Part 3: Transition

Reading, September 2016 9:20 am

Shrugging my way out of the top half of my suit I found my bike instantly, which is more challenging than it sounds with row after row of nearly identical, mostly black or white bikes; there were a few competitors running up and down looking for their mislaid kit. I wrestled free from the rest of the wetsuit; struggling and seeming to take forever I eventually managed to get it low enough that I could stamp on it with alternative feet until it was off and then grabbed for my helmet.

Even after this relatively short swim, exertion meant I’d lost all fine motor control, so it took several goes to get the chinstrap done up with fingers that refused to follow their instructions. The expletives I was using steadily escalated in volume and severity. After a couple of significant wobbles and more loud swearing trying to put on my socks, I gave up and sat down to dry my feet and pop the socks and my cycling shoes with the cleats on the bottom on.

At this point, my mental picture of a smooth and fast transition had evaporated. Looking around, most of the transition area was a blur of explosive and frantic activity, but weirdly here and there a few clearly experienced competitors – the kind that you would describe as lean and wiry – were chatting with each other, sharing a bag of jelly babies and casually dusting talcum powder between their toes – I guessed this was one of so many for them that the disciplines, rather than transition time was what was important for them, and they were happy to take their time.

Fully kitted, I yanked the bike off the rack and ran down the gravelled path between transition rows heading for the bike out exit. About halfway there when the transition marshal bellowed ‘race number!’ at me – in my haste I’d forgotten to put on my number belt. I used the loudest and rudest set of swearwords yet while flinging my bike at the orange plastic netting that marked out the edge of the transition area and, still cursing, ran back to grab the number belt.

Finally race legal, I collected my bike (which somewhat spectacularly had parked itself neatly upright on the netting facing in the right direction), completed the surprising and depressingly long run through the main car park area to the mount point and shot off down a leafy Berkshire lane, locked on like a laser to the rider about 20m in front of me. However difficult that transition was, I knew it could have been an awful lot worse…

Eton Dorney, August 2017 17:57

Enjoying the late afternoon sunshine that was gently warming my wetsuit before the start of an evening sprint triathlon at the Dorney Lake rowing complex, I stretched and yawned in the holding pen. Almost a year after my first attempts and no longer new to triathlons while still not fast I firmly knew what I was doing. As I relaxed, I heard urgent whispering and looked around for the source.

There appeared to be a quiet kerfuffle taking place between an clearly agitated older bearded gentleman in what looked like an ancient surfing wetsuit and one of the safety marshals. I was ready for the race start but the box was still filling, and I knew we had a few minutes before I had to get in the water, so I sidled closer telling myself I might be able to help but knowing full well I was just being nosy. It was soon apparent that it was the swimmers first triathlon.

He was trying to discretely explain to the marshal that he hadn’t yet been able to work out where the changing facilities in the transition area (which had a healthy number of spectators watching from the overhead bar) were. The marshal was explaining that you changed at your racking point, and the gentleman was expressing his surprise that such rampant naturism was a) part of a mainstream sport like Triathlon and b) accepted by the mixed gender competitors. This took a little longer and a couple of goes, backing up and starting again, for the marshal to unpick (he was admittedly being a bit slow but, in his defence, had other stuff he was supposed to be doing).

In whatever other sport the competitor used the wetsuit for, he was used to ‘going commando’ and eventually it dawned on the horror-struck marshal that the competitor was naked underneath. The swimmer then offered to do the ride and run in his wetsuit; it took a while for the marshal to convince him that it was a hot day and a 20k bike ride and 5k run in neoprene in even the UK’s mid-summer sun was such a bad idea they wouldn’t let him out onto the course wearing it. The now desperate competitor was then told the second option under discussion which involved the (literal) flash change in the transition area he’d first speculated about would also mean disqualification under British Triathlon Federation nudity rules.

If he had a large enough towel I reckon he could have given it a go, but he’d clearly had his card marked by this point and was going to be watched like a hawk.

