Transitions - the forgotten 4th discipline of triathlons
Triathlons go beyond swim, bike, run – many athletes don’t put much thought into it, but valuable time is wasted here – transitions! The seconds, or even minutes wasted in transitions, could mean the difference between a finish and a podium spot.
When transitions are not practiced, they can lead to frustration, getting “lost”, not knowing where your bike is on race day when coming in from the swim, which way bike out is, bike in, or run out are.
Transitions should be practiced like any other discipline and should be part of your race preparation.
Before race day – transitions should be part of your training, which many call brick sessions. Practice the feeling of going from swim to bike and bike to run, especially if it is your first race. Many athletes drop the swim to bike and focus on the bike to run. But if you are new, it’s a strange feeling to go from horizontal to vertical quickly.
As for bike to run – I highly recommend practicing this once a week, if not twice for longer distance races. Have your run shoes, hat, race belt ready to go and set up just as you will for transition.
By practicing transitions, you can learn what gear feels good to start in and finish your bike and be ready to run. If your legs feel heavy when you start to run, you most likely have your bike in too hard of a gear and want to shift to a gear that you can easily spin. Practice quickly changing shoes if you have cycle shoes.
RACE DAY!!! Be Prepared – KEEP IT SIMPLE!
So many people want to pack for just in case and bring it all to transitions – that is the worst mistake. Only bring and set up what you need. The area is tight, so less is the best. Once you rack your bike, front wheel faces your number if the racks are numbered. Bikes go opposite each other. You set your gear up by your front wheel.
An example of what not to do –
No Bags, or at least Do not cover your stuff, Not sure where their race stuff is – so much wasted time
An example of what to do –
Once you have your transition set up, make sure you walk swim in to your bike, to bike out, bike in, and run out. If you have time, do it a few times. Count the racks when coming in from the swim and coming back on the bike. Look for markers that will help you remember your row. I volunteer a lot in transitions and see so many people that do not know where their bike is or remember where it goes when they come back in. Practice, practice!
Some additional tips –
- Helmet on first – USAT rule! Have it laying so you can grab it and put it right on.
- Have your socks ready to go, if you are wearing them. Roll them in half and place in your cycle or run shoe depending on what you are wearing for the bike portion.
- If you are wearing a hat for the run, place everything you need in your hat, that way you can put your shoes on if you need to switch from cycling shoes, grab your hat that has all your gear and nutrition in it and go. You can put your race belt and hat on as you are running. Remember transition time is part of your race time.
- It’s a good idea to have quick laces or some type of elastic lace you do not have to tie for your running shoes. That way you can just slip them on and go.
- I like to keep a water bottle in transition in case I need to rinse my feet or want to swish my mouth out of any nasty lake water.
