Free aero wheels x 2: the not-slow transition
I notice that the top read / replied “General Training” thread so far in 2011 is about aero wheels (I know … I responded too). Now … talking about equipment speed and go-faster gear in this sport is great, but I wish that USAT / TriCan would institute a rule that says “if a competitor uses a $2600 wheelset and airfoil frame in a race to save 4-6 minutes over her/his bike split, s/he shall not spend 25 minutes in transitions at the same race.”
I’m not turning the tri world on its head by saying this … but it is a race, and the clock isn’t stopping in t1 and t2. You are racing. The hard work that you’re doing in the OS to make yourself a VDOT/FTP machine isn’t just for a single-sport split, discipline-specific personal best …. it’s intended to culminate in a single race finish with a single finish time. Make that single finish time as dear as possible and plan to go fast in t1 and t2. Don’t see these as interludes in a race. ‘Not-slow transitions’ are the lowest of the low-hanging race fruit.
(Want a better case? I would guess that in an Ironman, the average AG’er time for both transitions is about 15 mins. But this could/should be 5-6 minutes. Then think about how much work it would take to find 10 minutes on the bike split: an extra 20 -25 watts on your FTP, maybe? As someone who’s been working like a dawg for years to get an IM run down by 5 minutes, I know that is a lot of work. Not that shouldn’t be reaching for the top in training … but if you’re kicking ass and taking names in the outseason to maximize FTP or VDOT in order to race a faster IM, then you might as well do whatever else you can to match that effort across the day.)
How? First, reframe your thinking about t1 and t2 as part of your race day. Instead of thinking about them as time to regroup and move on to the next event, see them as the ‘finish line’ for the discipline you’re wrapping up. If you’re executing properly in the EN model, your ‘event recovery,’ ‘mental transition’ and ‘finding your bike legs’ or ‘finding your run legs’ time isn’t occurring while you’re standing still in transition: instead, let it be the first 30 minutes of the bike, or the first 6 miles of the run. In the properly-executed EN day, you are going ridiculously slow and your RPE is very very very low during those times. It’s then that you want to be getting your head into the game that lies ahead for the next 3 – 6 plus hours, but making forward motion while you’re doing it.
Also, you can actually be ‘ pro fast’ in transitions without the regular pro gifts, skill or fitness. Or without blowing a gasket or burning a match. For most of us, it would take an extraordinary amount of training, commitment, talent, good genes, and so forth to achieve pro-like times in S, B or R. In transition, it’s different – the dash from the entrance or exit isn’t long enough to bring any real meaningful fitness or gifts to bear … pro’s are just movin’ because they want to. You can too. Seriously … Rinnie doesn’t have a special genetic gift for taking off her helmet or lacing her shoes; Stadler doesn’t use a massive bike engine that let him get outta a wetsuit and on the bike faster. They just move quickly and with purpose in Ts. T1 and t2 are mostly the great equalizer across fast athletes and the rest of us.
Lots of tricks, tips and advice out there, none of them rocket surgery, but here’s what works for me:
-see t1 and t2 a part of the race. ‘Cuz they are part of your finish time. Quoting Rich quoting Bull Durham: Don’t lollygag.
-Keep it very very very simple. Think about what you can do to minimize costume changes, extra gear, clutter, etc. get the ‘stuff’ to single digits. I transition light: in my t1 bag, there are either my bike shoes (and only if I’m not allowed to attach them to the bike), or nothing at all. In my t2 bag, there are shoes (wrapped together with an elastic band, sole-to-sole, to keep them as one package), socks (attached to the shoes bundle with the elastic), and a hat, a ziplock baggie of sunscreen attached to the hat by elastic band, and a gel. Two bundles fall outta the bag, shoes are on the feets, and I’m out.
(Master class: in races that permit attaching the helmet, shoes etc to the bike in t1, just fold up the t1 bag, stuff it beneath wetsuit, and it comes with me on the swim. Once in t1, grab the bag as you’re taking off the wetsuit, and poss it in the bag en route. This lets you skip the bag pick up, and sometimes, bypass the change area altogether. )
Do stuff on the move: those first 30’ of the bike / first 6’ miles of the run are at a pace where you can recoup, chill, and if you’re executing properly, you can do your taxes, create a website, and plan a family vacation with the extra mental real estate you have to work with. It’s stupid-easy pace. The only work you’re doing is forcing yourself to slow down. So use those times as your mental and gear ‘transition.’