By this time, nearly all of the triathletes in the starting box had shuffled closer, hanging on every whispered word while still maintaining a steely view over the swim course and pretending they weren’t even remotely in earshot; I’m pretty sure someone would have been able to dig something out to help him, but at that exact moment the race organiser gave the two-minute warning and started yelling for everyone to get in the water, and to an individual we all charged in as ‘Race Mode’ took over.

I can state with some certainty that, keeping an eye out with more than casual interest, I did not see a naked pensioner in the transition area and I also did not see a rubber clad competitor prostrate with heat exhaustion on the bike course, so while I’m hoping he borrowed a pair of pants off someone and although I love the image of him dashing into a portaloo to change Clark Kent style, I suspect he ran out of time and had to chalk the whole thing up to experience.

Getting ready in transition

I mentioned earlier that transition is the fourth discipline – it really is that important. Transition can make or break your day for both short and long transitions, and a lot will be decided before you even start the race. This is a pretty dense chapter as a result, but let’s work our way through it.

Actually, before we do that, one very important point. Almost every triathlon fires athletes off in waves, usually around 15 minutes apart. This means that while you are wandering aimlessly about in transition goggling at the carbon toys and rummaging through your kit bag looking for an energy gel, the transition area is live and at any given moment there are probably athletes who are desperately trying to set a PB making their way in and out while avoiding the herd of slow moving cattle that inexplicably are blocking their access to bike out while paying no attention whatsoever to what is happening around them.

Don’t be one of the cows – keep your eyes open, remember it’s a race and the area is live, and if you do see a triathlete running through a helpful yell to help them clear the way will be appreciated, even if they don’t have the breath to thank you there and then. If you don’t pay attention, I can guarantee that karma will ensure that as you try to complete your t2 you’ll be blocked by a stag party all trying to do up their wetsuits in a single crowd a few yards short of your spot.

You’ll effectively have three stints in Transition – Transition One (T1 for short) is between swim and bike, and Transition Two is between bike and run. However, just as important is what I’ve grandly chosen to call Transition Zero – how you set yourself up so you have everything you need before the race even starts. I think, before I did my first tri I just assumed that I’d be rummaging in a duffle bag for what I needed when I needed it, and as it turns out its much more complicated (and simpler!) than that. So, let’s start by looking at all the things you need to bring in to set yourself up for a successful event.

Kit:

We’ve already mentioned a few pieces of kit. Here’s what I consider to be essential for a Sprint triathlon, broken out by stage of the race. This is what needs to be prepped in the days or weeks before the event – don’t ever try to do it on the morning. Speaking from personal experience, you lose a huge number of brownie points when you wreck your wives precious once in six months lie in because you forgot your cycle helmet and she has to get up, throw the kid in the car and race to get it to you before the start of the race.

General Kit Essentials: Triathlon Bag, Warm Jumper, Trisuit, Number belt

You need some way of getting your stuff into the transition area, and keeping it organised. Most transition areas give you a limited amount of space at the rack, some ask you to lay out your kit and return bags to a (laughably in) secure area. Any old bag with a shoulder strap will do well for this, although there are specific bags with separate compartments for the gear for each discipline which can make packing and checking you have everything easier.

I wouldn’t recommend a Triathlon box, purely because it can be an utter pain in the arse trying to get a bike and a triathlon box balanced on the cross bar maybe a mile from the parking into the transition area while juggling race stickers and helmets and identification and the like, whereas if you can fling a bag over your shoulder your life is instantly made less stressful. If you do go for a dedicated triathlon bag, chances are it will be identical to hundreds of others in the transition area. I have customised mine by tying an old swim hat to the shoulder straps. This is not so much so I can find it when I need to but more to stop someone else from picking it up and wandering off with it have mistaken mine for theirs.

I’d suggest having a warm jumper in the bag means you can keep warm before the race and while packing up and clearing transition. You may not need it, but weather can quickly change, and you may be more tired than you expected. If it’s particularly flat or if you feel the cold you may want to add leggings or tracksuit bottoms to this to help with pre or post-race layering.

