Transition time - how important is it? (Page 2)

We're not fast enough to see those at our races.

Transition time improves greatly with experience and practice.  I went from "dude, did you bring a bottle of wine to your picnic?" to MOP in transition over the course of a few races by streamlining my equipment (getting the right socks), process (getting the ##%@! wetsuit off) and pace (run with the bike, dummy!). 

Getting to the pointy end would involve the more intense transition practices like flying mounts/dismounts, shoes mounted on the bike, etc.

How much attention matters only to you.  I can tell you this, I came out of the water at my last sprint race a full minute behind a friend of mine.  He came out of T1 a second behind me. To me, it mattered, because he was the only person there that I was racing against.  If saving time is important in a race, you will start to look at all the places you can save.  Mounting a bike, dismounting, equipment placement, running in transitions, grab and go in T2, etc.  It all adds up, and can make a difference.  Not just at the pointy end, but it might matter to your enjoyment if you are simply competing against yourself.  Or against a friend.  

LOL!  When my athletes have long transitions, the joke is that they must have been making a sandwich.  

Skills like flying mounts/dismounts are good to work on eventually, but most people are wasting so much time in other ways in transition that they're a long ways from needing to work on that.  Most people just need to simplify their setup and practice quick, smooth, and controlled movements.  The first thing most should do is get rid of all the extra crap they don't need.  I personally only use flying mounts & dismounts when I'm racing sockless in sprints, yet I normally have some of the fastest transitions in the race.  Here's a pic of a simple clean setup for racing with socks (notice they're rolled up in the shoes), and not doing flying mounts.  ETA:  No buckets, water tubs, water bottles, nutrition, extra equipment, etc.  They will all slow you down.

(Transition Setup.jpg)

On the topic of flying mounts.......you don't have to do them just because your shoes are clicked in.  Run your bike out of transition, put your foot on top of your shoe while the bike is moving, and stand up on the pedal.....then throw your other leg over and go.  You used to do this as a kid when getting on your bike, remember? It's easy......and it's almost just as fast as a "flying mount" and actually easier to control. 

The bottom line is that there are many good tips on this thread for people of all levels.......but you won't help yourself one bit by reading it if you don't incorporate the practice of it into your training.  You really have to practice transitions to get fast at them.......then it's truly free speed.

I think this is referred to as a "Postman's mount".  It is one of the better things I found that helps me.  Do I save lots of time? Probably not.  I used it as I ran past a group of 3 guys that were all stopped and mounting at the line, then I pushed off and headed out.  A small amount of time saved, and it sure wan't getting me on a podium with my run splits, but it sure felt nice to know I was doing a little something to help my overall time.  And it kept me out of the mess at the mount line while still in control of my bike.

Two years ago at the AG Nationals Sprint race there was 1.2 seconds separating 4th-6th place.......overall podium gets 5 places.  There was 45 seconds difference in total transition time in those 3 places.  That was the race for the final podium spot.

Yep, transitions definitely matter if you want to be on the podium.  I can't recall, does Challenge go 5 deep for AG podiums?

This thread got me thinking about some of my own races over the years, and I remembered Savageman in 2011.  It was fairly cold (about 50 degrees at the start), and much of the first 18 miles of the bike is downhill and shaded, so I decided to throw on a long sleeve top in T1.  I picked one that only zipped part way down, so I wouldn't struggle with a zipper with cold fingers, was snug enough not to flap in the breeze, but loose enough to get on relatively easily when wet from the swim.  I thought my T1 was ok, but not spectacular.  It ended up fast enough to be 4th/64 in my AG and 30th/390 OA.  I was really surprised to see so many giving up free time, because this race usually has a deep field with a lot of talent.  Even though I wasn't competing for the podium there, it's still good practice to try to do everything well for the races where you will be.  In this case, choosing the right clothing probably made a difference.

Earlier this spring, in my only race of the year, I beat out 2 of my own athletes in a local sprint tri in large part because of transitions.  I was 2nd, and my one guy was 3rd, giving up approximately a minute to me in transitions.  My other guy was 4th, and he gave up another 2 minutes to our guy in 3rd (3 minutes to me), because this was his first tri, and we hadn't worked on his transitions too much yet.  In this case, going sockless, and having more experience gave me transitions of :35 and :21 (3rd and 2nd fastest of 128 OA).  --  Yes, that is a front door brag.  It's been a rough couple of years for my health, so I'm taking what I can get.