Screaming Fast Transitions
By Gale Bernhardt
For Active.com
March 28, 2007

International Triathlon Union (ITU) elite racers -- racing at the Olympic distance of a 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run -- post some of the fastest transition times on the planet.

Besides trying to get into the first transition (T1) before the big pack, good swimmers in World Cup races also want to be first across a designated prime line, which pays out additional prize money as an added incentive to go fast.

Once in T1, World Cup racers need screaming fast transitions to get on the bike -- preferably in a small group -- so they can work together to put time between their breakaway and the main pack.

After a multiple lap bike course, a fast second transition (T2) is critical not only to the racers in any breakaway, but to the racers in the main group as well. Seconds count, as the 10k running leg at World Cup triathlons has begun to look like an open 10k road race. Once on the run, any alliances formed on the bicycle are typically set aside for individual success.

How fast are these elite athletes going? In 2006, the fastest overall Olympic distance results were produced in Hamburg, Germany, with the men's winner going just over 1:43 and the women's winner at 1:53. In this particular race, first and second place were separated by only 11 seconds for the women and 14 seconds for the men. At a race in Ishigaki, Japan, the second place male finished only a second behind the winner.

Fast transitions are critical in all World Cup triathlons. Just a few seconds lost in transition might cost an athlete a podium position.

Like a World Cup racer, age-group athletes need quick transitions to be competitive at sprint and Olympic distance racing. Here are some pro techniques you can use to make your transitions faster.

Begin practicing fast transitions now

Too often, athletes wait until the week before the race to practice transitions. That is too late. You need to practice now to execute the fastest transitions possible and have them be second nature.

One way to do this is to include transitions in your brick workouts. Also, set aside some practice time to work exclusively on faster transitions -- don't worry about an aerobic workout that day.

Leave your shoes in the pedals and use rubber bands

Elite athletes leave their shoes in the pedals for the first transition (T1). After exiting the swim, they put on their helmets, grab the bike and run out of the transition area.

In order to keep the crank arms and shoes from rotating and jamming into the ground, they use thin rubber bands to hold the shoes and the crank arms parallel to the ground. They attach one end of the rubber band around the shoe or through the heel loop of the shoe, and the other end to a rear stay on the side of the bike.

Do the same with the other shoe. You will have to experiment to see which locations are best for your rubber bands depending on your shoe size and frame size.

The thin rubber bands easily break away when you mount the bike and begin pedaling with your feet on top of your shoes. Slide your feet in your shoes once you are rolling at a good pace.

Put your sunglasses on while pedaling

Instead of putting your sunglasses on in the transition area, put them on once you are rolling on the bike. If your helmet has front air vents, see if you can secure the sunglasses there.

From the front, it will look like your helmet is wearing sunglasses. If your sunglasses are not secure on your helmet, fasten them to the top of your frame with a small piece of tape.

Use a flying mount and dismount

World Cup racers are going as fast as possible at every moment during a race. They are running relatively hard when they exit T1. They mount their moving bicycle with a flying mount, which looks something like a cowboy jumping onto a galloping horse.

Before they approach the dismount line at T2, they remove both feet from their shoes and continue pedaling in a manner similar to when they began the bike leg. Near the dismount line, they swing one leg back and over the bicycle so it's behind the other leg on one side of the bicycle. At the dismount line they are off the bike and running to the transition area.

This particular move is advanced and takes plenty of practice. You can view a short video of a World Cup race here. Select the Ishigaki men's or women's race to see great examples of flying mounts and dismounts.

Use elastic laces and no socks

There are elastic laces available at most stores that stock triathlon supplies. Elastic laces allow you to easily slip your feet into your shoes, wasting no time to secure Velcro or old-style lace locks on regular laces.

Before you decide to race with no socks, do a few practice runs at home. Some athletes can run with no socks and not have a single blister. Other athletes will develop hot spots on their feet that eventually bloom into blisters.

On your test run, carry a lubricant such as Body Glide. When you feel a hot spot beginning to develop, stop and apply the lubricant to the shoe surface causing the hot spot. This is the same location you will apply the lubricant on race morning when you set up your transition area.

