28 Tips for Triathlon Transitions

As a beginner triathlete, probably one of the most difficult and stressful challenges is how to manage yourself in transition, as well as getting your transition area set up before the race.

This is especially true if this is your first triathlon. Without actually having done it before, it will be a bit stressful for you. If, however, you prepare yourself well and manage to stay calm while you are trying to get your bike shoes on, you can actually make up quite a bit of time on some of your race peers.

If you are doing a longer distance triathlon, like an Ironman or Half-Ironman, having a speedy transition doesn’t make up that large of a time percentage compared to the whole race.

For instance, two extra minutes spent resting in a Half-Ironman might do you some good, but will have little affect on your overall time, which, depending on your ability, anywhere from five to seven hours.

In a sprint triathlon, however, two minutes would probably drop your place in the race by at 20, 30, even 40 places depending on the size of the race. So, making a quick transition from swim to bike, then bike to run is vitally important!

If you are doing your first race, though, I would worry less about time and more about making sure you have everything you need. After a few races, you realize you don’t need that much. Below are 26 tips that might help you in setting up and skillfully navigating your transition area. It is up to you to remain calm, cool, and collected at all times.

1. Before you start packing your transition bag, think about what gear each sport will require, then add each item to your bag.
2. For instance, for the swim, you will need your goggles and your race assigned swim cap. If it’s an open water and depending on the water temperature, you may need your wetsuit. For the bike, you will need cycling shoes, helmet and sunglasses. Attention all new triathletes!!!! You do not need cycling gloves! Talk about a time waster! This was a point I pondered for hours before more my first tri, so I have just saved you much brain power. For the run, you will need a race belt with your number on it, your running shoes, and maybe a hat or a visor.
3. That’s pretty much it for the important stuff. Everything else is more for your own comfort, like a towel on which to place your stuff, or anti-fog spray for your goggles, or extra shoestrings, or some trash bags in case it rains and you want to stick your cycling and running shoes in them. Keep all that stuff in your tri bag at all times and you won’t have to worry about it.
4. There are many excellent packing lists on the Internet already. If you become a USAT member (good idea if you are planning to do more than one race), they give you a little credit card with a checklist of all the things you might need on race day, like sunscreen, a tire pump, a spare tube, etc. Again, have all your miscellaneous items packed, the work through the list of important stuff. After that, your packed, ready to go, and you can relax.
5. I like to get to the race early so that I have plenty of time setting up my stuff. I also like to walk around and say hello to everyone that I know who his racing. You will see some stressed out people, so don’t feel bad if you are one of them! You can also learn a lot by watching other triathletes, especially the good ones, set up their transition areas.
6. As far as warming up before the race, the general rule of thumb is the shorter the race, the longer the warm-up. So, if you are doing a sprint, you might want to run for a mile or so to loosen up. You will also want to get in the water before the swim to stretch out. It’s really up to you what you do. Some do no warm up, some do a lot. If would be more concerned with swimming than anything probably. If you are doing an Ironman or a Half, I would just save my energy and skip the warm-up all together. You’ll have plenty of time to warm-up over the next 5 to 17 hours!
7. On race morning, you will have the opportunity before the race to put all of the things you need for your race in your own little spot. There will be racks to put your bike on, and your race number will usually correspond with your spot on the rack. Make sure your bike is racked on the side your number is facing, as usually bikes are staggered down the rack on each side.
8. At this point, I like to walk around the transition area to check out where the entrances and exits are from the swim, to mount your bike, and, most importantly, coming back in on the bike and exiting to start the run.
9. You will be surprised how similar everything looks when you come back in off the bike. I have wasted valuable minutes searching for my bike in transition, so don’t let this be you! Some folks even put balloons or some other marker at the end of their rack, so they know which rack their bike is on. This is all well and good until the balloon pops or there are two red balloons. My wife used to get me super-hero ballons so I would I know where I was — just look for Spider Man! Either way, just know where your spot in relation to the bike dismount!
10. You will see people who have their bikes racked either by the handlebars or by the seat, facing out from the rack. I’m not sure which is quicker to pull off and get moving toward the bike mount area, but you do what you feel most comfortable with. I don’t think it matters much.
11. Simply find a space to either side of your bike and place a towel or a mat. If you happen to luck up and get bike rack that is on the end, you have all the space you want! Lucky you!
