Los Angeles Triathlon Championship Series #1 - TriathlonSprint

My ranking is a bit misleading because T1 time is included in the swim time. I came out of the water just after 10 minutes, but had a longish T1.
I felt the water temp before the race and along the shallow water it felt around 60F I thought, but I knew it would be a bit colder away from the shallows.
It was ALOT colder. Should have worn a hood, but I figured I could tough it out for ten stinking minutes. Started in a front position figuring I could implement my bilateral breathing and go hard for the entire swim. In reality, I went hard for the first 200 meters, and then the cold on my face started really taking my breath away, and constantly having other swimmers crossing my path diagonally forced me to break rhythm several times, so I got to a point after 200 meters where I was struggling to maintain the pace I should have. I had to slow down and regain my composure, and finally, in the last couple hundred, I pulled it together.

Wear a wetsuit cap.

Poor T1. My main problem was putting on my long sleeve bike shirt over my wet body. That took me a minute alone. Much too long in T1!

Wear a looser-fitting shirt or wear my bike shirt under my wetsuit.

Loved doing this ride on my new Dual. Felt fast (even though I wasn't that fast) and enjoyed the ride. I seem to excel up hills and that's when I tend to pass alot of folks, but on this course, since the race has alot of beginners mixed in with more experienced racers, I passed alot more people than I usually do.
I still get a bit skiddish on the fast downhills. I think I was close to 40mph on one downhill and had to keep a hand on my brakes.
I ate one gel at the halfway point on the bike, and drank water and Gatorade.

Get more confidence on downhills.

Had a good T2. I was methodical and fast and was in and out in about a minute I think. T2 time was added to run time.

Having to take off my long sleeve bike shirt slowed me a little.

One aid station right at the beginning, but I didn't really feel the need for more with such a short run. Started out slow getting my run legs, and then ramped it up a bit, and REALLY ramped it up in the last mile. Passed about 4 people in that last mile, which I love doing. Some puddles on the course from the prior day's rain.
I really feel like I've lost some run speed since my injury. I have to work on that!

Get my run training back.

Grabbed some of the food on offer and walked around with Vicki and Saige. Jogged back to transition to get my gear and rode the bike back to the car. Felt great actually.


I need to do speed training. I really don't do it except in swimming.


For what it is, it's a great race series. Very low-key, great venue, great folks running it that have been doing it for nearly 3 decades. A great vibe to the race.