Should I/Can I change clothes? In sprint and Olympic distance, my tri kit is on me from when I leave home to when I get home after the race. Everything has to work in the water, on the bike and while running, every second spent in transition counts. On the full distance (Iron) scale, you’re not often worrying about the lost minute you spend getting into the most comfortable pair of bike shorts (which would have been terrible in the water, but will literally save your butt on the bike), because being a little more comfortable for several hours in the saddle is worth it. What about the Half-Iron distance though? Is it worth the time? Is it even plausible or is there no opportunity to do it without being arrested for indecent exposure?
Can I use my triathlon bag? At the Lakeside Tri, I was told by an official that my bag was not allowed in the transition area. The bag not only carries my gear efficiently, but folds out into a mat and helps me lay out everything I need to race. In a longer race, I’m only going to need more gels, liquids, gear and accessories, and the need to keep it organized is going to be greater. I can’t see that happening if stuff is just laying willy-nilly on the ground. In the Course Details they seem to mention Swim To Bike Gear bags that are provided by the race. They are numbered and used to transport wetsuits and other swim gear to the finish, so I guess that’s one question answered, but my worries about a chaotic transition area are not allayed.
What kind of problems is having 2 different transition areas going to bring about? I’ll need to think about items as being ‘only for the run’ or ‘only for the bike’, I can’t take anything for granted!
Will I ever spell ‘Transition’ properly the first time? I think I’ve written ‘transistion’ about a dozen times now.