I’ve also put a trisuit in my essential pile. This is a unitard that has a small built in cycling pad that doesn’t get in the way when you are running and is what you’d typically be wearing as your base layer when you arrive. Of course, you don’t need to be wearing a special unitard under your wetsuit (Although it really helps to be wearing something!) but a trisuit saves so much time in transition while not slowing you down at all. It’s probably a really good idea to find the £30-£40 you will need for an entry level suit, even if you fling a t-shirt over it because you don’t feel comfortable basically wearing skin tight lycra.

By the way, if you are a man, your gentlemanly parts will be clearly silhouetted, at best. That’s what skin tight lycra does. Don’t worry about it at the time, the lake is always cold, everyone in the same position, we all pretend everything’s invisible, no one cares, although if you don’t position your race number correctly on the run you may not want to get that finishing photo blown up to A1 size. Hell, maybe you will!

Finally, I mentioned a number belt. These are little elasticated belts that you can clip your race number to and can rotate to move the number from back (ride) to front (run) in a heartbeat; many of them can also hold a couple of energy gels. If you don’t use a number belt, in theory you must use safety pins to pin it to the back of your cycling top, then (if the race haven’t provided two numbers and most don’t) move it to the front of your running top – this would cost you minutes every time. Also, it took me a couple of triathlons to work this out, but the number is waterproof. You can save a lot of time that you would lose by fumbling to do up the number belt (or forgetting to put it on altogether) by putting the number belt on under the wetsuit as you get ready for the start – it won’t get in your way and if you tuck it in carefully it’s not going to affect your streamlining.

General Optional: Mat/Towel, Hole punch.

It’s by no means essential, but most triathletes will have a triathlon mat or a towel just to help mark their spot, protect their space, lay out their gear on but most importantly help you spot your space when you come back to it. My wife bought me a flowery pink transition mat early on – not because she hates me or because I’m particularly in touch with my feminine side, but because she knew it would be highly visible and relatively uncommon in the transition area. I’m competitive enough that I love it and it works phenomenally well. There’s nothing special about this item, it just sits under your shoes, so any old beach towel will work as well – make sure it’s as distinctive and visible as possible.

I love my hole punch. It’s not essential, but it’s one of those things that every time I use it, I feel like a professional. You may be wondering why the hell you need a hole punch in a multidiscipline sporting event? The race number that each organiser issues you is waterproof, for obvious reasons. This means that it’s fairly tough but will often need to have 2-3 holes made in it for the running belt you are almost certainly using. The number of times I can see people stabbing themselves in that sensitive fleshy bit of the hand between thumb and forefinger as they try to make a hole with a set of car keys is glorious, as I nonchalantly slide my single hole 3mm hole punch that I paid a couple of pounds for along punching holes merrily as I go. You may not get the same sense of satisfaction, but it really works for me. I’m sure I’ve caught people admiring the hole punch (usually with bleeding palms), but no one ever asks to borrow it. Never!

Swim Essential: Wetsuit, Goggles, Hat.

We’ve covered off the wetsuit earlier, but to reiterate – the better fitting the suit, the better the swim will go.

Just about any pair of goggles will work – but make sure they fit your face properly and don’t leak. As you may not have swum much in open water it may be worth thinking about a polarised pair (like sunglasses for the swim) which can help if the sun is low. I always have two pairs in my kit bag in case I snap a strap or the bridge over the nose.

The hat will usually be supplied by the event organiser, so don’t worry about that – once you’ve done a few triathlons you’ll have a huge pile of them.

Swim Optional: Antifog, body glide, plastic bags.

A lot of triathletes rely on these three things – antifog spray to stop the goggles from steaming up, body glide to stop wetsuit chafing and ease suit removal and plastic bags to make it easier to get the suit on. I’ve tried all of these at points, and personally I don’t feel like I need them – if you want to, give them a go, but they may not make a fundamental difference to your on the day performance.

