How to go faster in your triathlon transition
Get time for free in your next race
Swim to Bike
1. Make sure your wetsuit is round your waste by the time you get to your bike.
2. Make sure you SPOT your gear early and hone in on it.
3. Don’t take your swimming hat or goggle off before you take your arm out of your wetsuit. You won’t have 2 free hands… duhh…
4. Practice the same routine over and over and over again
We use wetsuit off (if open water) > sunglasses on > helmet on > number belt on (if pool swim) > cycling shoes > on away
5. Don’t use vaseline anywhere
6. Don’t clip your shoes to your pedals like the pros – They have all week to practice – you will fall off and look silly.
7. Sit at home and repeatedly put your helmet on and take it off so you can do it without even thinking letalone fiddling. (When you can do something without thinking about it pyschologists call this “unconciously competent”)
8. Consider mountain bike cleats and spd pedals if the transition is long, stony or uneven surface. That’s what they were designed for right?
9. Don’t think about anything else or look at anything else – Concentrate solely on getting in and out as fast as possible
10. Don’t stop to have a drink – you can do that when you are moving on the bike
11. Make sure you know where the Bike out exit is
12. Practice getting in your bike without having to stop running. You will fall off when you first try to do this…
Bike to run
13.Make sure your running shoes are facing the way you are going to go…
14.BE CAREFUL taking your feet out of your shoes – the flaps might go into the chain wheel and you will do a spectacular flying dismount off your bike…
15.Get off your bike without stopping running
16.Make sure you SPOT your gear early and hone in on it. Someone may have kicked your stuff away from where you left it.
17.Undo your helmet and tilt your head forwards. The magic of gravity means it falls off by itself. Leave it where it falls.
18.Use elastic laces and open each shoe with one hand on the tongue and one one the heel tab.
19.As you have put the first shoe on, you can hop-turn and face the way you want to go whilst putting the other one on.
20.Make sure you know where the run out exit is..
21.Don’t start running too fast
22. Enjoy – where else would you rather be on a Sunday morning…
About the Author
Inside Triathlon team have been competing in age group triathlons since 1996. They specialise in sprint distance races and like to go FAST. Our website is http://insidetriathlon.org
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