2009 LA Triathlon Race Report

LA Triathlon 10-4-09 Sunday

Olympic Distance

Willis Huang M30-34

2:35:02, AG 26/133, Overall 160/802

Swim (1500m): 40:53 (2:43/100m), 102/133AG

T1: 1:55, 12/133 AG

Bike (40k/24.8mi): 1:07:28, 8/133AG

T2: 2:12, 5/133AG

Run (10k/6.2mi): 42:35, 9/133AG

I participated in the Los Angeles Olympic distance triathlon this Sunday. Originally, I had planned this race to be my "A" race of the year, but my training mellowed out 3 weeks ago after the Malibu triathlon. Regardless, I did train enough to at least maintain my level of fitness and made a few tweaks to see if I could do slightly better this time around.

There were three main themes in today's race that were different from my other races this year:

1. TOUGH open water swim. Pounding waves

2. No mechanicals on the bike

3. Awesome transitions

Race pic posted online of one of the many having a rough time

The first one was out of my control, but I'm taking full credit for changes #2 and #3, both of which were significant improvements on race day. I completely solved my Cervelo rear wheel rub problem in the past 2 weeks, by both ordering specialty rear limiter screws as well as the more crucial step of switching back to my Shimano skewer and tightening it to the max before riding. Hence, no more rear wheel slippage. (Which cost me 6 minutes of downtime at the Malibu triathlon.)

My transitions also improved dramatically this time around. This was the direct result of a one-day self-practice session lasting about 90 minutes, during which I pretty much mastered all aspects of transition while riding up and down my block. (See last post for the details.) As a result, I went from a huge fear of the transition areas to loving it and going through them safely yet aggressively. If I could only get my swim to this level!

PRERACE

I rode my bike down to the Venice Beach start at 4:45AM, in the darkness. I have recently been bike commuting both at day and night, so I was well armed with reflective jacket and high-powered flashlights to ensure safety and visibility. This worked very well, as the finish line was 25 miles from the start line, and my neighbor (also a triathlete) was to pick me up at the finish. By now, everything at the prerace start is familiar, including the incessant runs to the bathroom, likely due to the efffect of cold temps on the bladder. I made 4 separate bathroom runs within a 2 hour period despite taking no additional hydration the morning of, which has become routine on race day for me. Air temps were actually a bit chilly, at 60F.

THE SWIM - BIG WAVES!

Actual photo of race surf today right after my wave

It took one look at the surf to realize that it was going to be a long day on the swim. BIG waves, and a lot of them, with no moments of calm. I made sure to get a good long warmup in the water by standing and swimming in the battery of waves to make sure I didn't panic. It didn't seem too bad in the warmup, but it was substantially more difficult once I was swimming. The race directors fortunately also let us know that there was a big north-south current. As a result, they recommended that although the first buoy was directly ahead of the swim entry, we should run 200meters north in the WRONG direction (we would swim south!) to take advantage of the current. I followed this advice, and it was spot-on correct. It looked very strange for us men to exit the swim chute on shore, and run up the beach away from the buoy - I ran so far north that I passed almost all the spectators and people warming up in the surf, as I knew as a weaker swimmer that I'd have particular problems with the current. My decision proved correct, as I swam straight out for the buoy, and landed right spot at the right time, catching up with a horde of swimmers who were clearly stronger than I was but didn't plan as well. (They left me on the straightaway.)

The real action, though, was the big surf that rolled in today. The lifeguards make the decision of whether to allow the race to continue or not, and they decided the water wasn't "dangerous", which I agree with, as there was no riptide or undercurrent. Still, this was the 2nd largest and roughest conditions I have ever faced in open water, and it was a scary swim to the first buoy and beyond. I got pounded every 15-20 seconds by wavesets. There was no break to make a dash for clear water. It also becomes very hard to hold your breath for more than 10 seconds when you're fighting the surf, so getting hit with triple wave sets becomes frightening. I very seriously nearly DNF'd at two moments in the first 100 meters, thinking "this is crazy!" I'm glad I didn't, but I certainly switched from racing to purely surviving the swim. It took me well over 8 minutes to swim the first 100 meters! (I normally do it in 2:00).

