Los Angeles Triathlon - Olympic Distance

It's actually quite easy. Mostly flat, with a couple of small hills on Sunset towards the end. Pretty fast. Watch out for the run though, which is very hilly. At about mile 2 it's uphill on Grand Ave. where I saw many walkers last year. This is an awesome tri overall!

I haven't done it, but I have heard it's a gradual incline from Venice to Downtown.  SO maybe a long false flat

The bike course is very flat, especially the first 1/2 or 2/3's. After that only mild climb. Compared to other courses I have done I thought it was very easy.

The run is hard. about 1/2 mile from the transition there is a very steep hill (bunker hill if you know los angeles). Just as your legs are getting accustomed to running you hit this wall where it feels like you are running in slow motion. There are some other hills, but the first is the only one to worry about . . . mostly from a mental point of view.

Anyway, its a great course. Plus free massages and beer at the end. Hard to beat.

Hmm. now I think I'll sign up before I forget. I've been flaking on planned events due to an achilles injuries and other plans. The steep entry fee should keep me in.

Follow Up. I just signed up, as my motivation to train has been zero lately due to an achilles injury.

My other thought on this event is that the swim is a REAL open water swim. Depending on your luck the waves on the swim out can be very challenging, especially for those used to lakes and pools. The wesuit's bouyancy will make it hard for you to swim under waves. On the other hand, if you time it right, you can bodysurf the last segment in.

Yeah, that's what I had in mind. A course that looks flat, but the pedals tell you otherwise. Add in a little wind, and it could be a chore.

We'll see. I'm looking forward to competing in a big field (should be cool to see the pros do their thing), to a unique course, and a good atmosphere.

Edited by Xan 2006-07-05 11:40 AM

It's such an awsome bike course . You can go at full speed right down the middle of LA on many famous Boulevards Wilshire , Venice , Hollywood , Highland and go through all the red lights and dozen of LAPD officers cheer you on and keep the intersections clear of traffic ! .... What more can on ask for? Memorable .
Just before T2 a super fast finish down that hill on Grand Avenue where I hit 40 mph ! You then have to run up and down the same hill on Grand Avenue but you first ride down it.
It's very wide so you can hold your own pace and pass and not get in the way of the solid wheel Time trial bike aces , There are no cars . There is usually less wind in LA in the morning and if there is its probably behind you.
There are long subtle climbs like on Fairfax and Highland and subtle dowhills like from Hollywood where you can coast and take in some food and water. Only one serious hill I remember was right before Disney Hall.
I did the sprint course and the only difference from the Olympic is a small detour off Highland. The distance is given as 20 miles , but my bike computer told me almost 22 from T1 to T2.

Good info. Thanks for chiming in. You've got me excited about the race now at a time when recent training has been a struggle.

Two more months! Wheee!

Just registered.  Time to get back on the ball

I'm in and i hope there are no changes on the course since '04. See you all there and good luck!

How's everyone's training coming along. Down to less than 3 weeks. I did the race in 2004 with Team in Training and had a blast. I since have moved to NC- but am looking forward to coming back and racing. It's such a great event. I have bigger goals this time- the first was just to finish and now.. well, I'm actually wanting to race. I'm a little nervous- haven't spent enough time in the pool.

This will be my second Olympic distance tri. My first experience was last fall in Santa Cruz, where I finished on the good side of the three hour goal I'd set for myself. I've worked to improve my stamina since then, especially on the bike, but I'm not putting any pressure on myself to make a major jump this time around. Instead, I think I'll set the bar right where I had it last fall: if I finish without injury or sickness, I'll be more than happy to call that an unqualified success.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pros do their thing and eager for a chance to run/bike the mean streets of LA without traffic. It's weird, while training these past six months or so, I've felt my competitive juices surging at various points, and I've had all kinds of crazy thoughts about racing faster and taking on longer events. Now that the LA Tri is almost here, though, I'm just back to being happy that my body and health permit me to go outside and have some good, clean fun.

So look for the tall, bald guy with the goofy grin coming down the street at mile five of the run. That will be me.

