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LA Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Los Angeles, CA
United States
Pacific Sports
73F / 23C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 15m 32s
Overall Rank = 230/398
Age Group = Clydes 30-34
Age Group Rank = 11/19
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4am, couldn't sleep much anyway, and drove to Venice with the wife and one of the puppies. Ate a bagel with peanut butter, yogurt, a banana, and an apple.
Event warmup:

Short jog on the beach followed by an approx. 250m ocean swim about 20 min prior to the start of my race.
Swim
  • 14m 45s
  • 640 meters
  • 02m 18s / 100 meters
Comments:

Felt really good on the swim. I passed a number of people. My rank is pretty god considering the over 200 people started ahead of me. Finally had an OWS where I fetl really comfortable in the water.
What would you do differently?:

More OWS practice and more in/out practice. As always, the trip from the water to the bike rack makes me pretty tired. I may have to do a bit more beach running as well.
Transition 1
  • 04m 5s
Comments:

Didn't realize that this was so slow, not sure why it was. My rack was too far from the gate, maybe 75yds or so. I had everything set out so that wasn't it. One thing that did slow me down was that we had to make sure we re-packed everything into one bag before we left on the bike. I hadn't practiced this so that could have ben an issue. OVerall, I need to practice transitions more often.
What would you do differently?:

Practice more.
Bike
  • 1h 14m 55s
  • 21 miles
  • 16.82 mile/hr
Comments:

This was much, much harder than I expected. I started out a little slow, but once my legs warmed up I was hitting 20-21 mph without too much effort. As soon as we hit the first slow sloping hill, my legs just died. It was a fairly mild incline but it was about 3-4 miles long. There were 3 more like that with a larger incline. We finally got to Downtown LA and had to face Bunker Hill. It's only about 300yds long but it has a 16% grade. I was in granny gear and spinning like crazy ust to stay upright. We then got a break by getting to go down that same hill. I was actually able to reach 40 mph on that downhill!! A short flat area and then we got to the transition.
What would you do differently?:

Train a lot more on hills. They really took the power out of my legs. That and lose more weight so that I don't have to haul so much up those dang hills!
Transition 2
  • 06m 40s
Comments:

Last year the transition was in a large parking lot directly in front of Staples Center. This year LAFD wanted to use it to train their rookies how to drive the Ladder Tiller so we couldn't use it. Instead, the transition was set up at the end of Grand Ave between 10th St and 14th st. This was very poor logistically speaking. Once I crossed the timing mat I look at my bike computer which said 21 miles. By the time I jogged to my rack it said 21.5 miles. It seemed like thoe racks went on forever, and forever is exactly 5 blocks long!! Once I got my crap off and running shoes on, I had to jog another half mile to get back to the timing mat and start my run. The other tough part about this transition was that we weren't allowed to set anything up. We had to drop off our T2 bag the day before at the Expo. When we got to our spot at the bike rack during the race, the bag was sitting there but nothing was set out. So we had to dig through the bag to get our stuff out.
What would you do differently?:

Practice transitions.
Run
  • 35m 7s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 11m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

As usual, the run sucked. This one more than most. I added a mile to the run just to get in and out of the transition. Then that great hill that we got to go down on the bike was what we had to go up about a mile into the run! The rest of the run wasn't really too bad.
What would you do differently?:

Let's be honest, I suck at running. I simply need to do it more often, get more weight off, and work on technique. I avoid it because I am bad at it and I need to stop doing that.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around the finish area for a bit. Got some fluids and snacks. Talked to my new coach who had a booth at the finish line. Met some of my wifes Marathon friends. Walked back to T2 for my bike and bag, then walkd back to finish line and to the car.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Conditioning, not as familiar with the course as I should have been, T2 setup.

Event comments:

Although I didn't meet my goal of a sub-2 hr race, I still like my race. I learned a lot. I learned to scout the course ahead of time if possible and I need to work on hills and transitions for the future. I definately have my work cut out for me in order to improve for next year.




Last updated: 2005-06-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:45 | 640 meters | 02m 18s / 100meters
Age Group: 5/19
Overall: 89/398
Performance: Good
Distance was .4 mile, converted here to match the rest of my log. Swam an additional 250m for warmup.
Suit: Xterra Sleeveless
Course: Left the beach at Venice, Bernard Parks was the official starter, swam 150 m to the first buoy, turned Left, swam 200, to second buoy, turned Left again, approx 100m to the next buoy and another Left turn to the last buoy and a Right turn to shore. There was approx 200 yds of beach and sidewalk to run up to get to the timing gates and the bike racks.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Below average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:05
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:14:55 | 21 miles | 16.82 mile/hr
Age Group: 11/19
Overall: 200/398
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: Left Venice Beach on Venice Blvd towards LA. Took Venice past PCH, the 405, and the 10 to Fairfax Blvd in the Fairfax District. Went North to Wilshire, then East to Highland past Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. Then took Hollywood Blvd through Downtown Hollywood and the Walk fo Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theater. Hollywood became Sunset which we took through Elysian Park near Dodger Stadium. Then turned sharply South to 1st in Downtown. At the very end of the bike we had to climb Bunker Hill by the Disney Concert Hall. Grand Ave had a flat part and then a steep downhill that led to the transition at about 7th st and Grand.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Bad
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 06:40
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:35:07 | 03.1 miles | 11m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 13/19
Overall: 326/398
Performance: Bad
Course: Run all the way back up Grand to the Disney Concert Hall. Make a large loop around the Concert Hall and surrounding area and then come back down Grand. Instead f going back into the transition at 11th we took a Right and ran 3 blocks to the fron of Staples Center.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2005-09-15 1:58 AM

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Expert
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Portland,OR
Subject: LA Triathlon


2005-09-15 7:05 AM
in reply to: #247098

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Coach
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Boston, MA
Subject: RE: LA Triathlon
Grate race report, CONGRATS! Don't worry about your running, as you mentioned you have to practice a bit more. keep it up!
2005-09-23 2:09 PM
in reply to: #247098

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Subject: RE: LA Triathlon
Yo Dave - great race, good job and GREAT on the swim.  5th! veerrry nice
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