Bike Essential: Helmet, shoes, elastic laces, computer, water bottle, spares kit, pump

The big one here is the helmet – without one you simply won’t be allowed to race, so if you don’t have one, borrow one that fits. There are triathlon specific helmets that are more aerodynamic or have a magnetic neck strap, so you don’t have to lose time doing it up, but none of them are likely to make a huge difference early on. Just get something that will protect your bonce if you slip stopping sharply at the dismount line.

Coming out of the swim barefoot, you are going to need to pop a pair of shoes on for the ride. Many competitors will have bike specific shoes with cleats that clip into special clipless (I know that makes no sense, it’s a historical thing) pedals – many will not, so go with what you are comfortable with either way. If you are wearing ‘conventional’ shoes (a normal pair of trainers or running shoes) for either the ride or the run elastic laces that you don’t have to tie can be bought for a couple of pounds and make a huge difference to the time it takes slipping the shoes on.

Personally, I think a computer that gives you speed and distance elapsed is essential for a couple of reasons – the speed readout allows you to pace yourself and pick things up a little if your attention drifts; but most importantly the distance readout means you don’t have to count laps – some triathlons could have as many as eight laps and when you are struggling to walk in a straight line or do a helmet up, keeping count can be a tough ask.

I always struggle with lap counting – even if I know I’ve kept count, as I hammer up and down the course I still find myself asking if maybe I’ve miscounted and have a lap more to go, every single time. If you know you have a 21k ride, and the computer is showing 20k as you sprint down the back straight, you know you are nearly done. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive but knowing how far you’ve gone and how far you have still to go gets important when you are working so hard.

I will always have a full water bottle at my transition point – but unless it’s really hot for a Sprint I don’t usually put it on the bike; I’ll grab a quick mouthful just before leaving with the bike and then a bigger one when I get back. If it’s on the bike, I’m working so hard I rarely take a drink as I go around, and the bottle is then too far away (I know, I’m a princess) when the bike is racked. If its tucked between whatever pair of shoes I’m not wearing it’s handier for me and I tend to see it and think about having a drink.

Typically, on a sprint ride you may be working hard for around forty minutes, so if you think you will need liquid in this period, make sure it’s on the bike. Everyone is different here – so for example, Barney rides with a half full bottle that he will drain as he completes the ride.

Spares are interesting. On my bike I have a small tool bag on the seat post that contains a spare inner tube, two tire levers, a CO2 cartridge and CO2 inflator and a small multitool. I have just about enough room to stick a credit card in there as well, but that’s it. When I’m riding an event that’s multilap I might well leave the bag in the transition area as any flat means I’m not going to see a good time and I’ll walk the bike back in, but if I’m riding out on roads and could be 10-11k away from base I’m going to have a way to change a tire, or more accurately an inner tube.

If you don’t know how to replace a punctured inner tube, get someone to show you before the event, it isn’t hard, and you never know when you are going to need to do one. If you’ve not done a lot of riding (or are old like me), you might be wondering how you are going to fix the flat without a bowl of soapy water and a set of patches – don’t forget, this is a race. Get the tire off, get the old inner tube out, check inside the tire for thorns or other sharp objects, get the spare inner tube in and tire back on, and get the tire blown back up in seconds.

CO2 inflators (a small gas cartridge connected to the smallest inflator imaginable) are amazing and so much faster than a pump, but if you decide to use one a) practice at home first (it can be fiddly) b) wrap the cartridge in some sort of material because they get really cold as the gas comes out under pressure c) ride with two cartridges in case you mess it up initially.

I also have a small, but powerful pump in my bigger kitbag that stays in the transition area – a lot of people don’t understand how much harder it is to ride fast on soft tires and how much more likely you are to get a puncture (these are known as pinch flats) if you have let the tires deflate over time. If you are riding a road bike, the tires might be inflated to as much as 120psi – which is absolutely rock solid if you try to squeeze them with your fingers. The tire rim will tell you what the recommended pressures are – it’s always good to check them as part of your night before checks.

