Learning From Experience: TRANSITIONS

Let’s transition into the next topic =]

The main focus will be on transitions. When I first started triathlon, I simply wanted to finish and was never concerned with transition times. As I became more competitive, I started to tweak my approach to start saving seconds. I have changed how I end my swim, mount/dismount my bike, and handle nutrition. Even at the full Ironman distance, 10s in transition could cost a podium spot.

Transitions

Swim into T1 – My first approach to saving time was simply running faster. Always gassed from the swim, I decided to test a theory at Muncie. I thought if I saved some energy during last 100 yards, I could make up that time (and then some) running hard through transition. This meant spending more energy in the middle portion of the swim and recovering that last 100. At Muncie, I posted the 4^th fastest overall T1 time. This accomplishment was aided by a flying mount in the next bullet.

Muncie 70.3 T1: Uphill out of the Water

Flying Mount/Dismount – I never understood the importance of a flying mount/dismount until I got smoked in T2 at a local sprint. I hit T2 with a 10s lead and left 10s behind. Instead of stopping to remove my cycling shoes, I could have been doing it on the go. It’s also much faster to run barefoot than in clunky cycling shoes! The next year, I dropped 21s in T1 (fastest on the day) and 34s in T2. For a race that takes just over an hour, 55s was a HUGE improvement from transitions alone.

If you are interested in how I practiced, please drop me a message and I’d love to share!

Flying Mount: Fumbling with my cycling shoe

Nutrition/Equipment – For the first Ironman, my nutrition plan included 1 Gu in both T1 and T2. Eating in transition was a waste of time and I found it difficult to consume the Gu quickly while I was out of breath.  I decided to add more nutrition to my bike and simply delay taking it by 10 minutes. I also started to transfer my salt tube to my pocket at the end of the bike to eliminate an extra item in T2.
A subtle but significant change I made in 2019 was switching from a sleeveless to a sleeved tri kit. Having sleeves protects my shoulders from the sun, and (in my opinion) keeps me slightly cooler with less sun exposure. I still put on sunscreen in T1/T2 to deflect the sun, but I'm less exposed and save time applying it. Depending on the kit, shoulder and upper arm compression will improve cycling aerodynamics as well.

                                                                                                       

Key Takeaways:

Try new things! Pick a local sprint and experiment with transitions/equipment/nutrition. Running sockless could save 5-10 seconds but cause nasty blisters. I only do this in sprints.

Transitions can make or break a race and are worth the investment to practice. In a race like IMWI, I carry my cycling shoes through transition since they don’t allow flying mounts.
Remember your goals. I've seen people eat it trying a flying mount, so I don't do mine at full speed in an Ironman or 70.3 (just not work it).

Next week will be my final topic of the series: “Some Things Never Change”