When I roll outta t1, I have a bunch of stuff that’s attached to my bike that will eventually be attached to my body. Safety first, and then, over those first 30 minutes, I will put the clif bars that I attached by elastics to my bike aerobars into my trishort pockets. I’ll put on my Garmin that I attached by elastics to my bike aerobars on my wrist. I’ll put on my sunglasses that I had attached by elastics to my aerobars on my noggin. All while moving forward. No talent or special bike handling involved. Don’t even have to get out of aero position.
Shuffling outta t2, I’m still carrying my hat, a baggie of sunscreen and maybe a gel. Somewhere in the first 10 or 15 mins, I’ve put on the hat, pocketed or consumed the gel, and smeared sunscreen everywhere it needs to be. All while moving forward.
One word: “Plastics.” (Actually, “Elastics,” but I watched The Graduate last night.) The thick kind that USPS/CanPost use to bundle mail. As I mentioned, in t1, stuff is attached to my aerobars by elastics. In t2, I’ve bundled things so just two packages fall out when I empty it in transition.
A bit of practice, a bit of prep. actually, very little. Each season, well in advance of race week, I grab my laptop, go to a starbucks, and watch youtube videos of “triathlon transition” for an hour Every pro, tri-team and coach in the world has prepared and posted one, and there are thousands. No secrets to learn, but spending 60 dedicated minutes observing how few extraneous steps a ‘not slow’ transition ought to look really gets your head in the game. (While I was writing this, I actually calendared this exact watching event for a Saturday in May in prep for a June race.)
The next day or alter that afternoon, spend about an hour actually practicing your transitions. Run to bike, helmet on, run with bike, mount. Reverse to transition to t2. You’ll start to notice a lot of unnecessary movement you can cut out, and shortcuts will fall into place. Try this hour again a few weeks out from the race.
Recon. Obvious. Know your route. Pre-race, actually walk it from EXACTLY where you will exit the water to EXACTLY where you will rack your bike to EXACTLY where you go in/out of the change tent. Don’t count on the balloon that you tied to your rack to ID your route to be there when you get out of the water. Count the number of racks you have to pass to get to yours.
Flying mount / dismount. Youtube is best for how-to’s, but I beg you: if you’re going to do this wearing an EN kit at a race, the team thanks you very much to practice this skill to confidently execute before taking the show public. (they are actually very very easy. Again … you tube, and a few hours of in-season practice). Plan to mount / dismount on the non-chain side.
Other tips?
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Comments
Good stuff, Dave.
I'd like Mancona to chime in as he had the first or second fatsest T2 at IMOO in '09, including pros. Something like 90 seconds. I think he had a bag with his hat, etc in it that he just carried out. Only put his shoes on and was off.
Great stuff Dave. I agree 100% there is so much free speed in t1, t2 and bike position that many folks do not pay attention to.
As to my T2, i don't recall my actual time at IMWI, but I know at Racine 70.3 last year I tied Craig Alexander for the best of the day at 59"...and he had a better rack location than me
My number belt and garmin are both already on me. In fact in many races I put them both on in the morning and leave them on all day.
Other tips I can think of:
Other tips...
Matt, How do you train for this, especially on the run? Do you wear socks in training at all? Up to a certain time before the race only? I don't wear socks for shorter races but have not considered it for an IM.
I'm with the free speed camp, of course. In my AG, I'm usually in the top 3 in both T1 and T2. Ours are a little longer cause we all stop to pee.
While Mancona has the minimalist approach down pat (I'm going to add the plastic bag idea for T2 next race - Thanks, Matt!), if you want to a go thru the race with a small bit of comfort, yet have fast T's, here are a few ideas:
• If you wear socks (I do), I roll them down so all I have to do is put my toes in and slide them (the socks, not my toes) up.
• Scout out the route, and then PACE yourself so you don't blow up starting your next section. E.g, at IM WI, WALK to the circular ramp, then RUN up on the INSIDE.
• Carry your shoes to your bike (if they can't be left clipped in); you can move faster and more safely that way.
• Don't wait for volunteers to apply sunscreen - ask for a gob in your hand and put it on as you roll out.
• Nowadays, M-Dot races are so crowded, its usually easier for 65-80 minute swimmers to deal with their bag outside the tent - way too crowded in there then.
• As Matt says, don't believe the caution to wait until T1 to put on race belt; they are made out of something other than paper, they won't melt!
• You don't have to have a minimum of stuff in your bag to have a fast transition. Accidents happen (although not to me yet in 15 IM finishes). I keep a spare pair of contacts in T1 bag, in case my goggles get knocked and the lenses are messed up. I keep a spare race number attached to a belt in T2 bag, in case the wind from my excessive bike speed knocks the first one off its moorings. Etc.