The flip side of this is if you inflate your tires rock solid with the first crack of a chilly dawn, then leave the bike in the steadily warming morning sun while you swim you can wind up causing a tire to explode. Despite this (in the UK, relatively low) risk it’s still probably best to set the tire pressures the day before, but always have a way of topping up in the event of an emergency.

Bike Optional: Sunglasses, bottle cage

Some of this is self-evident; if you need a drink while riding make sure the bike has a bottle cage to hold the drink and practice reaching down (or behind) one handed to take the bottle and have a drink while riding. There will be other people on the track so make sure you can do this without needing to look down; as well as making sure you continue to see what’s happening in front this will also help to avoid you weaving out into the middle of the track and ‘collecting’ a much faster overtaking rider on his silent but deadly aero bike.

Run Essentials: Shoes

That’s the great thing about running. You don’t need much, especially if you are already wearing a trisuit. Bike shoes off (if wearing), Helmet off (often helps), run shoes on, go go go! If you are planning on doing a bunch of running it’s probably worth getting a decent pair of shoes from somewhere that does gait analysis, so they can help you with the best type of shoes (this is a hugely complicated subject with a whole language all of its own), and it’s worth considering if the run is tarmac (most are) trail, or worse, and based on that if your planned footwear is appropriate. The most important thing here is that if the run has a trail, rather than tarmac component, trainers without adequate grip can make life very difficult indeed.

Run Optional: Sun visor, energy gels, socks.

If it’s hot, you may want something that keeps the sun off your face and sweat out of your eyes. A baseball cap may work while making your head hot, a sun visor avoids this problem but does make you look like a seventies tennis star or possibly even worse, a wildly lost golfer. Stu swears by the sun visor approach, but he also wears fluorescent yellow compression leggings to make it easier to spot himself in photos, so his judgement is clearly suspect. Whichever way you go, it’ll be the wrong choice as you either melt in the heat or curse your stinging eyes all the way round, so make a definite choice knowing you’ll try the other options next time (which will also prove to be wrong).

It’s probably worth having a gel by your running kit. When you know you’ve worked harder than expected as you come off the bike take a few seconds to bolt it down – it will take a while to kick in, but the sugar boost may well be exactly what you need to avoid bogging down during the run. If you’re planning to complete the run in less than twenty minutes make sure you have the gel on the ride, as it won’t have time to hit your bloodstream otherwise.

Most importantly, if you’ve never used one before, try it before the day – there is an art to tearing one open and consuming a glob of sugar on the move, especially if you are one handed while still on the bike, and some of the brands taste good, some of them taste… well it might take your mind off the event for a few seconds, let’s leave it at that. Ideally you don’t want to be wrestling with this on race day for the first time.

It’s also worth flagging that most people can’t take onboard more than a couple of gels an hour and if your body isn’t used to them, they can cause gastric distress, so until you know what you are doing don’t do what my little brother Matt does every time and snaffle half a dozen of my gels when I’m not looking because a) you probably won’t need them and b) your race will not be helped by having to dismount the bike and run off into the tall grass for a five minute crouch.

Socks are definitely optional for me, I just don’t worry about them at all now. I’d never consider going off on a parkrun not wearing socks, and so assumed for my first tri that I also needed to wear them. The thing is, by the time I had my wetsuit off, sat down to put my socks on (too dizzy to do them standing up), popped my shoes on and got back up, I’d lost at least a minute over not wearing them and more importantly, because I was still dripping from the swim, my socks/cycling shoes were soaked before I even got out of transition.

I spent most of that first race dimly worrying that the wet socks were going to blister my feet into oblivion as part of the background noise going on in my brain as I suffered. It turned out ok in the end, but I’ve also discovered that I can do a sprint distance tri without socks with no issues at all… and I need that minute off my time, so I don’t bother. Your mileage may vary, but it may be worth trying a 3-4k run before your first event in your planned shoes and no socks, and just seeing how it goes. If I do an Olympic distance triathlon, I do take my time and pop the socks on.

