City of Los Angeles Triathlon - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic

Swim required a swim out through the waves which were bigger than I expected. Definitely was knocked back a few times. DeSoto wetsuit performed very well: no chafing, was comfortable and didn't fatigue. I felt very slow, but my time seems to be right about what i expected. got my goggles knocked once.

Maybe push a little harder for swim. My arms weren't fatigued at all. My lack of familiarity w/an ocean swim held me back psychologically. I need to learn how to stay away from people, I was constantly being bumped on both sides almost the whole race.

dropped my goggles on the beach and ran back. Glasses broke into three pieces. Chose not to wear gloves which was a good choice. Had to pack T1 bag for transport to T2 by race officials. Other than snafus moved pretty quickly.

Experience will make me faster.

Flat Easy Course. An aero Tri bike would be nice for this ride, but my Trek 5000 road bike peformed very nicely for me.

Train more. My training is typically an 11 or 22 mile ride. 1 or 2 times per week. I simply need more miles in the saddle. Maybe get some aero bars.

Couldn't find bag. Bag is dropped off by race officials and had to scramble a bit to find it. Bike fell onto me from rack while putting on shoes. Loved my Yanks. Shoes slipped on in seconds.

Mark bag so I can find it. Pay attention when I rack my bike.

I was barely moving and had to fight all urges to walk. I would estimate my first mile was well over 10 minutes, so I don't know how I made up the time. Definitely passed more people than passed me. Probably left too much in the tank during the ride. Very happily surprised by my time considering difficultly of course.

Push harder in bike, leave a little less for the run. Train more. My longest training run is 5.8 miles once or twice a week. Need to kick up mileage and throw in some speed work.

warm down? Free massages at end of race were awesome. Followed massage with long visit to beer garden with my brother who finished more than a 1/2 hour ahead of me in same age group.


Simple. Need to train more than 3-4 hours per week. Very satisfied w/result.


I have only competed in local sprint tris before. This event was PRO. Evertything done right. Started on time, course well volunteered and marked. Interesting fun race through LA w/ no traffic. Tons of food and drink on and off course. Free massages and beer garden worth the somewhat steep price of entry fee. Shuttle back to venice beach from downtown was easier more efficient than I expected. Could be slightly better w/more bathrooms at race start, more rack space for my age group in T1. Mandatory packet pick-up the day before in downtown was a hassle. Overall great first Olympic distance tri.