T1 & T2 Day
Today I worked on both T1 and T2. So I grabbed my gear and went outside. I set the bike up and arranged my helmet and glasses on the handlebars, with both pairs of shoes opened as wide as they will go near a small towel laid out on the ground.
Then all I had to do was go. I jogged up to my makeshift transition area, pretended to wipe sand off my feet, slipped said pretend-sandless feet into cycling shoes, popped on my glasses then my helmet, and grabbed the bike and jogged off. Once I was a few feet away I climbed on and clipped my left foot in.I didn't clip in right away because, as I learned after doing a little research on transitions, there is a special transition area at triathlons and those are a No Ride zone. Keeps everything safer and more organized.
Then I turned around, unclipped, and jogged the bike back to my transition area for T2. This, I think, is going to be a more important transition for me. The key is not to rush it, but to use it as recovery time. I've already said that I plan to dial it back some the last half mile of the ride to get my heart rate down, and keeping the transition slowish and unpanicked will also help with that. I put the bike up, took my helmet off and hung it back on the bars, and slipped out of my cycling shoes and into my Vibrams. The toes aren't going to be too much of an issue I don't think. It seems more that I'm trapping the heel of the shoe under my own foot and I have to dig it out, so I need to be aware of that. Like I said though, I'm not going to panic or stress during this transition. I practiced breathing deep and slow and calming myself down so that I'll be ready to take off on the run.
I'm thinking after this race I might experiment with full-on barefoot running. I've been doing a lot of reading on it and the running world is very divided on the issue, as you can imagine. But it seems like a small step to go from FiveFingers to nothing at all. I read a running blog where the guy loves his VFFs but is not a fan of going completely without and I've been on some forums where the people swear by going unshod. The general consensus is, "Just try it. Go on a short run and just see." So I think I might. I have no idea how I'll like it, if at all, and I don't expect it to be a regular thing. But maybe barefoot every few runs will be something I really enjoy. Assuming I keep up with the triathloning (pretty sure I just created a verb there), going without shoes on the run will severely cut down my T2 time. Not like I'll be qualifying for pro races by doing that, but a PR (Personal Record) is a PR. At the very least it'll make other racers look funny at me, and we all know how much I enjoy that. Or I won't like it and stick with the VFFs, which I still love and want another pair or two of. The foot is still a little sore after runs, but it's not nearly as bad as it was and I don't feel it while I'm running. I think I'm a full on convert to the minimalist trend.
We are inside a week now. *starts humming Eye of the Tiger*
Showing posts with label T2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label T2. Show all posts
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
I Practice Changing Shoes
T2- Judgment...Transition Day
Today was transition two practice. For those of you who aren't much for rememberizing things, I will review. The race goes swim, bike, run. So transition two would be...yes, practicing taking the cycling shoes and helmet off and putting the running shoes on. See what you can do when you set your mind to it?
So out to the covered driveway I go with my Vibram FiveFingers, my cycling shoes, and my helmet. I'll mime the bike, it's ok. I don't even know how the bike gets set up or what the holder thing looks like, so that makes it hard to practice putting it away. I do know that there is no riding inside the transition area so practicing running up with the bike is the best way anyway. Super cool fast people will probably be slipping their feet out of their shoes while the shoes are still clipped in and running up barefoot for this transition. I would do that if I wanted to fall and die. So I won't. Maybe later I'll ask Obi Tri Kenobi to teach me that trick.
This transition will actually be slower for me than it will be for other people because of my choice of shoe. Check out the above link. Those toe sockets to not a swift transition make. Adding on to that is sometimes my toes go numb in my cycling shoes (probably because I pedal with too great an angle or something), which makes aiming those little piggies harder than hitting a Womp rat in Begger's Canyon back home (by the way, what a great innuendo that should be, "I'd hit that Womp rat right in Begger's Canyon!"). Also, the preceding sentence contained two parenthetical asides, a new record. Please wait while I take a victory lap.
Anyway, I went out and practiced taking off one pair of shoes and putting on another. Here are my times:
#1- 48.97
#2- 42.44
#3- 40.85
#4- 41.88
#5- 42.63
#6- 42.62
#7- 47.25 *toe fail
#8- 37.47
I have no idea what I did differently on that last one, but I like it. I know that a 10 second variation isn't going to mean much in a hour and a half long race, so I'm not very concerned with the times here, they are just good to know. I don't see myself finishing, looking at my time and going, "Ohhh, if only I'd been five seconds faster on T2! Damn!" Plus I'll be tired, I'll be breathing heavy, I'll be trying to focus and go slow, but quickly. So the hope is to be under 50 seconds for the transition. Honestly, if it takes a few seconds longer then that's a few seconds more of rest I get. Not exactly a bad thing. Not going to over-stress about the transition.
Today was transition two practice. For those of you who aren't much for rememberizing things, I will review. The race goes swim, bike, run. So transition two would be...yes, practicing taking the cycling shoes and helmet off and putting the running shoes on. See what you can do when you set your mind to it?
So out to the covered driveway I go with my Vibram FiveFingers, my cycling shoes, and my helmet. I'll mime the bike, it's ok. I don't even know how the bike gets set up or what the holder thing looks like, so that makes it hard to practice putting it away. I do know that there is no riding inside the transition area so practicing running up with the bike is the best way anyway. Super cool fast people will probably be slipping their feet out of their shoes while the shoes are still clipped in and running up barefoot for this transition. I would do that if I wanted to fall and die. So I won't. Maybe later I'll ask Obi Tri Kenobi to teach me that trick.
This transition will actually be slower for me than it will be for other people because of my choice of shoe. Check out the above link. Those toe sockets to not a swift transition make. Adding on to that is sometimes my toes go numb in my cycling shoes (probably because I pedal with too great an angle or something), which makes aiming those little piggies harder than hitting a Womp rat in Begger's Canyon back home (by the way, what a great innuendo that should be, "I'd hit that Womp rat right in Begger's Canyon!"). Also, the preceding sentence contained two parenthetical asides, a new record. Please wait while I take a victory lap.
Anyway, I went out and practiced taking off one pair of shoes and putting on another. Here are my times:
#1- 48.97
#2- 42.44
#3- 40.85
#4- 41.88
#5- 42.63
#6- 42.62
#7- 47.25 *toe fail
#8- 37.47
I have no idea what I did differently on that last one, but I like it. I know that a 10 second variation isn't going to mean much in a hour and a half long race, so I'm not very concerned with the times here, they are just good to know. I don't see myself finishing, looking at my time and going, "Ohhh, if only I'd been five seconds faster on T2! Damn!" Plus I'll be tired, I'll be breathing heavy, I'll be trying to focus and go slow, but quickly. So the hope is to be under 50 seconds for the transition. Honestly, if it takes a few seconds longer then that's a few seconds more of rest I get. Not exactly a bad thing. Not going to over-stress about the transition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)