Lost in Transition (The Kinetic Sprint Triathlon - Part 2)

by Emilie L. David, 19 May 2012

If you are not so good at the multitasking (like me) then the transition portion of a triathlon can be really really stressful.  But if you can get your shit together, really really quickly, transition time can be like free time.  You might not be a faster swimmer than the girl next to you, but if you are a faster stripper than she is, you might beat her.

Sadly, I am the girl who gets down to her car in the morning and has to go back into the house for her cell phone.  And then on the way to the cell phone she misplaces her keys and loses a minute finding them, in the closet, where she stopped on the way to the cell phone because she remembered she forgot to apply lipstick.  So I knew this was going to be a challenge for me.  In terms of organization of my stuff, I think I did pretty well.  I did not have to go looking for anything or have to think too hard about what I needed to put on or take off.  But there are little things that can be done that can knock up to a minute off your T time.

So, for races going forward, here is my 5-Point Pledge of Transition:

1. I will take time in advance to really feel out and practice how to quickly get that velcro enclosure on the back of my wetsuit ripped open so I am not careening into the railing while wrestling with myself.

2. I will not carry my earplugs to T1 in my mouth.  Though gross, it seemed like the best way to not drop them and get penalized for littering.  But here is the thing, the excitement of not dying and hearing the cheering crowd and the effort of wrestling with the wetsuit causes BREATHING to occur.  Big, gulpy mouth breathing.  Which means those earplugs could end up on the ground anyway, or swallowed (or nearly swallowed, in this case).  Dump them in the swim cap or leave them in until you get to your transition bucket.  (btw, if, like me, you have inner ear problems, AquaSeal earplugs are awesome and can be found at CVS)

3. Speaking of the transition bucket, I will forgo the fancy tri bags in favor of using a bucket again.  Cap, goggles, earplugs were all easily tossed in there and the wetsuit plopped in after. I will not, however, leave anything in the bucket that I don't want to get damp.  Like, say, my post-race Pringles.

4.  I will be so high off the bike that I will not be able to read or remember my own race number, so, if the entrances to T1 and T2 are different, I will make sure I have counted the number of racks to my bike from BOTH ends of transition before the race starts.  And since I probably won't be able to count either, I will do what my neighbor did and tie a really gaudy sequinned bandana to the rack where my bike is supposed to go (Ooooo, THAT is what that ugly thing was for!).

5. I will bribe a sherpa to carry my crap from transition back to my car.  After all that hard work, the part of me that hurt the most was my bucket arm.  It out-throbbed the bike quads and the run knees.  And you cannot brag about that!  It's decidedly un-cool, bucket-arm.  Pathetic.