12. After you have walked around a bit (or before), lay your items out in your transition space in a way that makes it simple to get your shoes on off. I like to have my bike stuff on one side and my running stuff on the other.
13. Always loosen the shoe laces on your running shoes and unfasten the velcro straps from your cycling shoes. You want to be able to get these on and off quickly! Triathlon specific cycling shoes usually only have one strap to mess with, so it makes it much quicker than putting on normal cycling shoes that have three straps. For running shoes, try Yankz or Lock Laces, which are elastic laces with locks that make it easy to just slide your shoes on. They do an excellent job! I even use them in training because they are comfortable, and because I want to be used to them.
14. Try putting some Vaseline on the top inside part of your shoes at the rear. It will make it easier for your heel to slip into the shoe. I also sometimes put baby powder in my running shoes and cycling shoes to help dry my feet. Remember, you will be wet when you are transitioning from swim to bike!
15. Lay your helmet top side down on your handlebars or aero bars. Lay the straps open to either side so you can just grab it plop it on your noggin and buckle it up. I always try my helmet on before laying it out just to make sure it’s fitting right and their are no snags or tangles in the straps.
16. I then put my sunglasses (I usually wear these not only for coolness points but to keep from getting hit in the eye with debris, rocks, bugs, etc.) laying open in my helmet. So, sunglasses on, helmet on and buckled, and your off.
17. As far as your bike, make sure you’re in an easy gear. You don’t want to start off trying to mount your bike when it is in the big ring!
18. You should have your fluids already prepared as well, of course. I like a bottle on my down tube, then an aero-bottle full of whatever. If it is a longer race, you should invest in a Bento Box that will allow you to store a lot of your race nutrition, like gels, bars, etc.
19. Keep a towel hanging on your bike. You can grab this right when you return from the swim to wipe of your face and perhaps your feet.
20. If you are male and racing in a sprint, in some races you will be allowed to ride without a shirt. In some races, you can’t. The best solution for not having to put a cycling shirt on a wet body is a triathlon specific suit, which you can find online or in any triathlon store. In my very first triathlon, I think I spent at least four of five minutes in transition trying to get my shirt on. For reference, a decent sprint transition time would be less than a minute and a half. Elite athletes often have times of 40-50 seconds.
21. If you are racing in a wetsuit legal race, you would wear whatever you need under your suit. Some folks use things like Pam cooking spray, BodyGlide, or other wetsuit specific sprays like Suit Juice to enable their wetsuits to slip off their ankles and arms easily.
22. If it is a wetsuit legal race, when you exit the water and are running to your bike, start removing your suit by pulling the zipper down in back. I usually try to have mine down at my waist before I get back to my bike.
23. Once back to your bike, I find it much easier to just sit or lie down and pull the thing off my legs. I find if I stand, I have a tendency for my calf muscles to cramp from the pressure of the wetsuit on the legs. Do what works best for you. Removing a wetsuit is a skill you should practice a few times before the race! In Ironmans and bigger Halfs, they have wetsuit strippers there for you. You just lie down and the pull it off. How nice!
24. When I get back to my bike, I usually put my shoes on first, then helmet, then the sunglasses. Next, grab your bike off the rack and hit it! You have to run your bike to the bike mount area though with your helmet on, so don’t try to get on before then!
25. After you have smoked your ride, start preparing yourself physically for the transition to the run. Over the last few miles, switch to a lighter gear and spin more to prepare your legs for the run. You should already have a cadence of 85-90 (see my post, Improve Your Running In Five Minutes, for more info on that), so riding at that cadence, at least over the last few miles, would be highly beneficial to your legs. If you have never felt the experience of getting off the bike and running, I urge to try it in a “brick” workout of your own in training before the race!
26. You should also take in a gel and make sure that you have hydrated properly over the entire ride. You don’t want to have to drink too much at the end of the bike, as it will more than likely be sloshing in your stomach on the beginning of the run.
27. If you have the bike handling skills, you might also reach down and unfasten your straps on your shoes. I often find that my feet feel much better after wiggling them around and getting some blood to them before they hit the pavement.
28. Prepare yourself mentally for the transition to the run. Over the last few miles, you should also be prepared in your head. Run through the steps that will result in a speedy transition. Imagine yourself hitting the dismount line, jumping off and running with your bike, the finding your rack and racking it. Next, off with them helmet. Slide your running shoes on and grab your race belt and hat while heading out. You can put your race belt on after you are running semi-comfortably.

A nicely arranged transition area.

At this point in the race, all that’s left for you do is run! That’s about it for my transition tips. If you have any transition tips that you think would fit, please leave them in the Comments section. Thanks for reading! Also, if you are training for a triathlon, let me know which race and when!