How to practise transitions

Smooth transitions are integral to avoiding wasting time in the transition areas. However, many beginner triathletes tend to forget that the clock is still running in the transition area and use the time to rest and celebrate the completion of a leg.

According to beginner triathlete Jason Devaney, there are two golden rules of transitions: practising regularly and slimming down on the equipment you need to put on and take off.

Devaney recommends thinking of transitions as the fourth discipline of triathlons; this way, you’re more likely to practise them. Coach Lynda Wallenfels agrees, adding that although transition practise isn’t the most fun aspect of triathlon training, it is a very good investment in time. It’s a good habit for triathletes, aspiring and professional, to “integrate the transition seamlessly into their race. The transition is not a rest area but a place to speed in and out of, in the fastest time, with the least energy,” she says.

Coach Wallenfels has some important advice for aspiring triathletes.

• Get rid of the clutter: Most triathletes agree; socks are unnecessary and pulling socks onto wet feet can waste precious seconds. Avoid bringing along anything you don’t absolutely need.
• Clip your shoes onto your bike: When racking your bike in T1, clip your shoes into your pedals. Make sure you practise cycling for the first few metres out of the transition area with your feet on top of your shoes. Then when you can, coast and slide your feet into your shoes. On approaching T2, slide your feet out again. Coach Steve Attwell from Embark in Cape Town – better known as STeve, the ‘T’ for ‘triathlon’ – adds that it’s important to remember though, that you aren’t allowed to leave T1 without your helmet on and clipped; and you can only get on your bike once you’re out of the transition area. You also have to be off your bike when you reach T2.
• Practise flying starts and finishes: Running out of the transition area with your bike in one hand and then mounting in motion takes a lot of practise but saves a surprising amount of time. It stops you from having to pause after you get out of the transition area to mount. Practise dismounting just before T2 as well so that you don’t have to lose any momentum as you run towards your rack.
• Avoid fiddling with small items in the transition area: Tape your gels to your bike frame, attach your sunglasses to your bike, put your water bottles in their cages, and attach your CO2 cartridge and spare tube before you rack your bike.
• Invest in a trisuit: You don’t want to have to adjust any fashion accessories or clothing. Put your trisuit on underneath your wetsuit and start pulling off your wetsuit as soon as you’re out of the water.
• Keep your head as you enter the transition area: Apart from thinking through the order of the tasks you need to accomplish before you leave the transition area, keep your wits about you when locating your rack and determining where the entrance and exit is. It’s easy to get turned around in a big transition area and getting lost can cost you precious seconds, if not minutes. Endurance athlete Ryan Wood also recommends finding a race-legal way of making your bike difficult to miss, like draping a bright towel over your seat so you can see it from the entrance.
• Don’t bother with bows: Lace locks or speed laces for your running shoes work much faster than tying bows. Sprinkle baby power or another lubricant in your shoes to help them slide on easier.

Finally, Wallenfels recommends trying to do as much as possible, like putting on your race belt and cap or sliding your feet into cycling shoes, on the move rather than while standing at your rack.

Devaney advises using block training sessions to practise these transitions. You’ll find it’s mentally and physically draining to spend an hour doing this so you don’t have to worry about wasting a session. Practise in your driveway or garage and figure out the best order to do things in and what you can exclude from your routine. Wallenfels’ advice is to practise your transitions until you are moving on autopilot on race day.