I’m a long time lurker and hardly ever post. I’ve learned lots about everything triathlon so thanks to all. I do feel the need to post now though. I’m a triathlon rookie with a 20 year background in cycling. I’ve got my first ever tri in coming up. It’s a half Ironman and I’m trying to figure how I’m going to get through transition one. Here’s the question: How does one get into their cycling shorts after the swim? Do you wear your shorts under your wetsuit and do the ride with wet shorts? Or should I strip and change in the transition area? Will I get in trouble with race officials for exposing all my “junk” in public? I’ve found that I will have to wear regular bib shorts for the ride. I’m just not very comfortable in tri shorts for anything longer than 20 miles. Same holds true for transition two: do I change into running shorts or run in my clammy chamois for 13 miles? So what do all you tri veterans do? I need some advice.
You wear your trishorts and jersey under your wetsuit. Take off the wetsuit in T1 and you are good to go. Keep everything on thru the run. No changing needed. Trishorts are designed with the smaller chamois for running.
May I add use a nice glob of chamois cream or bag balm.
I face this same situation for a half on the 20th. Nudity risks a DQ. I will have a towel around me and change shorts under that. Some races have tents, but not mine. I will be weairing bike shorts at IM WI so I want to do everything as I will in Sept.
I don’t really like tri shorts-not enough padding for a long ride and they ride down my behind. I wear bibs and a jersey under my wetsuit and just wear that all day. I have never found the bigger chamois to be uncomfortable on the run and it’s way better on the bike.
Something I learned in the last 2 years (after my wife had a faster t1 than me including her bathroom pit stop in my first HIM) was to develop a mantra. As you run up from the swim just repeat to yourself “Helmet, glasses, shoes, race #, GO!” This assumes you’re not wearing socks on the bike (you shouldn’t) and that you have all your nutrition on the bike already (you should). If you can figure it out, put the glasses on the bike so you can grab them on the road, and wear your race # on a race belt under your wetsuit - then you’re down to “Helmet, shoes, GO!”
Same for T2 - “Socks, shoes, cap, GO!” Again, there is plenty of nutrition for you out on the course.
Also, in a HIM changing into new clothes in transition is unnecessary IMO. Suck it up and wear the trishorts and a top (or one-piece) the whole race. Try the Pearl Izumi trishorts, they are very close to the PI biking shorts.
Just repeat your mantra as you head into T1 & T2 and you’ll be fine.
Notwithstanding all this, I see Mike’s point. I am shooting for comfort in my halfs and my IM this year. I bike in socks because I prefer the feel, and I will bike in bike shorts because I feel great for the first 80 miles of a ride in those things. Not so with my tri shorts.
For me, saving 3 minutes in T1 or T2 is not a big deal vs. some additional comfort and peace of mind. I am MOP-BOP anyway. I am doing this to just finish Moo in Sept., hopefully around 13 hours.
Mike, do what will cause you the least stress and help you reach whatever your goal is.
Absolutely perfect your set up and practice the transition before the race. On the set up, I’m pretty anal - each race, my helmet, glasses etc are in the same exact place and I’m very comfortable I wont forget anything.
I’m not winning any races either, and through trial and error, I know I need socks on the run or I’ll blister. Or at the very least I’ll worry about blistering the whole race, so I dont mind losing the 35 seconds it takes to put the socks on before the sneaks. You may be the same with the shorts, etc., but give conformity a try on a B or C race, then if you dont like it revert to what works for your A race.
find a local tri club and join up. you’ll learn tons about the nitty gritty by hanging out with experienced folks. consider doing a local sprint tri to get an idea of how confusing transitions can get before going into a half IM with no experience. forget something or do something stupid in a half IM transition, your race could suck or even be over pretty soon.
wear tri shorts under your wetsuit. you may be more comfortable in bib shorts, but tris aren’t about comfort. tris are hard core and you can learn alot about yourself by learning to adapt. after some time, you’ll learn to cycle and run without socks, do sprint tris with no shirt at all, and more. you can not believe me now, but after seeing a few tris, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s all about speed… at all costs. Train with what is fastest in the race (no socks and non-bib shorts, for example) and eventually you’ll be as comfortable in those as you were in the other stuff. then you’ll quit having crappy transition times.