Use a movie camera

When you are trying to improve your transition speed, have someone record your T1 and T2 in a practice session or during a race. Use a watch and time both transitions. After reviewing for ways to improve, do the transitions repeatedly until you think you have the fastest transition time possible.

If you're a spectator at an event, tape some of the top age-group and elite racers to see how they're doing transitions. You may pick up some additional tips.

If you're looking to get the edge on your competition without additional training, take a look at your transitions. Strategizing where you can save time during transitions is fun and it may even put you on the podium.

 

Beyond buying some aero bars, small changes to your bike can save big time when it comes to aerodynamics and drag.  Here are some modifications and their time savings over 40K as determined by Chester Kyle, an aerodynamics pioneer.

 

 

10 Steps to improving your triathlon swim
By Kevin Koskella
For Active.com
November 20, 2006

As technical as the sport of swimming can be, it is tough to narrow down the answer to the often-asked question, "what should I concentrate on?" So, I came up with a "top ten" list of steps to improving your swim for a triathlon. These aren't necessarily in any order, but should go a long way in helping you achieve your goals, whether you are a beginner or trying to go pro.

Hand entry. Slice your hand into the water right about at your goggle line, and drive it forward. Many swimmers attempt to get as much "air time" as possible by reaching the hand out before entering into the water, but it is actually more efficient to go through the water with your hand as you rotate from one side to the other.


Head position. Keep looking straight down when swimming freestyle. It's important to keep your head down with only a small part of the back of your head out of the water. Also, as you rotate through the water, try not to move your head with the rest of your body rotation.


Pull. In freestyle, your hands should pull all the way back past your hips. The last part of the stroke before recovery (arms coming out of the water) should be an acceleration behind you -- and not up out of the water.


Kick. Try minimizing your kick as you train for swimming. Most people will kick extra hard to make up for lack of balance in the water. Minimizing your kick will allow you to improve your balance, as well as conserve energy.


Training intensity. The best way to measure your training intensity is to count your heart rate immediately after each swim. You can estimate your heart rate by counting your pulse rate for six seconds immediately after each swim. Add a zero to this count, and you will have your approximate exercise heart rate per minute.


Master's swimming. Move to a slower lane to work on stroke improvement. If you belong to a masters team, don't feel that you always need to keep up with your lanemates at every workout. Masters teams typically have many people with many different swimming goals. It's important to do your own thing! Remember that technique comes before all else and if this means swallowing a little pride to make improvements, just think of how much faster you will be for this in the long run.


Keep your arm from crossing over. One of the most common bad habits I see in swimmers is the arm crossing over to the opposite side on the pull. Breathing on your left side results in your right arm crossing over, breathing on your left side results in your right arm crossing. Often this happens when one goes to breathe, but sometimes it's caused just from over-rotating. To avoid this, make sure your head isn't moving with the rest of your body, and try to pull more in a straight line (still bending the elbow) and ending the pull on the same side you started. (For example, right hand slices into the water, pulls back and hand ends up near right hip.)


Keep the feel. If swimming is your toughest sport, it is important to "keep the feel" for the water, and get in the water at least every other day (no -- showers and baths don't count!) This way, your body maintains its kinesthetic awareness of being balanced in water.


Work those lungs. Mix in some hypoxic training sets into your workouts. For example, do a set of 4x100's breathing every 3-5-7-9 strokes by 25, with 15 seconds rest in between each 100. Your lungs will thank you for it towards the end of the swim part of your race!


Work your weakness. In the sport of triathlon, most coaches agree that you should spend the most time working on your weakest of the three sports. For many of you, this will be swimming! Within swimming, the same concept applies. Spend the most time working on the weakest part of your stroke. If balancing on your side is an issue, do some kicking drills on your side. If moving your head is a problem, focus on head position most of the time. Whatever it is, you will gain the most by spending your pool time improving on that weakness.