Racking:

Once you’ve registered the first stop is usually to rack the bike in transition and lay out all the lovely kit you’ve remembered to bring. Before being allowed into transition with a bike, the marshal will want to see that your helmet is on and done up, the bike is numbered with the stickers from the race pack you just collected and usually that your handlebars have plugs in the bar ends (there must have been a horrific accident at some point in the past for this to be the one thing they check out of all the possible points of impalement on a modern bicycle).

Make sure this is all done before you try to enter as it’s amazing how fast a queue can build up behind you. Some Tris have allocated spaces, some are first come first served. If you can choose your own space, there are some real advantages to be had with some careful thought.

Have a good look around you. There will usually be a ‘Swim In’, ‘Bike Out’, ‘Bike In’ and ‘Run Out’ and these will often be in totally different corners to mitigate any possible congestion. Make sure you know where these are – every triathlete has at least once not paid proper attention and found out halfway through a race they have no idea where to go. If you have free choice of racking you may decide to be as close to the swim in as possible so you can get the wetsuit off, or as close to the bike in so you don’t have to run with the bike; what’s more likely to be useful is if you can put the bike on the end of a row or other similar landmark (a big tree again, maybe) – it’s much easier to find that way.

Having racked the bike, I’ll walk to the swim in (as I’m probably wearing my timing chip now on my left ankle I’m making sure I don’t accidentally cross any timing lines and start my race clock running) and look back at my bike and try to mentally fix where it is. I then walk to my bike and look at bike out, and so on until I’m confident I’m happy with my spot and I can run straight to it when I need it. This is something that should be easy, but when you are working hard, and adrenaline is high it’s much harder than you imagine as a spectator.

I promise you that you will see people who cannot find their bike every single race – the elite competitor who exited the water second in the 2017 Cardiff triathlon lost several places because he was unable to locate his kit. Funnily enough, the worse you are at the swim the easier this is, as most people will have already shot off with their bikes leaving you less to look for and pick from. You will have the opposite issue in T2 (Transition two, bike to run) as you try to rack the bike again though.

Now, two really important points. If it’s free racking do not move another athletes bike or kit unless they are there and give you permission. Its rude and they may have things laid out precisely. You may think there’s room for another athlete and they may disagree – and be so put off by the lack of space that they “accidentally” move your run shoes somewhere else. If it’s allocated racking and they are encroaching on your space, it’s a little different but still try to minimise the disruption.

The second point is prerace, when you rack your bike rack the handlebars facing towards you. This means you can unhook the saddle and immediately start running with the bike. There’s always someone who does it the other way around and that just means there’s a lot less room for the people on either side who have done it properly. Typically athletes will alternate the side of the rack that they are laying their kit out – this makes more space for you to change in; again there’s always someone who isn’t paying attention to every other bike already around them and does it the wrong way round – don’t be that person.

Getting ready:

Ok, so, we’ve got our bike racked and we’ve worked out how to find our way back to our spot from all the transition entrances and back to the exits. We have our gear in the transition area – what happens next?

1)      I will put my helmet on top of the tribars I use – you are disqualified if you touch the bike before putting the helmet on, so this helps remind me and makes it easier for me to spot my bike at a run. It’s not a coincidence that my helmet is fluorescent orange and visible from fifty feet away (This also makes it much easier to spot myself in the post-race photos!). Anything like this you can do will help. Some people put the helmet on the bars ‘bowl up’ so they can put it on faster, for me its more effective to know I’m going to find the bike quicker, so I go ‘bowl down’ for maximum visibility.

If it’s really windy, visibility loses out to common sense and the helmet goes on the ground, on top of my cycling shoes.

2)      I will always turn my cycling computer on at this point as well, as there’s so much going on later it’s easy to forget. If you have a whizzy complicated one make sure it doesn’t automatically turn itself off after a period of inactivity – this can be really annoying!

3)      I give the tires a quick squeeze to check the pressure and make sure I’ve not left the bike in a ludicrously hard gear by looking at the rear derailleur – if you get this wrong when you start pedalling your legs won’t like you. For a quick start after a tough swim you may need to be a couple of gears easier than you would be used to. Basically, if the chain is on the smallest rings at the back, you will probably regret this later; middle size or larger is probably a good starting point.

