Strip the wetsuit off entirely in the water…it is easier…I remove the top half as soon as I’m walking and then remove the bottom part when the water is just below my knees or so; much faster that way.
Gosh, you must be the happiest triathlete I’ve seen.
My advice is to mentally give yourself a sense of urgency to get out of there but not so much as it stresses you out. Like others have said start removing the top of your wetsuit as soon as you get out of the water, have all of your stuff organized in transition, and get out of there.
If you can skip socks on the bike that will help. Also don’t mess around with your wetsuit, show it who is boss… take it off like you mean it.
The more you can wear the whole race, the less time you spending changing. Big time saving there. The only things I change are goggles to glasses, swim cap to bike helmet to cap, and bare feet to socks with bike shoes and then into running shoes.
Speed laces are great to save time putting on running shoes.
Some poeple swear by the shoes on bike bit, but practice that a lot if you want to do it. My testing that out in practice doesn’t convince me it would save me time though.
It’s easier to take a wetsuit off right at the water’s edge than after all the water gets shaken out of it by running. Plus, that makes the run to T1 easier because you have been upright for a little while before trying to start running.
As usual I will give you my tips, and I tend to have the fastest T1 and T2 times in races I do.
(Not bragging, just the facts that I know what I am talking about)
I start off by wearing everything I will wear on the bike and run under the wet suit. (I do not do
the race number. I put that on a race bib, and only put on for the run, unless they demand on the bike)
I take off as much of my wet suit as I am running. I hit my water tub as I get into T1 to get crap off of my feet.
I then Shove one foot on the wetsuit leg and pull one leg out, and then switch for the other.
I then get on one knee, put on a shock and then shoe, and then get on the other knee and do the same.
Then throw on the helmet, glasses, and run like hell to the bike mount. As I said, I usually have either the top, or top
few transistions times. (You can ask cousin elwood if this is true after I kicked butt at the last race we did together)
In my last tri, my t1 time went from the typical, bottom-50%, to a top 20% when I made the following changes:
Took wetsuit off IMMEDIATELY after exiting the water. Wetsuits dry extremely fast and they are most “slippery” to get off right when you get out. Don’t run to transition. Do it there.
Not sitting down in transition. You can towel off your feet, put socks on (yes socks don’t add much time if they are completely rolled down and you “roll” them onto your feet"), and put shoes on - all standing up. It’s faster.
Practicing t1 and t2 at home in the week prior to the race. I did multiple t1 practices except for the wetsuit-peeling part. I’d hose down my legs, run up to t1 with wetsuit in hand and get onto my bike as quickly as possible. Bike around the block, back into the driveway and then do a t2 practice right there. Repeat. Time each one and you’ll see you’re getting faster.
It can make a surprising difference in your overall race time!
If youre comfortable with it, shoes clipped in and do a flying mount(run with bike and jump on saddle while running, is that what its called?). Use a thin rubber band to hold the left shoe to the rear skewer so it stays level and upright. If you dont feel confident running and jumping on the bike id say skip the shoes being already clipped in. I save quite a bit of time by doing it this way
What Picklepork said. If you’re spending more than 2-min in T1, you’re doing something wrong. Albeit it took me several tri’s to figure out how to get it that low. Some other tips:
Place your helmet upside down on your aero bars with the straps open and ready to put on
Pull the top of your wetsuit down (or off if a 2-piece) while running to T1
Take off cap and goggles while running to T1
Run to T1
Quickly pull your wetsuit off your legs
Put on your helmet - should be facing the right direction if you followed the first tip above
Run with your bike holding the saddle. It’s faster than holding the stem or handle bars - practice this
PRACTICE transitions during training. Setup a towel and all your stuff in your garage or something, and have someone time you doing it. You’ll figure out fast what you’re doing that’s wasting time.
I have NOT yet graduated to the running mount with shoes already on the pedals yet - that’s my goal for next year. But right now I can do all of the above, putting my shoes on in T1, and still exit T1 in 1:30 or less. Without a wetsuit, it’s about 15-30 seconds faster.
OK, the real numbers were you beat me in T1 by 6.4 seconds and I beat you in T2 by 0.6
I plan to have someone film your next race so I can figure that one out. I had a slow T1 with wetsuit stickage, so I really expected to lose that one by 15-20 seconds. But how you could get through T2 faster than I did is a total mystery, because I dismounted on the run and you had to come to a stop. I know you run faster than I do (significantly so) but that one just goes completely against all logic. You ran about 100 yards through transition in bike shoes, including a stop to change to run shoes and managed it in 33.6 seconds. I did the same in bare feet, and without stopping my bike (I hopped off at ~10 mph) so I need to see the forensic evidence.
Next time I’ll have better control of my wetsuit AND I’ll run faster and dismount at a higher speed. You haven’t seen the last of me!!
Interesting suggestion to strip wet suit in water (or am I misunderstanding), The water would act as a lubricant, I have major issues with my feet, am considering adding zippers in back, this might do it.
“am considering adding zippers in back, this might do it.”
I cut 2" off the bottoms of the legs on my wetsuit and it is shocking how much faster the suit comes off.
Before cutting, it was a full on wrestling match to get the suit off my feet. Now, it just flys right off. I highly doubt the 2"
band off the bottome of the legs makes much of a difference speed wise while swimming.
First of all, thank you for that smile, it lights up the screen.
Most good points already made, but 2 worth repeating since many people think they are necessary when they are not.
No socks, they are totally unnecessary in a Sprint and Oly. If you have hot spots on your feet, simply use white medical tape, it is water proof. After you tape your pinkie toes (ok, thats my problem, not proud of it) use a little talcum powder to eliminate any stickiness on the edges of the tape that may otherwise pick up sand etc.
No water tray. Even if there isnt a foot rinse to run through, a quick towel rub will remove debris. Furthermore, most people hate the person with the water tray since it always spills and drenches their stuff.