 

The Five Keys to Triathlon Swimming
By Neil Cook

July 06, 2006

Triathlon swimming is different from competitive swimming. Although the goals are the same--complete the distance as fast as possible--triathlon requires you to be as efficient as you can in order save energy for the bike and run later on. In fact, many triathletes feel that the race does not really start until they get on the bike, and they think of the swim as a warm-up for the hard parts still to come.

Most of your triathlon swim training should focus on perfecting your technique and getting used to the distance you need to swim in the race. As your technique improves and you gain experience in open water, you can begin to focus on increasing your speed. Your greatest improvements in speed will occur as your technique improves. The more efficient your swimming is, the less energy you need to complete the distance in a faster time. But the biggest challenge you need to overcome is learning to use the resistance created by the water to your advantage, rather than letting it slow you down.

Before you begin to work on your swimming technique, you need to able to control your breathing and maintain a relaxed rhythm. Next time you swim, think about starting to exhale as soon as your face re-enters the water, and then exhale completely before you take another breath. One of the "secrets" to swim-breathing is to only inhale when your face is out of the water. If you're taking the time to exhale and then inhale, your breath and rhythm will be out of whack, and you'll feel out of breath.



The best way to improve your technique may be to take a class or get some instruction to drive home these key elements to effective swimming. These will reduce your drag and you'll find you're using less energy to move through the water. Remember, learning new swim techniques is often about breaking bad habits and teaching your body to move in new ways. It takes time and practice, so try swimming the drills suggested in each key. They will help you to think about what you're doing in the water, and how your body moves.

Front Quadrant Swimming

Our natural tendency is to swim with our arms in opposition--one arm forward and the other arm backward. This is a very unbalanced position and creates a lot of drag. Front Quadrant swimming means one arm or hand is always in front of your body. Extend your arm as it enters the water -- as if you are reaching for the end of the pool, and keep that arm extended just below the surface of the water until your other arm begins to enter the water. This is not a natural movement, but it will pull you through the water more effectively.
Drills: Alphabet Drills, One Arm Drill, Catch-Up Drill.

Streamline Body Position

This means getting your body long and thin to reduce drag. You should look like a torpedo in the water. When you extend your arm forward, try to press your shoulder against your head and against your ear while you keep your head down, facing the bottom of the pool--don't look forward! As you reach your hand forward, shrug your shoulder to further extend your arm. The key to being streamlined is to keep your arm next to your ear as you reach forward and glide. Remember to keep the arm straight.

Drills: One Arm Drill, Catch-Up Drill.

 

Horizontal Body Position

Remaining in a horizontal position is critical in efficient swimming. When you kick, your heels should just break the surface of the water. Do not allow your knees or feet to move outside your frontal profile. A slight, slow kick is usually all that's necessary to keep your feet at the surface. Kicking will not help you move faster, it uses an incredible amount of energy for very little propulsion. Also, you runners need to work on pointing your toes straight back, instead of at the pool bottom.

Drills: One Arm Drill and Catch-Up Drill (with a kick board and fins.)

Torso Rotation

Rotating your torso will improve your position as you breathe, and help you remain streamline and horizontal. Your arm will extend naturally as you roll and complete the opposite arm pull. A key element of open water technique is your body roll. You should be rolling onto your side with each stroke. This reduces drag, makes your stroke efficient and helps reduce the energy needed to recover after each stroke. Torso rotation starts at your hip, just like when you swing a baseball bat or a golf club.

Drills: S&M Drill, Dial Soap Drill, No-Arm Drill.

Pull / Power Phase and Recovery

Although many people focus on the Pull / Power Phase of the stroke in order to improve swimming, your swimming will be faster and easier if you master the first four keys. The Pull / Power Phase is about "grabbing" the water. Most people attempt to move their hand from in front of their body to along side their hip. To be efficient and fast, you must grab the water and pull your body past your hand. Think about it this way: your hand shouldn't move very much from the point you grab the water until you lift your hand out of the water. Your body moves, your hands stay still pushing against the water.

Drills: Paddles drill, Flex-flex-pull