.
T2:
My gear for T2 is socks, shoes, hat, and race belt. Optional stuff is more Gu, chamois butter, a water bottle full of water and Nuun. I come into T2 and my shoes are still on my bike. I put the bike up and helmet comes off as well as glasses and they go wherever. I have my stuff stacked. Hat is on the bottom with race belt and Gu on top of it. Shoes go on top of that with socks on the very top. As I get ready, I go down the stack. Socks go on first and then the shoes. At that point, I grab the rest of the stuff and head out of T2. I can deal with it while running because it isn’t that hard to put a hat on while moving. Once I get my nutrition in my pockets, then I can put on the race belt. Like I said, sometimes I have a water bottle that I run with to make sure I have enough hydration and that can get a little tricky. This can throw off your stride a bit but it shouldn’t matter that much since you’re usually getting your land legs back after the bike for the first mile or so anyways. Oh, one trick is to do a sock condom thing. Put your sock on your feet. Then, take them off by rolling them off and make sure you have them rolled up into a ring just like a condom. When you put the sock condom on your feet, put it on just like a condom. Very quick and it doesn’t take you out of the mood.
Also, the T areas are still race so get your ass moving through them. Yes, you may spike your heart rate, but be careful of that.
One thing that my coaches have taught us is “minimal”. I once racked my bike next to another guy in my tri group and the amount of stuff that we had was very minimal compared to other triathletes around us. Also, we have very fast transition times as well. Also, play around with things that you don’t need. I know people that get all of their nutrition off the course. It’s hard for me to do that because I lose 1.8g of sodium an hour and I need more sodium in my nutrition. Also, some people don’t run with socks on and that can save some time.
Muffintop’s final paragraph is pretty much the key. The only thing that should be sitting in transition at T1 is a helmet with your shoes next to it. The flying mount/dismount also saves a lot of time by keeping your momentum going. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
Chad
Will is spot on:
“You can save the most time in transition not by doing things faster but by not doing them at all.”
find something(s) to eliminate.
.
I always smile when I see folks come into T1, take for ever to get off their wet suits. Then have to put on bike shorts and a top, etc.
Got their gloves on. Drink out of their water bottles, etc. Takes them forever.
Dave
Make sure you don’t take the time to thank volunteers until you’re up to speed.
Good stuff, thanks everyone. Couple of follow ups:
Shoes already on the pedals: how does that work? Don’t you risk having them come off as they drag along before you get on the bike?
Wetsuit removal: I always lose some time getting pulling it (sleeveless QR about 5 years old) off my ankles. Tried wetsuit juice and body glide. Any other tricks, or get a new suit?
I’m already going sockless and gloveless, guess I could lose the sunglasses too.
Sidebar question: does the swim out to transition in time count as swim or T1?
When you say you missed the podium, are you talking about overall placement or AG placement? What are you currently doing? No way to offer any meaningful suggestions without knowing what you already do. Sometimes just where the bike is racked can make a big difference. The elites often get the most ideal rack spots, while AGers can get crappy spots. Do you already practice your transitions?
More info is needed from you.
“Shoes already on the pedals: how does that work? Don’t you risk…?”
ha! therein lies the rub. please practice this enough so if/when you race this way you have no question in your mind you can pull it off without killing yourself or more importantly…everyone else.
“I’m already going sockless and gloveless, guess I could lose the sunglasses too.”
there you go. now what else? are you using elastic laces like Easy Laces?
“Sidebar question: does the swim out to transition in time count as swim or T1?”
depends on where the mats are. keep going…you’ve got the idea now. chances are you’ll find more to shave…and no i don’t mean your legs.
I used to have the fastest T times in most of my races. Here’s a few things to consider.
T1-
learn to strip your wetsuit hard and fast. After you peel off the top while running, get ready for one or two big pulls down to get it below your knees. Step up and down in the legs to remove them the last bit. Learn to do this without your hands and you can get started putting on your helmet at the same time.
You dont have to clip your helmet until you’re mounted so if the transition area allows, learn to clip it with one hand as you run with the bike.
learn the running mount and get going. Dont put your feet in the shoes until you get going well and have the room to do it well and fast. if you can, get it done going on flat land or downhill. never on the uphills.
Have all your food/gels whatever for the entire race mounted on the bike (oly and shorter races) shove gels up your pant leg and in pockets. Come in handy when you get to the run. Glasses, if you use them, should be on the bike. I usually could hang them off the brake cables.
T2
get you feet out of the shoes as close to t2 as you can. again, try not to do it on uphills. if you can preride, find the best shoe strip areas before the race. Go hard till you get to the dismount line. Brakes are there for a reason, use them to slow down to a runnable speed and use the “shoot and catch” dismount. with the pedals level, apply a hard push with the leading foot and shoot the bike out in front of you. Catch the seat and go. you’ll hit the ground running and look cool doing it. DONT DO THIS WITH BEHIND THE SADDLE BOTTLES. Dont need them in short races anyway.
unclip your helmet while running to the rack. you can even put it on you bars of your good. it should be off by the time you rack the bike.
Running shoes first. This is where I saw the most trouble. Proper form is to grab the tongue and the heel and force the foot in BEFORE it reaches the ground. Like putting on jeans, you dont step on the shoe before its all the way on. DO NOT SIT DOWN
The only other thing to grab is your # and maybe a hat. Remember, you got your food on the bike. Keeps it easy and also makes sure that you dont forget anything.
I think that about sums it up for me. For short races, this is the best transition I was able to think of. For 1/2’s and IM’s, the potential cost of not putting on socks or not having the proper nutrition far outweighs the speed of the transition. Make it fast by using the sock condom thing already posted and other small tricks but for the most part, its the same.
The most important part is to PRACTICE these things in training. Durring good weather days I started and ended every ride with my shoes in the pedals. Those things didnt come unclipped for weeks at a time. This really is a skill and should be treated as such. It’ll make you safer as well.
Wetsuit removal: I always lose some time getting pulling it (sleeveless QR about 5 years old) off my ankles. Tried wetsuit juice and body glide. Any other tricks, or get a new suit?
Back in the late 70s when I was scuba diving off the northwest coast, the wetsuits didn’t have nylon on the inside and were a major pain to put on and take off. We found one solution that sped up the process immeasurably, use pantyhose. Seriously, get some knee highs and I guarantee you that sucker will slip right off. ; )
More info is needed from you.
I came in 4th out of 16 in my age group, and apparently I haven’t practiced transitions enough.
Swim rank 3
T1 rank 6
bike rank 3
T2 rank 6
run rank 8
Running is where I really need to improve, but that’s another topic. I can save some good time in transition relatively easily. Obviously practice will help, as will the tips received here. Thanks everyone!
Wetsuit removal: I always lose some time getting pulling it (sleeveless QR about 5 years old) off my ankles. Tried wetsuit juice and body glide. Any other tricks, or get a new suit?
I used to cut the bottom few inches off the wetsuit. I dont need to to go all the way to the ankle so I would cut it higher up so I had a larger opening in order to pull them over my size 13 feet.