Dual Sport Week - Bike/Walk



Lawn Transition between Bike and Walk



Today I worked the bike to walk transition and it went well. As with the swim/bike combination I worked yesterday I started out with shorter distances - about half the length of the bike route and a third of the walk. I set up the lawn transition area as it would be at the end of the biking - pretty simple; just my hat and water bottle. After I thought through what I would be wearing when the bike portion starts, I realized that it would be a wet bathing suit. So I got my bathing suit wet in the lake; put on my biking shorts, shoes and socks; and set out to do part of the bike route.

I wasn't sure how important the hat would be and thought I might forget about it in order to spend up  my transition. Turns out that won't be necessary. I was able to put my hat on as I started the walk. This Tilley Hat is one that has gone on several trips with me including one to Ireland and Italy last month. It carries many great memories and feels right on my head when I'm walking. I often decorate it with feathers I find along the way. I'm glad I'll be wearing it for the triathlon.

The other discovery I made is that I can drink water with one hand and take off my helmet with the other. Two hands, what a wonderful body we have! I was even able to unfasten my gloves while drinking water (I was very thirsty). The end result was a transition that took somewhere between 1 and 2 minutes. Not bad, I can live with that.

My biggest challenge was my wobbley legs after the biking. Both my knees and my ankles felt like rubber. And that was after only half of the bike distance. This is of considerable concern as I have a history of turning my ankle and falling in the most benign of situations. A couple of years ago I even broke an ankle bone that way. Conclusion - I need to pay close attention to my footing when I start out on my walk.

As I started the walk I was also feeling a bit winded. I immediately started using the double breathing technique I've learned for high altitude hiking. You inhale twice and exhale once. It forces you to fill up your lungs which gets more oxygen into your body. It seemed to help. Just a few months ago my doctor tested my lung function and informed me that it is a bit below normal. This indicates that I have some mild asthma or severe allergies or both. When following up with an allergist I was given an inhaler to use when I do extensive exercise. Well, duh! I guess I should be using it now. Another item for my pre-race checklist.

My "Tri-suit"

When I first decided to give this triathlon a try (hee hee), Joe teasingly said maybe I needed a tri-suit. You will probably not be surprised that such things are available. My reaaction was scornful amusement. I find it disturbing that our culture seems to think you need a different outfit for each sport and/or combination of sports. Just for kicks, I googled women's tri-suits and found that I could get a nice one from Speedo for $325!  The dirt cheapest one I found was $60. I suspose if you are a professional triathlete they make sense. I'm perfectly happy to assemble my own thank you very much.

What I have assembled is a swim suit for the swim (really!). Adding bike shorts (okay, I do own specialized biking shorts but that is to make it possible to sit on those teeny seats without getting sore) prepares me for the bike portion. My bike pedals don't require special shoes so I am wearing my walking shoes for both the bike and walk segments. I have inserts I need to wear in my walking shoes and those feel weird without socks. For safety I, of course, wear a bike helmet. Lastly the padded biking gloves keep my hands from hurting. Makes for a long swim/bike transition but I think I'm willing to give up some time to be comfortable.

The walking stage requires very little change as I simply ditch the helmet and gloves and don my walking hat. The swimsuit with biking shorts works just fine for walking. Oh yeah, I forgot about the knee brace. It really helps avoid pain when I'm walking and sometimes I get twinges when I'm biking. So I decided to wear it for the whole race. That way I don't use up any transition time putting it on.

Accessories are, of course, my watch and sunglasses. I have no idea if I'll even look at my watch but it might be useful for checking progress. I'm fortunate to have a bike computer that gives me mileage, speed and elapsed time so that may suffice. I suspect during the walk I will have time to look at the watch occasionally. The sunglasses help protect my eyes and, of course, make me look cool.

The outfit and related transition times would be a whole lot easier if I had a younger body. But it is what it is. As I said in a previous post, I'm working with this body and not letting it stop me from participating. All you young folks, give thanks for what you've got!