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UCLA IronBruin Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Los Angeles, California
United States
UCLA Triathlon Club
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 33m 25s
Overall Rank = 104/303
Age Group = 40-49
Age Group Rank = 16/42
Pre-race routine:

My routine started the evening before, by finishing a deli sub by 6pm. Then it was time to pack my bag. It was raining really hard, too, so I decided to practice T1 with a rain jacket and gloves thrown in the mix, just in case.

Woke up at 4am on race morning. Had a piece of toast with Nutella right away to get the digestive system moving, since I wouldn't be starting for another four hours. Left for the race site about 5:20. Got there in good time.

Brought my gear into T1 and mostly hung out. No porta potties this year, we needed to trek to Pauley Pavillion, which wasn't a bad thing at all; I'll take well-lit bathrooms anytime. I got the T1 spot I wanted, making getting there early so worth it. The big question was the weather but it soon became clear that the rain was not going to re-appear so I kept the jacket and gloves in the bag.

When it came time to head up to the pool and T1, I noticed a bunch of people taking whole backpacks with them. What's up with that? Goggles, cap, helmet, bike shoes, glasses. Why do people need a whole backpack?

I should mention that in T1 I discovered I had a "wardrobe malfunction". My new trisuit was popping open when I zipped it up. Guess I didn't lose as much weight as I thought I had (it fit when I tried it on a few weeks ago, I swear). I would have to do the race with the suit unzipped. The sad thing is that I had brought my old suit (i.e. the one that fits) just in case something like this happened but by this time it was too late to change. I'm guessing that pictures of me throughout the race aren't going to be so flattering...
Event warmup:

I popped upstairs to the family pool for an easy 100 warm up. No bike or run warmup. Why would I? That warmth would all go away waiting on the pool deck for the swim to start.
Swim
  • 08m 54s
  • 400 meters
  • 02m 13s / 100 meters
Comments:

Due to a shoulder dislocation and the closure (until this past Wednesday) of my workout pool, I have had two swim workouts since last September, so I did not have high expectations for the swim. I just hopped in and started swimming. The first hundred felt good. The middle 200 was tiring but I kept a pretty good pace going. The last hundred I decided to pick up the pace. By the time I got out of the pool I was breathing pretty heavily (something that would continue through the end of the race). My time was actually 9% slower than last year so while I am not happy with my performance, I am happy with my level of effort. I pushed harder on this swim than on any previous tri swim.

I must say that whatever the organizers did differently this year compared to last year worked very well. There was absolutely no bunching up at the lane ends. I don't know if it was more time between starts or better attention when seeding or what but the swim was all good.
What would you do differently?:

Train more. Heck, how about just "train". Barring another shoulder dislocation and pool closure, I'll be much faster next year.
Transition 1
  • 00m 44s
Comments:

I had gotten a good spot for T1 and the rain gear wasn't necessary so this was going to be fast. I was pretty foggy getting out of the pool but training took over and I got to my bike just fine (cap and goggles were off right after getting out, natch). Glasses, helmet, and unrack the bike. One of the shoes caught on the rack as I rolled the bike forward, so that cost me a second or two. The run out of T1 was muddy because of the rains so some slight slowing there. I was running pretty fast and, thanks to transition practice on Friday, I hopped on the bike very well (passed somebody, too). I pedaled on my shoes until after the first downhill, to allow the fog to clear from my head, which eliminates that T1 weaving.

1st in my AG. Tied for 4th overall. 43% faster than last year and just 4 seconds slower than Kate Major. Woo hoo! I hereby proclaim that I have mastered T1. Only four more disciplines to go. ;-)
What would you do differently?:

Pay more attention to rolling the bike out so it doesn't catch the rack.
Bike
  • 51m 42s
  • 13.5 miles
  • 15.67 mile/hr
Comments:

After the first descent I got into my shoes just fine. Big difference from last year was that I was passing people left and right. On the downhills. On the flats. On the uphills. Especially on the uphills. I got passed several times but I did the majority of the passing. The plan was simple: go up the hills hard. I'm still not so confident cornering so I need to figure out how to work on that.

