Los Angeles Triathlon (Kaiser Permanente) - Sprint Distance

Forums

Forum guidelines BT super discount

Updated posts

My threads
No new posts

My favorite threads

General Discussion

Race Reports! » Los Angeles Triathlon (Kaiser Permanente) - Sprint Distance

Rss Feed

Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller

Los Angeles Triathlon (Kaiser Permanente) - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

View Member's Race Log View other race reports

Los Angeles, California
United States
65F / 18C
Overcast

Total Time = 1h 45m 56s
Overall Rank = 95/573
Age Group = M 25-29
Age Group Rank = 14/48

Pre-race routine:

My second ever triathlon... Had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Drank a bunch of water. Commuted to the race on my bike with my T1 backpack. Set up my transition area. Waited in a long line for the bathrooms (first of two long lines I waited in today). Watched the pros start. Put on my wetsuit and warmed up a bit in the water. Lined up in the start corral and watched the Clydes go right before us. Race start was a beach run into the water... fun!

Event warmup:

Got there really early in the morning. Had plenty of time to set things up and sit around waiting for things to get started. I noticed they were playing Earth, Wind, and Fire at first. But by the 10th wave or so, they were playing Britney Spears and "Oops I Did it Again"... just a random observation.

Swim

15m 50s
650 meters
02m 26s / 100 meters

Comments:

My wave started a couple of minute late. I think I finished in the middle of the wave (which means I was pretty slow). Took it easy most of the way. Felt good coming out of the water. In my first triathlon, I had taken it too hard on the swim and paid for it later on the bike and run. Didn't want to do that again. Even though I was slow, I was happy with my pace.

What would you do differently?:

Swim more... lots more... maybe find a coach to analyze my stroke and work on my technique. I am in good shape, but I feel so slow in the water.

Transition 1

02m 26s

Comments:

It was a run up the beach and out to the transition area. I stripped off my wetsuit pretty quickly and stuffed it into my bag. I *thought* I had my swim cap and goggles in the arm of my wetsuit, but apparently, I must have dropped them elsewhere because I couldn't find them later. Oh well. I need triathlon shoes to do the flying mounts. Since I've still got road shoes, ended up doing the stop then straddle then clip-in thing. A bit slow, but whatever. Forgot my sunglasses at home too, but thank goodness it was overcast for most of the ride. I was ranked 8/48 in T1 time. Made up a bit for the slow swim...

What would you do differently?:

Triathlon shoes would help. Learn and practice flying mounts.

Bike

1h 02m 18s
19.5 miles
18.78 mile/hr

Comments:

I had fun on the bike. Didn't go as hard as I probably could have, but I passed a ton of people. Even people with fancy wheels, helmets, and aerobars. I *really* passed lots of people on the hills. Came out of the saddle for some of the longer hills and hammered them.

What would you do differently?:

Ride a little harder on the flats. Ride my bike a LOT more... I need to get in better bike shape overall.

Transition 2

01m 54s

Comments:

I did the flying dismount perfectly - I had slipped out of my shoes at the top of the Grand St hill so I rode the last mile or so on top of my shoes. I came into T2 in a crowd of people, and it was a narrow chute into the transition area, so it was hard to run. Took me too much time to find my rack and T2 bag. They had taped the strings of my T2 bag together, so it took me a little time to get my running shoes out. Grabbed a gel and a water bottle from the bag, but dropped both of them and then gave up and just ran out. I think I made a mess in the transition area haha. Rank 16/48 in age group on T2 time.

What would you do differently?:

Put the label on my T2 bag myself.

Run

23m 30s
3.1 miles
07m 35s min/mile

Comments:

My run was alright. The hill was pretty steep. I think I could have pushed more once I did the turn-around back down the hill and into the finish. I'm glad it was in the shade of the big skyscrapers for the most part. Passed a lot of people on the hill. I'm realizing that I can pass lots of people on the hills in biking and running.

One funny moment: I sipped a bit of water at the first aid station (since I'd dropped my water bottle earlier) from a Gatorade cup. At the next aid station, I grabbed a cup to pour on myself, but it was Gatorade. Haha. Good thing they had a mister at the finish line to rinse myself off, or else I would've been all sticky.

What would you do differently?:

Not pour Gatorade on myself. More effort at the end.

Post race

Warm down:

Walked around and drank a lot of water. The wet towels and misting areas were good. Checked out the mini-expo at the finish line and had a smoothie. Ate some food. Stretched out while waiting in this long line for the free massages. The massage was great though.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I need to train a lot more in the water and on the bike. I'm an above-average runner, but only average on the bike and slow in the water. I could have probably put a bit more effort into the bike and run too.

Event comments:

Nice bike tour of the city. I enjoyed running downtown. The awards could have started a lot earlier than noon or whatever.

Profile Album

Last updated: 2008-04-27 12:00 AM

Swimming
00:15:50 \| 650 meters \| 02m 26s / 100meters
Age Group:	24/48
Overall:	250/573
Performance:	Good
Suit:	My really old Orca with lots of holes
Course:	It was an L-shaped course. Sprint distance was 0.4 miles. Surf was medium.
Start type:	Run	Plus:	Waves
Water temp:	69F / 21C	Current:	Medium
200M Perf.	Average	Remainder:	Average
Breathing:	Good	Drafting:	Below average
Waves:	Average	Navigation:	Good
Rounding:	Good

T1
Time:	02:26
Performance:	Average
Cap removal:	Good	Helmet on/ Suit off:	Yes
Wetsuit stuck?	No	Run with bike:	Yes
Jump on bike:	No
Getting up to speed:	Good

Biking
01:02:18 \| 19.5 miles \| 18.78 mile/hr
Age Group:	16/48
Overall:	150/573
Performance:	Good
Wind:	Some
Course:	Venice Blvd to Fairfax to Wilshire to Highland was mostly flat, with maybe little grades here and there. Down 6th Street through mostly residential areas had some rollers, then up Alvarado to the first significant hills. Then a right on Sunset where there were some bigger rollers. As we came down Beaudry and up 1st Street, where there was a big one to the top of Bunker Hill and the Music Center. Then a (steep) downhill down Grand and a right on 11th Street or so toward Staples Center and the transition area.
Road:	Smooth Dry	Cadence:
Turns:	Average	Cornering:	Average
Gear changes:	Good	Hills:	Good
Race pace:	Comfortable	Drinks:	Just right

T2
Time:	01:54
Overall:	Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes		Good
Jumping off bike		Good
Running with bike		Average
Racking bike		Good
Shoe and helmet removal		Good

Running
00:23:30 \| 03.1 miles \| 07m 35s min/mile
Age Group:	11/48
Overall:	62/573
Performance:	Average
Course:	A short flat area out of transition, up a couple of blocks, then up to the top of Bunker Hill (steep!) and then back down.
Keeping cool	Good	Drinking	Just right

Post race
Weight change:	%
Overall:	Average
Mental exertion [1-5]	3
Physical exertion [1-5]	3
Good race?	Yes

Evaluation
Course challenge	Just right
Organized?	Yes
Events on-time?	No
Lots of volunteers?	Yes
Plenty of drinks?	Yes
Post race activities:	Average
Race evaluation [1-5]	4