Los Angeles Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

OK. The swim sucked. Really sucked. Last year my time was 33:45. I had hoped to drop 3 minutes or so from last years time. Last year I had difficulty getting out through the waves, this year I mentally prepared myself, and was good at getting under the surf out to the first bouy. That's where my swim fell apart. Last year navigation was easy. This year Zig-Zag City. I was swimming faster and stronger but always going off course. THEN came the swim to the beach. I got bashed by a wave "going over the falls" tumbled, smashed into the sand, gasped for air. Got pulled backwards by the next wave. Lather, rinse repeat. 3 TIMES. Argh. Once I got my footing, the waves were sucking me backwards, I was like a statue just fighting the damn suck of the waves. Finally I made it out. I was totally exhausted. Oh I forgot, while I was fighting the wave suck I got a leg cramp. I have never gotten a cramp swimming before. I must have been kicking too much for the swim. I struggled to T1. Net Result 2:20 SLOWER than last year.

Try not to suck so much. Convert to correct religion so that I do not incur God's wrath in the Ocean again.

Uneventful T1. Mostly efficient. I had one of the worst racks at the North end of the transition. 22 seconds slower than last year, probably due to distance across T1.

Nothing.

The good part of my race. This is the event I had definitely done more of this year. My hamstring cramp still hurt a little, but I mostly recovered from that. My stomach/side started to bug me. Maybe smoked salmon and cream cheese isn't good race food? The result. + 1 mph over last year. Overall I felt like I should have gone faster, but I was exhausted from my swim. I could swear there was a slight headwind, but maybe it was just my fatigue. About 1:45 faster than last year.

Still train more. Maybe even buy a tri-bike to cheat the wind.

This sucked. I couldn't find my bag, It wasn't distinctive enough. Then I tried to stuff my junk in my bag and couldn't make it fit. Then once I was ready I ran the wrong direction. I probably only went ten yards, but got annoyed because none of the staff would tell me where the exit was. My fault, not thiers. T2 was 50 seconds longer this year than last year. Ughh.

Know where the exit is. Bring a distinctive bag that I can find.

I suffered big time. I didn't expect much because I was in bad running shape. I had been injured for part of the summer and couldn't run. Plus it was hot. Plus I was just mentally defeated. The psychological & Physiological effect of the crap swim followed me all the way to the end. I couldn't dig deep into the reserves to get extra speed, the result 4 seconds slower than last year. This could have been a lot worse though.

TRAIN. not get injured. Not get the crap kicked out of me in the beginning of the race.

Gasp, pant, and drink gatorade.


Lack of Training. God's wrath on the swim. Worse than average transitions.


So considering the amount that I train (about 2 - 3 hours a week on average), I did fine, but still It was disappointing. I went slower this year by about 45 seconds. My sprint race in Arrowhead (at altitude) a few weeks ago was very strong. I finished in the top 1/3 of my agegroup. This race I was probably 60% percentile (as in bottom 50%), or so. Better transitions would have made it faster. Plus the swim really knocked me for a loop. Literally. I am happy with my increase in bike speed but need more. Overall It's still a great race, and I enjoyed it. The massages are awesome at the end. A lifesaver. I'll be back. Also, I'm thinking about doing the Bonelli Park Oly. to see if I can redeem myself in a lake swim.