Race Report - L.A. Triathlon

This past Sunday I was in LA for the 10th annual Los Angeles Triathlon. I had only decided to do the race a month beforehand, and having never competed in an Olympic-distance tri before, I opted for the Sprint-distance race instead.  I also figured that I should cater to my size (6'5", 205 lbs) and register in the Clydesdale group.


Pre-Race
The transition area was open from 5 am to 7 am, so I (along with my trusty sidekick Michelle  <3) set out around 6 to secure a spot and get me set up.  With probably close to 3000 competitors (at least according to the bib #'s), getting there early was a must.  Thankfully, each age-group had their own set of bike racks marked for them, reducing the inevitable battle for The Best Spot™.  Luckily, my group had a rack that was almost exactly aligned with the swim in corridor, and I found a spot right on the end to park my bike.  I'm still using my Rockhopper 29er with some slightly skinnier-than-mountain-bike tires on it, so I didn't have to worry about switching shoes after the bike, and therefore no T2 bag to worry about, either.



Swim - 650 meters - 24:24


The surf that morning was brutal.  I'm pretty sure we were seeing the remnants of the hurricane that hit Southeast Asia late last week, because we had some pretty high winds and 5-8 foot waves breaking as much as halfway to the first buoy.  Unfortunately for a lot of competitors, there's no real way to train for these kind conditions, and a lot of people were having a difficult time making it past the break point.  It didn't help that there was a strong north-south current carrying people off-course.  Thankfully there were a fair number of lifeguards on hand for the entire swim, because they had to pull literally dozens of competitors out of the water.  On the plus side, though, the water was a blissful 69 degrees!  Being used to Northern California waters which are regularly 10-15 degrees colder than that, the temperature was a welcome relief.

Because of the conditions, many of the groups' start times were delayed.  My group (the last one in the water) was slated to begin at 9:20, but wound up not getting our feet wet until almost 10:30.  And since we had to get to the transition area before 7, that meant at least a 3 hour period of time just standing around, which I know took a toll on my legs.

I grew up a half mile away from this beach, so I know how to deal with these kinds of waves.  When the horn sounded, I followed the pack about a hundred or so yards up the coast (to counter the current) before running in to the water.  I managed to get underneath every single wave, but each one nearly knocked off my goggles, and almost every time I came up for air with water inside them.  After wave #4 or 5, I started keeping one hand on my goggles and one hand in front of me.  Before I knew it, I was past the break point and had a clear line at the buoy.  The current had carried me about half the lateral distance to the buoy, so I still had to make up the remainder.  The water was still choppy, which made keeping a consistent stroke difficult, but overall, the hardest part was getting out there in the first place.



T1 - 4:59


Getting out of that water was a relief, but I was immediately struck by how exhausted I was just from the swim.  I think having to stand around for 4 hours really took more out of me than I wanted to admit.  I jogged up the beach, but by the time my feet hit concrete, I was back to walking.  I managed to dry off and get my socks and shoes on without much effort (compared to colder-water races), but since it was a point-to-point race, I had to pack everything into my T1 bag before taking off.  I did land a choice spot in the transition area, so I didn't have to battle with anybody when changing.



Bike - 14.1 miles - 55:25


The bike portion was great.  14+ miles of nearly-flat, 4-lane Los Angeles road, blocked off by police, so there was very little worry about running into other competitors.  I started off easy, going up Venice Blvd, and managed to keep a ~18 mph pace for the first 10 minutes or so.  This was the first race where I had toe cages, and I think they helped significantly.  Unfortunately after not too long, the 4 hours of standing around caught up with me, and I slowed down to ~15 mph for the remainder of the ride.  I had plenty of time to down two GU packets, and drink most of the water that I had brought with me.  The course had only two hills of any significance, but compared to what I dealt with in San Francisco, they were cake.  I was passing people with surprising regularity, but I think most of them were relay teams for the sponsors (Kaiser and Herbalife), so I don't think they were "in it to win it", so to speak.



T2 - 3:42
Since the race was point-to-point, my family wasn't able to get to T2 in time to see me off (so no pictures).  The transition area was on the second floor of a parking garage, which was definitely odd.  It was set up in such a way so that every competitor had to run the same distance to get out (circling the entirety of the area, which surrounded a big tent, which had been set up for a different event), and here again, each group had their own set of racks, even going so far as to mark off individual spots for each bib.  I found mine pretty quickly, but since I'm using what is essentially a mountain bike, it was difficult to fit my handlebars in between the other bikes.  No need to change shoes, though!  Just stripped off the helmet and gloves, shot some water in my mouth, and off I went.



Run - 3.3 miles - 28:06


Out of all three events, I am most comfortable with the run.  For most races, I can keep a ~8.5 minute mile pace, which is usually good enough for a middle-of-the-pack placement.  This time, though, the toll of the bike, swim, and wait was too much, and I posted a less-than-stellar time.  The only obstacle throughout the run was a rather large hill right near the halfway point.  I tried to jog up it, but found my steps to be too shallow to be worthwhile.  I managed to take much longer strides while walking, so I swallowed my pride and did that.  I hit up just about every water station (I think there were 4-5 on the course) and soon discovered that after a certain point, straight Gatorade is too difficult to down.  I had previously wondered why the Gatorade at other races tasted watered-down, and now I know why.  I managed a strong sprint to the finish, which I'm always proud to be able to do.


The LA Triathlon was BY FAR the largest race that I've ever competed in.  I think the combination of both Olympic and Sprint-distance races had something to do with that.  The staff and volunteers were very helpful and seemingly always on top of things.  It was also nice to have the transition areas so well-defined.  I think that when people are allowed to choose their own locations, too much chaos ensues prior to the race, and nobody needs that extra stress.

I'm hoping to keep up my training and give the Olympic-distance race a shot next year!  I've got a looooong way to go before I'm prepared.

Rankings	Me	Total
Overall	313	454
Division (Clydesdale)	15	22
Gender (Male)	247	339

Leg	Distance	Time
Swim	650m	24:24
T1	-	4:59
Bike	14.1 mi	55:25
T2	-	3:42
Run	3.3 mi	28:06
Overall	-	1:56:35