10 Pro Triathletes. 10 Transition Tricks
If you watch professional triathletes during T1, you’ll witness them only doing two things: removing their swim gear and putting on their helmets. Every second is precious since even full iron-distance events have come down to sprint finishes, so not only do professionals execute their transitions with speed and simplicity, they do so with exceptional grace and relative calmness. They’re pros.
After two decades of racing, I’m still acquiring new shortcuts, so I thought I’d ask some of my favorite fellow pro triathletes for their special little tricks, and add my own because who don’t we all say to ourselves, “Next race I’m going to transition faster than ever.” Your time has come. Here ya go:
SAM LONG, A.K.A. “YO YO YO!”
This guy needs no introduction, right? It’s often debated whether it’s his character or his success that make him such a popular phenom. I can’t let an opportunity pass without harping on the fact *insert eye roll* that five years ago I proclaimed, “That boy is going to win Kona someday.” That prediction was piddly in comparison with the countless podia and victories he’s won since, as well as having established a globally viral athletic persona.
Sam’s trick is one of my faves. “Rubber band your gels, sunglasses, and watch together, so that way there’s just one thing to grab instead of three.” You might have a different lineup for your run bundle. Perhaps your needs include sunglasses/nutrition/hat/bib, or headband/sunglasses/selfie stick/submarine sandwich. Whatever you need for the run, it’s best not to gather up a loose pile like I do in Trader Joe’s when I don’t think I’ll need a basket.
JESSE VONDRACEK, A.K.A. “THE TRANSITION CLINICIAN”
A long time professional fixture in the sport, Jesse just keeps getting better! He’s stood on the podium countless times, and just recently clinched 7th at the competitive Ironman® Chattanooga.
When I asked him for his transition tip, he goes, “Is this because I had the fastest T2 overall at IMAZ 2017?” Indeed, he did. That’s why he’s the Transition Clinician, and that’s why you should heed his advice.
“Keep it simple! Make decisions ahead of time so that there is as little as possible in your transition areas. If you have extra food, clothes, or gear, consider workarounds to race without them, or secure them to your bike or run bundle.” Remember said bundle that Sam Long discussed? That’s two world class professionals who do the same thing. You should, too.
RACH MCBRIDE, A.K.A “THE PURPLE TIGER”
Rach is one of the most followed, respected, and beloved icons in the triathlon world. They have fans worldwide, not only because they show up to every race sporting a new colorful work of art for a Mohawk, but also because they are totally successful. They’ve been first out of the water at more than one major iron-distance event, and kept their lead because of a speedy transition.
Their hack: “Spray TRISLIDE on the inside of a sleeved race suit if you swim in it around your waist and need to pull it up in T1.” What they’re referring to is that many triathletes who wear a short sleeve race kit don’t like to bind themselves double-layer under their wetsuit or swimskin. Rolling down your kit can prevent hyperventilation and chafing.
BUT. Have you ever seen anyone in T1 try to wriggle their arms into a sopping wet sleeved kit? My close friend Lenny Ramsey (see tip #4) once spent so long trying to get her kit on she needed two volunteers to help her. Rach’s trick is surefire. If you don’t have TRISLIDE, I’m sure you have some baking spray in your pantry.
LENNY RAMSEY, A.K.A. “THE FLYING DUTCHWOMAN”
Lenny deserves the moniker “Flying” because she’s so fast. “Dutchwoman” is because, well, she’s a Dutch woman. You wouldn’t know it because of her perfect English with no trace of an accent, and she and her partner are currently holding up the southeast corner of the U.S. doing really impressive things professionally in the science industry. How does she have time to be a world-class up-and-coming triathlete, then? She leverages her scientific prowess to execute races with strategy, patience, and tact.
Lenny doesn’t consider herself the fastest transitioner — see that example in Rach McBride’s part above. It has yet to cost her, though, as she has run a sub-three-hour marathon, slicing through the field into third place at a major iron-distance event. She’s learning new tricks every season, including her current fave: “I roll my socks down so that they are ready to shove onto wet and grimy feet in T2, and roll-up in a flash.” I personally love this trick, and I go so far as to place one “scroll” in each shoe.
CHRIS LEIFERMAN, A.K.A. “LIFER”
You can take the boy out of Minnesota, but you can’t take the Minnesota out of the boy. Gopher state natives are tough, especially if you have four brothers like Chris. That fortitude was especially evident when Chris made his Kona debut (after having set the Ironman® Boulder course record) and fought his way up to tenth place, which is something most pros can only dream of doing. That fait accompli was only the beginning, though, as he has accrued multiple major race wins under his race belt.
We get a two-fer from Lifer: “I put baby powder in my cycling shoes and in the socks that go in my run shoes. And a lot of baby powder too! I seriously can’t get too liberal with it. I also take off my goggles and swim cap just before I take off the top of my wetsuit so that I can leave them in the sleeve of my wetsuit. Then they are stuck in there as I’m running to my bike, and also stuck in there as I strip it off and put it in the T1 bag or box.”
Brilliant! Just add that detail about the liberal baby powder to Lenny’s trick about the sock rolling. He and his wife Zana might still have some left over from when their little burgeoning hockey player toddler was in nappies. Just remember folks: don’t add to your transition. All the glide, powder, and lube is applied the day before or morning of the race. Speaking of lube…
JIM LUBINSKI, A.K.A. “LUBE”
Former professional ice hockey player turned professional triathlete, Lube has been racing since 2009, and during that period coached triathletes of all levels. You might know him best, however as one of the head coaches of TOWER 26 Triathlon, and host of the TOWER 26 Be Race Ready Podcast.