The EN mantra for T1 and T2 in an IM is: "Minimize the moving parts - the less you have to deal with and think about, the faster you'll move from point A to point B." But for many, it's a long day, and some attention to comfort is needed. Just don't let that concern get in the way of moving swiftly to the next stage of your day. Think long and hard about changing clothes in T1 and T2, you probably won't notice the difference once you're out on the course working hard.
The last time I race or trained in socks was the Boston marathon last april. Since then I went 100% sockless. The first month was a little tough but some body glide pre-run and a few blisters later my feet were pretty much adjusted. Like anything else the best approach is probably to ease into it, but I just went all out including a 90' long run the the second week.
Having shoes that are designed to be worn sockless and the right size are a huge help as well. I went down a size when I went to being sockless.
I still occasionally have issues with new shoes or when I'm testing shoes that are R&D samples as they are not always of the same quality as the production version. But in my perfered race shoes I have zero issues. Even for 4 hours at the NYC marathon my feet were totally fine.
Really, it's just like a few years ago when I decided I would go 100% tri shorts 100% of the time. once I got through the first month or so it is no big deal.
@Al, Glad I could finally share something you will use, instead of always just taking your advice.
Great point on the bike shoes. I base my shoe placement on a few factors, but mainly the distance from my bike rack to the bike out and the mount area.
In the majority of races where I can leave the shoes on the bike I do, but if you can not, I always run wiht them in my hands.
IMWI has a very long concrete T1. If my bike is decently close to the bike out, I run to the rack with my bike, yell my number to a volunteer (thanks Matt S), and put my shoes on while they grab my bike off the rack and hand it to me. If I'm further from the bike out, I'll run with them in my hands all the way to the right before the bike out and then stop and put them on. The goal for me is to spend as little time as possible running in bike shoes as I suck at it and it is slow.
Good point about using volunteers. If you're running with your shoes, flag one down to hold your bike while you put them on. There are also volunteers in the change rooms. Try and get one to pack up your bag, especially your wetsuit.
I like the idea of putting my race belt on under the wetsuit. I will use that one.
I gather that's not your experience. :-)
Some great tips here guys. @Dave, elastic around shoes and socks! @Al carry the bike shoes! @Mancona the bag out of T2 is just genius! Think that should be mandatory EN protocol on raceday.
I've always been nervous about the flying dismount. Then I see the delivery guys in the city do it all the time and wonder why can't I do that. Guess I'm just worried about falling on my face.
This thread should be stickied!
@William, I have done it in at least 3 or 4 races in fresh water under a wetsuit and never had a problem. I did not try in Kona because I did not wear a speedsuit and did not want the number draging through the water.
I also fold the top edge of the number around the number belt. This makes the number a little smaller, keeps it from flapping around in the wind as much, and makes it stronger so it will not rip the little holes where it attaches.
You can see what i do in this picture. : http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Rkobj-OBo...itled3.bmp
And to repeat, I've been wearing numbers on the swim for a decade, salt and fresh water, under wet suit and under speed suit (Kona 06 and 09) and have never had an issue with ink fading, number tearing, bib shredding, etc. Most bibs are printed on Tyvek or some plastic; the ones that are obviously on paper I don't wear in the water.
I've seen some people roll the number up and tuck it in their shorts or shirt until after the wetsuit is removed to make sure it doesn't get ripped off.
I've also seen people turn the bib upside down and attach it to the bottom holes when the top holes got ripped from wind on the bike.
A trick I use to keep the race number from tearing off is to buy punch-hole reinforcements from an office supply store and build them up using 3 or 4 stickers per hole. They won't tear even when wet.
Thinking about this all some more, I have a couple comments/questions that I admit are totally self-centered:
Glasses (any solution better than in the bag?)
I am pretty damn near blind and contacts are, unfortunately, not an option. (Strong astigmatism as well as nearsighted) This means prescription goggles and sunglasses. I get $20 goggles that only correct me about 2/3 the way, so I don't care much if they get lost/broken. But the glasses are $500+ and I'm done for the day without them, so I care a lot. In a 70.3 or shorter, I leave the glasses on the ground in my transition area because it's too easy for them to get knocked out of a helmet attached to the bike. (I actually lost a pair in T1 at a sprint race where there was a passing thunderstorm...). Set the wetsuit down, throw off the goggles, and put the glasses on. It's not realistic for me to ride even 50 feet without them.