I will also quickly check the chain is on the big ring at the front. Matt often has a red mist descend when he is racing as his brain is starved of oxygen and sugar being diverted to his lungs and legs and has memorably completed an entire event on the wrong chainring, utterly unable to understand why his legs were going around so fast and yet people were streaming past. Work out what gears work for you and take the time to check you’ve got them right now, while you’ve got the time. This is one of those things that everyone forgets… once. The pain of trying to start a ride in top gear usually helps you to remember to check.

4)      I lay out my transition mat underneath (and if there’s room slightly to one side of) the bike front wheel.

5)      At the bottom of the mat, closest to me, I lay my bike shoes, heels towards me. I undo the top strap and make sure I’ll be able to slide my feet in quickly. The pros do bike shoes slightly differently, by clipping them into the bike and putting them on when already riding. If you’re ready for that already this is not the right advice for you!

6)      For now, I’ll put my goggles and hat on top of my bike shoes.

7)      Next I place my run shoes, elastic laces fitted, heel towards me, almost touching the toes of the cycling shoes.

8)      Alongside my run shoes I place my water bottle and emergency gel. If it’s looking sunny I’ll place my sunglasses in my run shoes. This keeps them safe, I know where they are, and I’ll be wearing them for the ride forty minutes before I try to put my feet in those shoes.

9)      Next, I punch my race number (Hole Punch!!!!) and put it on my number belt.

10)   I put my number belt on, number to the back.

11)   Around ten minutes before the start of the safety briefing I’ll slip the bottom half of my wetsuit on. I’m a scuba instructor and you can always tell experienced divers in hot locations because they don’t pull on their wetsuits right until they are ready to go in the water to avoid overheating – it’s the same thing for triathlon. I’ll take my time pulling it up carefully to avoid causing a fingernail nick or tearing a seam.

12)   I do one last check of my transition space, making sure everything looks right.

13)   Usually just before leaving transition for the safety briefing I climb into the top half of the wetsuit, pulling it up as high as I can to give me room and flexibility, and pick up my hat and goggles. If it’s especially hot I might leave the wetsuit half on until most of the way through the briefing, but this can raise stress levels, particularly in those first few races. If I really didn’t want to leave the top of the suit undone until the last second, I would throw a couple of litres of water down the neck of the suit just before leaving transition to help keep me cool until I hit the water.

I think you can probably see why we call transition an extra discipline and it really can make a difference to your time and placings, and even your chance of finishing if you get it particularly wrong. There are many mini triathlon or duathlons that might give you a chance to practice some of this – near me a local club runs a 2k run/8k ride/2k run duathlon once a month and this gave me invaluable practice with transitions. Of course, I only realised this was important after doing my first proper triathlon and watching people I’d worked really hard to beat fly out of the transition area much faster than I could.

If you don’t have a local event like this make sure you at least try a ‘brick’ session where you do two activities with a transition in between – you’ll quickly identify what works for you and what doesn’t and it’s a delightful way to discover that muscles that are quite happy doing any one discipline really dislike being flipped quickly from one to another. Actually, I think I meant horrible, not delightful – but better here than on race day.

Key Points:

–          Write a checklist and use it to pack your gear the night before the event

–          Recommended minimum kit is: Trisuit, Transport bag, Warm jumper, Race Number belt, Transition Mat/Towel, Wetsuit, Goggles, Helmet, Shoes (clipless bike shoes + run shoes or just run shoes with elastic laces), Bike computer, Bike spares + pump, Water

–          Get a running number belt and a cycling computer.

–          Check out the transition area carefully. Know where all the exits are and where your bike is from all the entrances.

–          Practice changing a tire/inner tube if necessary.

–          Have water available.

–          Lay out your kit in the order you think you will need it

–          Take your time; another checklist may help here.

–          Wetsuit on as late as you are comfortable with

Next: Part 4; The Bike