Things got marginally better for the remainder of the swim, but no question, it was a tough swim with bumpy water. Furthermore, I lost touch with the main pack in my age group about halfway through, which made it much more difficult to sight, as the weaker swimmers surrounding me were generally unreliable. Fortunately, I made it out in one piece, and didn't get destroyed by the surf on the way out. My swim time was "horrendously slow" by any stretch, but still a respectable showing for myself, as I still managed to beat 25% of my AG out of the water. God I suck at swimming!

T1 (transition 1)

I normally completely omit detailed description of the transitions in my race report, as they're short and pale in significance to the race segments. Today, though, I will expound in detail about how well this went for me, because if there is any one thing that I will remember and be proud of with today's race, it is my transitions.

As per my last post, I practiced these transitions for nearly 2 hours yesterday. That's really not saying much at all, to invest 2 hours in something as important as a transition, but that's 2 hours more than I've ever spent on them! Transitions have also been the next weak spot in my repertoire, as weak as my swim segment. In all my races to date, I've approached the transition areas with great anxiety, as I knew all the people around me would go blazing by while I clunked to a stop while not trying to fall over, all the while with the referees yelling at me to slow and dismount before reaching the line.

Today, though, was a totally different ballgame. I feel like I hit the transitions like a rock star, and my transition timing results reflect this. I left my shoes clipped to my bike this time, and had practiced running around holding the bike. I got good enough to turn both left and right at full running speed with only one hand on the saddle, with confidence. At the race, I got out of the swim, peeled off the wetsuit on the run, and got to the bike racks in time to be surrounded by 5-10 guys in my AG. I was SO glad that everyone hadn't already left me behind after that hellacious swim. I was, however, late to the party, and everyone was well ahead of me in the stripdown. I was no slouch, though, and got my wetsuit off very quickly (sleeveless suit helps a LOT) and stuffed it into a garbage bag inside my backpack, as the LA tri personnel would be ferrying our bags to the finish line - meaning that anything left unpacked would be left behind. I lost most of my time here stuffing my wetsuit into my backpack. However, once I got my bike off the rack, I was on the money. I outraced every single person whom had arrived before me and was still at the rack in the run to the mount line, mainly because I could run fairly fast with the bike in hand. I then jumped on carefully, and took off racing, gradually putting my feet into the shoes while riding at 20+mph.

As a result, my T1 was 12/133 in my AG - a FOP result. And I've always been a BOP transition guy up to now. Nice.

THE BIKE

Not much for me to say on the bike, which played out more or less as I'd expected. I honestly expected to go faster than my 1:07 split, but the slight inclines/declines as well as 2 loops requiring big slowdowns on the bike course were enough to throw off my pacing. As well, I've admittedly slacked on my bike training in the last 3 weeks, and haven't done anything particularly hardcore for training, so a supraphysiologic hammer was unreasonable. Still, it did go well, and I'm happy with the result. As with all my other races, the bike leg was the Willis-express-train where I passed hordes of cyclists continuously from start to finish. I did get passed by 2 elites on their second loop who had started before me, but on the mild uphill sections of the course, I was their equal. I'm definitely a mountain goat on the bike now - unfortunately, this course was mostly flat, so I couldn't draw upon my climbing power as I'd hoped. My overall placement result was 8/133, which actually exceeded my run placement result, so my suspicions that my bike training was improving at a rapid pace was indeed correct, and I am likely a similarly good cyclist as I am a runner.

T2

Continuing the theme of rockin' the transitions, I felt like a true rock star on T2. Nailed it on the money as planned! The bike to run transition has always been problematic for me in the past, as I've always gotten to the dismount line too fast, nearly keeled over at the abrupt stop, and then felt like an oaf as I ran through the transition area in my bike cleats.