In my first IM (WI, 2009), i had a relatively slow T1, 3.5 minutes longer than mancona's, in part because I used the "glasses table". They were well-meaning, helpful, and not especially speedy. We spent a while finding them...and remember I can't see that well while looking for them. It was a good idea, and would be fine if the execution were perfect, but it's not. Next time, I'm planning to use clear goggles (instead of darkened ones), wear them into T1, and get glasses out of my bag. I can see well enough to get up the helix with my goggles on, and this is a race where you have to have your shoes in your bag.
Sunscreen
I'm also that blue-eye-red-head kid who sunburns easily. I like the suggestion of sunscreen in a ziplock for the run, but I'm concerned about the bike. Sun exposure to the neck is minimal due to the helmet, but shoulders and calves are a concern for me for an IM. Doesn't seem like self-application while riding is practical.
If you burn fairly easily, have you all found the multiple layer sunscreen application (i.e., before bed, at the 2 am feeding, in the morning) does the job to protect you on the bike?, i.e., doesn't just wash off in an hour's worth of wet-suit swimming? I was just too afraid not to stop for a smear from volunteers.
Socks
Let's assume that you, like me, have sensitive skin (e.g., you sunburn!) and running a marathon without socks is pretty much out of the question. Assuming you are planning to wear socks to run, why do people talk about not putting their socks on until T2 like it's some virtue? If you take the time to put socks on, it seems to me that it shouldn't matter T1 or T2. In fact, you might be less tired and faster in T1...and you get the bonus of getting to wear them on the bike.
So what gives on that?
I post the pictures when I get home this weekend so you can see what I mean.
Some of my thoughts gleened from having volunteered at LP the last 2 years, the first one in transition, was also in transition this year just not working at that point. As mentioned by others, people have way too much crap in their bags. What you want/need is not going to change in the less than 2 hour period between when you leave the bags and enter T1. Make a decision before and deal with it. I also always wear my race number belt under the wetsuit. It is fine. Who cares if the number runs anyhow. T1 in IM or otherwise should be wetsuit off while running, cap and goggle stay in the sleeve, shoes, helmet, glasses, gone. Nutrition is all on the bike as are gloves warmers if needed. While I do not generally pee on myself on the bike I find it is better without socks as they tend to get wet anyhow and they are hard to put on with wet feet.
T2 should be helmet glasses off, shoes off, socks and sneakers on, hat and gone. I wear socks for halfs and up. Takes me less than 10 seconds to put them on. Worth it to me.
One of the reasons I think people suck at transitions is that they do not practice them. It is a pain in the ass and I never really do it either but is a good idea. A great way to get good at transitions is to actually race more than once a year. Gets you used to racing as well which also comes in handy. I think it is a mistake when people have 3 races a year, all A races whatever that means.
The time in transition very much counts. Its kinda funny to see people with 3k wheels to save 40 seconds having a leisurely transition in an IM. Taking 8 minutes to change your clothes is not going to make you feel better. A total constume change in T2 into your favorite running stuff is not going to help. You are going to be an uncomfortable sweaty mess about 5 minutes after leaving T2 anyhow so why bother. Unless of course you are walking at that point anyhow in which case it really does not matter, you might as well look good.
My best/worst example of how transition time can bite you in the ass. LP08 my swim/bike/run times were a minute and a half faster that my friend the infamous Dev Paul...he beat me by like 2 minutes
In all fairness Dev Paul is a transition savant. Didn't he have the fastest T1+T2 time at Kona this year, to include the pros? I remember reading something on ST about him being the World Transition Champion. :-)
I agree that Dev is the transition master. That is the point, it sucks to lose to someone because they are better at changing shoes than you are. I mean really, it should be a lot easier to change your clothes a minute faster than it is to run a minute faster, right?
bingo if you never practice the stuff you will not get any faster. Eventually you have to break down and work on it, it is not fun or sexy. Skip a brick run or two and insert transition practice.
My T times go haywire if I'm cold. I just lose my ability to think straight when I'm numb.
and the thing is ... just one or two sessions is probably all you need to go from slower to much faster than the rest of the field. For training time spent to race time gained, these have the biggest ROI available to an athlete. All distances, too.
...and surely on the other stuff, too.
My son is a zen master at slipping on shoes while on the bike, a skill I have practiced many, many times, and still can never get right in a race because of the disorientation of the swim. I've conceded I'll probably never master than, unless my soon-to-be replaced shoes have been my problem. (Yeah, that's the ticket!)