I have found the ST website and this forum in particular to be very educational over the last year. Practically every question I’ve ever had was answered by sifting through the vast amounts of information on these pages. The breadth and depth are amazing. Slowman and all the regulars on this forum - thank you for all you have done.
One thing that I haven’t seen much of - explanations, photos, or videos of mounting and dismounting a bike. My transition times are quite slow and could use some improvement (2-3 minutes). I would watch what others do but I’m always waiting to start or racing when the fast folks are transitioning. So does anyone have good pointers on the subject?
Currently I just put my shoes on at the bike rack and then hobble along in my cleats until I get to the bike start area. Is there some special way to run and mount the bike if your shoes are already clipped in?
When you leave your shoes clipped in, tie them to your bike with rubber bands to make sure they stay in the correct position. Tie the rubber band to itself and not to your shoe or bike to make sure that when you pedal and brake the rubber band, it falls to the ground instead of dangling the whole race. Also make sure it is small enough to break.
If am of no help here - I like to make friends in transition and sometimes enjoy a formal breakfast upon leaving the water. At a half earlier in the year I came out of the water and there was a really long distance to T-1 and it was all on concrete and I was sauntering along when I heard my coach yelling at me to run. I stopped (just to annoy her) and reminded her that I was 54 years old and had spent over $8000 in MT and PT over the last 3 years to be able to do this and I wasn’t running barefoot on concrete and the crowd was laughing, clapping and loving it. Her only response was to Walk Fast! So I went off dispensing blessings and offering absolutions like the Pope as I proceeded to T-1.
Okay, do I have any sort of point here? Yes. If you do the shoes on the bike thing practice, practice, practice before you do it in a race. I have seen some major ugliness and some major falls when people leave T-1. Best.
My coach, Mike Collins, actually just released a DVD on transitions (Triathlon Transitions DVD Mastering the 4th Discipline!) . A lot of “simple” tips that you just dont think of to save time. it also includes different techniques of mounting and dismounting, what to do with your goggles and cap after the swim, lace locks, etc.
Transitions are the easiest way to shave minutes off your races.
It is amazing how much time is wasted in transition. We have regular practices transitioning to get faster at them.
More then one race I came in ahead of someone in my age group because my combined transitions were 4 minutes and theirs was 10minutes. That is just wasted time.
I would focus first on the easy things. My recomendation is that there is NOTHING you have to put on in T1 other than your bike shoes (unless on the bike), socks, and helmet. Sunglasses - taped to bike, put on when on the bike. Food - on the bike, nothing to grab. Number -on a number belt worn under the wetsuit. Body lube and sunscreen, put on prior to the swim; if you need extra, apply some while riding or running. (I use a good sunscreen, and it is not affected by the swim and wetsuit. So find a sunscreen that works for you, and does not need re-applied.)
(For a non-wetsuit swim, you may need to put the number and a shirt on in T1.)
Just focus on eliminating all the crap. It is amazing to see how complicated some people make their transition setup. The fewer things you have at transition, the faster you will be.
Same goes for T2. All you should need to do is put on your shoes. Worst case, if you have special nutrition needs and/or hat, have it all on ONE belt that you grab and put on as you run. No changing clothes, appying lube, fumbling with anything.
And if you do get fancy, like jumping on the bike while moving or something, practice at least once with wet bikes shorts (or whatever you wear in the race). They are slippery when wet so you slide on your saddle much more.
I like the the clipped in shoes with rubber bands (off the back of the shoes around the pull tab thing around the heel) attached to front derailure and rear skewer (have the rear skewer pointing to 3:00), but I know lots of fast people don’t go rubber bands. In fact, I don’t usually see the rubber bands. And the fastest people I know do not jump on the bike while running, they stop first. I’ve practiced the running mount (and it’s fun), but I’ve never done it in a race. There always seems to be speedbumps or potholes or people or something at the race that make me just stop and mount. Probably like a 2 seconds difference at most.
I bet most of the win is running with shoes clipped in on both transitions.