This is my 2nd Oly too. I'm coming in Friday and staying thru Monday- not enough time to spend around the old stomping grounds but I'm super excited. We should of planned a mtg spot for all us BT'rs. We do that in NC and I've met a ton of people..

Good Luck Everyone!!

Also my 2d Oly, goal time is 3 hours, but having lower leg issues that are keeping me from running much, so we'll just go, experience it and have fun (at least that's what I keep telling myself )

Just did a sprint up in Arrowhead, and I'm starting to feel ready. This will also be my 2d Oly. Last year 2:52, this year hopefully faster. I haven't seen an announcement yet for the beer garden or the massages like they had last year. I thought these made a good event great. The race would definitely not be the same w/o these.

Hey bridget....I was part of Team in Training too, as a mentor for the east side . Glad to hear your back for another year, good luck!

This will be my first Oly race, and now that it's close I am really nervous, not feeling ready for the run, but at least I know I can cross the finish line. Will be going through the sprint course with the tri club next weekend. Anyone going to the Sept. 3 bike course tour?

Everyone ready?  Or as ready as you're gonna be?    Looking forward to it.

Haven't raced since May, so I'm really excited. After renting a few different wetsuits, I finally took the plunge and bought my own last week, so this will be the maiden voyage. Although I'm strong in the pool, I don't relish OWS, particularly in the ocean, so I'm hoping my new De Soto Black Pearl offers protective mojo agianst the cold dark waters of the Pacific. I loved it when I wore it up in Napa last spring, but the ocean is obviously a whole different story. Assuming I make it out of the water, the rest of the race should be fun.

I am so ready for this race , but its really hard to go easy and not train the week before the race. Since This is an A race for me .... Taper I must , But , What Am i supposed to do with all this time ? The inactivity just get more anxious thinking about it .... Could not resist the gym today. Probably will have to swim tomorrow. Anyone else feel incapable of taking a week almost off before a big event?

Totally normal to have excess enegery (even bordering on agitation) during the taper period. To the extent that you can conserve your energy and allow your body to enjoy this period of rebuilding, you'll be happy you did so on Sunday.

It's a great time for meditation and visualization exercises, if you're into that kind of stuff. That way, you're doing something to prepare yourself, but you're not frittering away hard-earned energy reserves.

A light jog for me tonight, and then that's it. Nothing but rest and relaxation until Sunday.

Edited by Xan 2006-09-07 11:44 AM

My tapers for sprints and olympics (well, one of them), has been to slowly ramp down the training time during the week before, shorter duration, maybe a 1/2 hour or so, but including very short (30-90 second) intervals of 80% or so effort.  Two days before I usually do nothing, then do a light swim (500 yds), bike (10 miles) and run (2 miles) the day before.

Edited by ChrisM 2006-09-07 11:36 AM

I'm a rookie and have never tapered before, so I did a short (1000m) swim Monday, a 30-min run/walk today, and plan to stretch on the bike and then swim half a mile or so tomorrow at Santa Monica to see what's up with the surf that's expected. Don't forget you have to give up your racing shoes at the expo!
My bigger problem is that I have a leg injury and think I really need to downgrade to the sprint race; this is my first Olympic race and I'd rather not end up walking 5 of the six miles -- that would just be too demoralizing, I think, and I have a few other races planned this season so don't want to just run all out and get worse. I keep wavering back and forth, since the swim and bike aren't all that different in this race. I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow for advice (he is racing the Oly himself), and the race director has been really nice about letting me switch if necessary.

If I had a leg injury I would switch and do the sprint .

I would love to do my first Olympic distance here and feel almost ready to tackle the challenge (swimming endurance not there yet) but I have been scheduled to race a Malibu a week later ( 800m swim 18 mile bike and 4 mile run) and am on a Studio team (so I have to do well there as everyone at work will talk about it !) .

I prefer the bike course at the LA triathlon. However , The swim course and run along the beach are nicer at Malibu .

I have the swim and bike, but not the run yet. But, I was just asked to do the swim for a Malibu relay team, and since I love swimming up there and will be volunteering for the TriClub anyway, I think I'll do that!