My time was 14% faster than last year, so I am pleased. I hit 35mph once on the big downhill. Downhills are where we clydesdales shine. :-)
What would you do differently?:

Lose more weight. Keeping training hard on hills.
Transition 2
  • 01m 1s
Comments:

I blew through this pretty quickly. It turns out that I lost a shoe off the bike somewhere in T2 (you might have heard the announcer mention it on the loudspeaker). This is the second time that has happened to me in T2. I really need to figure out how to prevent that.

I got my helmet and glasses off, put my shoes on in pretty good time, grabbed my race belt and got the Garmin off the bike. I put the belt on while running and as I'm about to hit the timing mat I find out that my Garmin isn't attached to its velcro thing (that's how I had it attached to the bike)! I look back and take a few seconds to decide what to do. I decided I'll get it after the race (if it's still there--it was).

A 57% improvement over last year.
What would you do differently?:

Need to figure out the problem with my shoe coming off and the Garmin coming off.

Looking through the results, it's clear that there is room for improvement here. I need to do some research to figure out where. There's probably a faster technique for getting shoes on, even though I'm using Lock Laces.
Run
  • 31m 6s
  • 5 kms
  • 06m 13s  min/km
Comments:

This is the first run leg of a triathlon where I really felt the bike in my legs. I don't know a way around that since the course is so hilly. Oh, I felt awful for the first half. I was still breathing heavy from the bike and my legs felt dead. It didn't help that much of the first two miles of the course is uphill. I planned to have the Garmin with me to help me keep track of my pace but I don't know if I would have been able to run as fast as planned so maybe not having that alarm go off all the time was a good thing.

I was hoping to go under 30 min on this leg. Missing that by just over a minute, feeling as bad as I felt, isn't so bad. 11% faster than last year, which is progress. And my run split wasn't DFL in my age group this year.
What would you do differently?:

I clearly need to do more bike/run bricks. I've only done a few and I felt similarly dead on those, too. Nothing long, just whenever I do a short or medium ride I need to run a couple of miles afterwards.

I also need to work on my speed, of course.
Post race
Warm down:

This race hurt. I was SO tired afterwards. I have never raced that hard for that long in my life. I spent a couple of minutes after the race bent over, catching my breath. Then I walked around the post-race area. Muscle Milk was there giving out free samples. The chocolate was a bit much but the vanilla hit the spot. They had lots of cheese pizza so I had me a couple of slices of that.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The run is still my big weakness. I'm faster than last year but running off the bike this year was a major issue.

Lack of swimming conditioning cost me a couple of minutes, too.

Event comments:

The race was much better this year. The swim didn't have the bunching in the ends that last year did. The bike course is awesome. The run course would be fun if I hadn't been in so much pain. The post-race stuff was better than last year, too (thank you Muscle Milk!). I am so doing this race every year.




Last updated: 2009-10-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:08:54 | 400 meters | 02m 13s / 100meters
Age Group: 15/42
Overall: 0/303
Performance: Average
Suit: DeSoto Power Skinsuit (MPSK3)
Course: Eight laps snaking through eight lanes of a 50 meter pool. Time trial start, meaning we hopped in (diving was not allowed) every ten seconds or so (I didn't count).
Start type: Inside Pool Plus: Time Trial
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:44
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:51:42 | 13.5 miles | 15.67 mile/hr
Age Group: 13/42
Overall: 0/303
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: This course is an absolute blast. It starts out with a steep downhill and is nothing but curves, turns, climbs, and downhills after that. Four laps worth. The bike course alone is worth doing this race for. So much more interesting that just pedaling for an hour.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks:
T2
Time: 01:01
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:31:06 | 05 kms | 06m 13s  min/km
Age Group: 31/42
Overall: 0/303
Performance: Average
Course: Rolling course through UCLA. Generally uphill for the first two miles.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2010-03-08 10:37 PM

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Veteran
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The Beautiful San Fernando Valley in Sunny L.A.
Subject: UCLA IronBruin Triathlon


2010-03-08 11:38 PM
in reply to: #2715551

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Palm Springs, California
Subject: RE: UCLA IronBruin Triathlon
Really great race report. Great job!
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