Lube offers sage advice for those wanting to take it to the next level: every single moment during the race is the race, so you should be blazing through aid stations, around corners, past friends and family, and certainly through transitions. Lube says, “MOVE! It’s free time. If you lay out your gear as you’ll use it and practice prior to race day, you can have the fastest transition possible.” Essentially, on top of all our swim, bike, and run training, we’d be remiss not to rehearse our transitions.
LINSEY CORBIN, A.K.A. “CORBS”
Which is more impressive: being a multiple-time Ironman® World Championship top-ten finisher, or being a multiple-time Ironman® champion? Probably both. Simply put, Linsey Corbin is one of the best endurance triathletes of all time. She still has time to be quite the cook and baker with her burgeoning side-gig Hazel & Blue, as well as a fly-fisherwoman and connoisseur of pretzels.
“When doing an Ironman I always have a piece of mint gum waiting for me in T2 that I pop in my mouth for the first few minutes of the marathon. It’s a great way to cleanse the palate after all the sugar on the bike, mint is said to awake the mind, and it also reminds me that I’m out for ‘just another long run’ as most Sundays I brush my teeth and head out the door for my long training run of the week.
CHRIS BAGG, A.K.A. “BAGG” OR “BAGGAGE”
Most transition “hacks” focus on little details such as baby powder, lube, or shrinking the number of items you need to take care of, either by banding them together or putting them in a baggie. All of those approaches are valid, and you should adopt them and practice them so you know how they work and if they work for you. I learned early on from an older professional who seemed to float through transition — he always seemed to be moving slowly, taking his time, but he routinely posted the fasted transition times of the pro field. As with many true experts, he made it look easy. When I asked him, he explained (in a mixture of English and gestures) that he used each transition as a buffer between sports.
“I put the swim and all my mistakes behind me in T1 and start thinking about what I need to do on the bike,” he said. “And then in T2 I forget about the bike and shift my focus to the run.” Transitions can literally be your transition between different sports and manners of moving, so use them to shift gracefully between the two. If that’s the mental approach, I’d say a good approach is to take the old mountain biking mantra “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” Take your transitions at a pace that feels slow but allows you to do everything smoothly. If you practice the other hints in this article and take your time, you may be surprised at how quick your transitions go. Oh, and practice. You really need to practice.
AMY VANTASSEL, A.K.A. “VT”
If you peruse the finish line pics of any race, I guarantee you 99% of athletes can be seen stopping their watches. We’re all tethered to our Garmins® even within races, obsessed with uploading perfect files for each leg. That’s why you’ll also see hosts of athletes fiddling with starts and stops, and changing modes on their devices during transitions.
And then…*insert dramatic movie trailer voice*…along came the Wahoo Fitness ELEMNT RIVAL Multisport watch and its freshly updated touchless transition mode! You press start at the beginning of the swim, and hit stop sometime near the finish.
Some sort of intergalactic gyroscope, in addition to Wahoo’s NASA-level super secret algorithm, senses when you’re no longer swimming, magically saves that file, and begins a transition timer. But that’s not all. It sends a sonar-esque “handover” to your Wahoo Fitness ELEMNT ROAM bike computer that you’re ready to roll, which starts and syncs your bike leg! When it senses you’re back for T2, the bike file is saved on both your RIVAL and ROAM, your transition is tracked, and your run is triggered.
You might not have this watch. Really, my main advice is to ensure you’re not wasting precious seconds fiddling with your devices, whatever they may be, in transition. Either let go of your obsession for perfect files, or figure out how to smoothly and safely change modes while you’re on the bike. I say “safely” because we’ve all seen those clowns who mount their bikes and then swerve in serpentine motions across the road as they manipulate their devices, unaware of others coming up behind them.
NATHAN KILLAM, A.K.A. “KILLER”
If you want to get to know Nathan, just run beside him during an Ironman. (Note that you’ll have to hold a 6-minute-mile pace.) He is so gregarious and affable that you’ll end up more exhausted from the dialogue than the sprinting. I was actually expecting something wilder from him, but perhaps he was inspired by his firefighting career because Nathan provided the most pragmatic advice of all.
“Entrances and exits. The day before the race, physically go to every one from inside of the transition area (swim exit, bike exit and entrance, run exit) and walk back to your transition spot. Find the shortest route to and from your spot, taking mental notes of everything including obstacles, counting racks, making landmarks (using physical points of reference for turning and navigating) so that when you are mid-race you don’t have to think, you can focus on racing and not get lost.”
If you’re saying, “Oh, yeah, no, I always do that” I bet you’ve slacked at least a few times. Personally, I always intend on it, but then I begin socializing as I rack your bike and end up just vaguely clocking where swim exit is. The only way to be sure to employ Killer’s trick is to factor-in several extra minutes the day before the race.
CONCLUSION
Have you noticed a theme among these ten tricks? That’s correct: simplify, simplify, simplify. There are actually five legs in every triathlon, so the overarching pro tip that extends to every part of this crazy sport is to practice, practice, practice. With that in mind, I won’t divulge which of the above pros suggested you streak transition to throw off your competitors. Be safe out there, practice, and simplify.