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People who have never competed in a triathlon are often surprised to discover that the clock does not stop between events. This rapid changing of shoes, gear, and clothes, or transition as it’s known, is just as much a part of triathlon as swimming, biking, and running. In fact, quick change artists have nothing on elite triathletes who can breeze through the entire process faster than you can guzzle a cup of Gatorade. Beginners are often told that they can get free time by practicing the transition. Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret: you can also get a little free rest. The only problem is that that you may be scoffed at by your fellow triathletes if you actually sit down and take a break. The trick is to drag transition out for as long as you can, but look busy doing it.

I mastered some of the technique I’m about to share in just my second triathlon. While some guy named Earl was able to zip through the first transition (or T1) in just 19 seconds—I’m not sure how that is even possible—my two minutes and 59 seconds gave me enough time to catch my breath so that when I finally got I my bike, I was ready to go.

As I climbed out of the pool after the swim and jogged toward the transition area, I felt pretty good. It was my second triathlon after all. I’d done this before. “This shouldn’t take long”, I thought. I quickly found my bike, dried my feet, and put on my shoes. As soon as I started to unrack my bike, however, that’s when things started to go wrong—or perhaps right (wink, wink). As I eased my bike from underneath the rack, I realized that the seat was too high for me to just pull it directly out. I had to tip it to the side and slowly wriggle it free. Unfortunately, this maneuver caused my bike to bump into another, knocking it to the ground. After getting the other bike set back up, and hoping that nobody saw me, I began the process of freeing my bike again, a little more carefully this time. I was finally able to dislodge it, but as I did so, the pedal scraped against my shin, leaving behind a nice sized gash. With blood trickling down my leg, I finally made it out of transition.

So, if you would like to break that two minute barrier like I did in just my second triathlon, follow these tips:

Lose Your Bike

When you place your bike in transition, I recommend picking a random location, ignoring your surroundings, and leaving a different way than you came. This will give you a little time for a leisurely stroll up and down the rows of bikes looking for yours. If you lay a towel on the ground, make sure to use as plain and boring a pattern as you can find. A black towel that blends in with the asphalt would be ideal.

Wear Socks and Shoes with Tie Laces

You could go without socks and even go to the extreme of pre-clipping your shoes to your bike, but then you’d miss out on the perfect excuse to sit down and rest a little before your next event. Be sure to use shoes with tie laces rather than any fancy lock or speed laces.

Change Your Wardrobe

Sure, you could just use the shirt you swam in, but it’s wet. If you can use three different shirts throughout the course of the triathlon, you’ll be adding valuable seconds of repose.

Pin on Your Race Bib

They do make race belts that you can pre-attach your bib to, but what’s the fun in that. You don’t need your fingers much in the bike and run, so may as well put them to work fiddling with safety pins.

Hyrdrate and Re-fuel

It’s always appropriate to have a drink and a meal, err, snack during transition.

With these tips in mind, you’re well on your way to stretching that transition time out as long as you can. Your bike and run times will be much improved. Who looks at transition times anyway, besides crazy people like other triathletes?