For my first HalfIM last year, I just pulled the bike shorts over my swim suit. Had no problems. This year, I’ve raced Halfs using only Trishorts. It took a while for my butt to get used to it, but I’m now comfortable enough on my bike ride 56 miles in trishorts.
tris are famous for the way the athletes go to insane extremes to save time and be more efficient in the transitions. a regular joe-blow triathlete does stuff that a single-sporter wouldn’t dream of.
cyclist - “i race in bib shorts, a castelli half zip jersey, defeet socks, and gel gloves… you?”
triathlete - “on the bike? shoes, helmet, glasses, and a speedo.”
runner- “i wear coolmax shirts, socks, and microfiber shorts when I race. you?”
triathlete - “hmmm… shoes, speedo.”
Everybody starts off in tris with way too much crap in transition. keep your eyes open and watch what the fast people do without. it doesn’t kill them, so it won’t kill you. transitions are the one place where you don’t have to workout like crazy to get faster, you just have to learn to do without junk.
Don’t forget to use Body Glide. In addition to wetsuit removal, I use it with tri shorts on my skin where the chammy contacts the skin, the insoles of my shoes and the heels of my running shoes. By taking the insoles out of my running shoes and lubing them and the heel cups up, I can run with no socks and no blisters. I’d at least wear a sleevless jersey under your wetsuit even if you change shorts. Getting a jersey over a wet torso is a pain. A sleeved jersey may rub your armpits really bad when swimming.
Thanks everyone for your advice. Sounds like I need to “suck it up” and ride in wet shorts. I think I’ll order a tri suit this week and bail on my bib shorts as the bib straps my give be bloddy nipples by the end of a half marathon. Now if I only knew which brand of suit to buy. Any ever try the Voler tri suit?
Yes. It works great. The pad is larger than my Zoot trisuit, but it dries quickly on the bike. Mine also has a single back pocket.
I have to agree with WFO. Racing a tri is not about being comfortable, it’s about going fast. I also think it’s better to do a few sprints and work out the transition problems before doing something as long as a half.
If you can, try a sprint tri before the 1/2 IM. I’m doing a 1/2 IM this summer and am new to the sport. I did a sprint this weekend and I did learn some things that probably would never have shown up in training so it will be worth it. Nothing too major but I’m more comfortable now with the transitions and the race organization and procedures.
The tri short thing was a concern going in but I rode wearing them (without a saddle pad no less) and it was a nonissue. I never even thought about my seat during the race.
No matter how much you practice transitions they are different during the race. I tried putting a cycling jersey on and it doubled my transition time. I’m pretty sure I want to were a shirt in the 1/2 so I now know I need to figure out how to get one on.
Just figuring out an efficient way to lay everything out in the limited space available is worth having a go at before your big race.
Nothing major came up but there are definitely a few things I will change before the 1/2 to make things go smoother so this race was really valuable.
mike, you asked for advice and got it, but tri (GET IT?!) to remember something… Do what you want and treat this all as a learning process. you don’t have to be perfect on your first tri. your first few tris, even your first few YEARS at tri should be considered “survival mode” and not as a true competition. your goal should be to complete the tri and have fun, not to go fast. just go at it casually and expect to f up a bunch of stuff and learn as you go. triathlons are three times as complex as any other sport and there’s lots to screw up. I had so much crap in the first transition of my first tri, my T1 time was right around 5 minutes long. I did everything wrong, but I had so much fun because I finished! If you spend too much time and effort trying to get it perfect, you’ll be incredibly pissed off when stuff goes wrong. and stuff WILL go wrong. If you want to wear bib shorts, gloves, socks, and even an afro wig on your head, go for it. you won’t be the first. After your race, you’ll sit down and look at your times compared to everybody else’s. at that point, you’ll have a revelation and think “hmmm, what can I do to get faster? why did it take me 4 minutes in transition and the average is 1.5?” All of the sudden, the fun is no longer in completing the race, it’s in the need for speed. Then you can kiss your carefree days of casual races goodbye and the speed addiction will hook you good. Such is the way of triathlon!
Thanks for the great advice. I ordered a one piece tri suit and we’ll have to see how it goes. My bike is ready. My shoes are ready. My transition list is ready and I am prepared for that which is un planned. And I am feeling completely stress free after all of your advice. I’m sure all hell will break loose as I emerge from the swim!