This time, I did it like the pros, and pulled it off flawlessly. I monitored my race time carefully, and predicted when the final bike mile was coming up, and thus got my feet out of my shoes and on top of them well in advance of the bike finish. This was a critically good move, as the bike dismount happened very quickly and unexpectedly in this race, as you made a sharp right turn, then only rode 150m to a parking structure ramp with the dismount line at the top of the ramp. Nearly everybody I talked to after the race misjudged the distance after the turn, and ended up not being able to get out of their shoes in time for the ramp. I, however, was out of my shoes on time, and thus could hammer up the ramp at speed. I passed 3 cyclists like they were standing still on the ramp, and actually was going so fast that a volunteer in front of me misjuged my fast speed and didn't cross the road fast enough, causing me to nearly hit him. Fortunately, I was careful and avoided him, but I could hear him getting a verbal beatdown from the other volunteers as he'd literally walked right into my way as I was going at least 15 mph. I hit the transition line, and did an ultra-fast dismount on the uphill, and then was running at nearly full tilt through the T2 looking for my rack. My skills in bike maneuvering were key here, as I rounded two corners simply by leaning my bike from the seat, and didn't lose any speed at all. Found my spot, put my shoes and hat on, and was gone in a blink.

It really was a smokin' T2. 5th/133rd. Consdering I'm usually in the bottom 30% in T2 timing in prior races, this is a rock-star result for me!

THE RUN

I had an "ok" day on the run. No killer instinct for sure, as I couldn't tell whom I was racing against, as all the sprint triathletes were spilling onto the shared course. This course is marked by two loops up a horrifically big hill leading to the Disney Concert Hall, with an estimated 18-20% grade. Fortunately, I'm a mountain goat when it comes to running as well, so I did a ton of passing on these inclines. Noteably, there was a runner who blew by me on the flat stretches of the 2nd loop, and I expected him to increase the gap. However, we hit the hill, and within seconds, I was pulling ahead of him. I didn't seem him again until after the race, where I found out he was a relay runner and simply got stopped cold by the hill. Other highlights of the run included seeing my neighbor Jon spectating which was a treat. My run result was completely in line with my other 3 tris this year, which is a respectably fast time, but definitely "meh" when you compare it with what I normally run when I am in pure marathon racing form. 9th/133rd.

OVERALL

2:35:02 today. Slower than my Malibu triathlon result, where I suffered a 6-minute mechanical, but significantly faster than my Strawberry fields triathlon, which had a extra long swim course. I've learned that triathlon courses are remarkably variable in terms of timing, distances, and conditions. Even the transition area differences are significant between races, with some taking 5 minutes to breeze through, and some taking 10.

I was very happy with my performance today, even though I didn't break any speed records for myself. I'm proud of myself (pat self on back!) for not giving up on the swim, even though it got pretty scary out there, and I'm also taking full credit for putting the legwork into mastering my transitions and getting them into FOP territory. Today was the first triathlon in my entire tri-racing career, in which I felt that I was a legitimate, full-out participant (and not just a runner faking it as a triathlete) in the sport, with the necessary specialized skills to finish a challenging race. As a closer to this triathlon season, it was a great finish, and one that I felt captured my accrued fitness and performance from the past year.

My hot bike, my new DeSoto racing suit, and my fellow triathlete neighbor

On last note, I also decided to finally look the part of a real triathlete this time around, after seeing how disappointingly bland I've looked in my previous race pictures. I took advantage of a sale on tri-racing suits online at DeSoto, and acquired a yellow-white racing suit that I haven't seen many other athletes using. I really like it - it fits great, looks sharp, and has some well placed and useful compact pockets. I've got to say that feeling like you're looking good out there definitely helps! Here's to hoping that my race pics come out better this time around!

Post-race salt stains. Almost everybody thought it was from the ocean