I was so depressed on Monday. I don’t know why, I just was.
It could have been work. I worked my butt off on Friday on a huge ass project. 80,000+ rows of data downloaded (and Excel only holds 65,536). So I had to download 16 files of data in order to speed up formula processing time and to hold the data in different sheets. Then I combined the data through some complicated formula and I got rid of duplicates and…
Why am I getting into it now anyway? Basically, I finished the analysis and sent it to my boss on Saturday night. Done. Over… and I had to do it again on Monday.
It’s not bad. Its tedious. I’m fast, I’m good at it but I hate doing it. Whatever. Show me the money is my motto right?
I was depressed… Maybe it was one of those unknown issues that clinically depressed individuals get from time to time. You know, you just are… depressed that is. And that’s me.
So I get home, slip on my shoes, call my sister to tell her I’m going for a run and I’ll finish at her house and out the door I go.
I had no path, no course, no plan except to get in 3.1 miles… 4 if I could… optimistically 5.
I try not to run stressed so I really tried to relax, taking deep breaths as I walked down the street before my run. Stress could lead to injuries. And I didn’t do this to rid myself of stress or the depression I was in. I just knew I needed to run.
So I did.
I’ll skip to mile 2.5 when I knew all I had was just a few steps left in me. It was tough. I couldn’t go further. I was 2 miles away from home and decided that a walk home would be all she wrote. I was miserable. I haven’t had a run like this since July 4th when the heat got to me and I struggled desperately to pick up my feet for the longest five miles I’ve ever done.
Today was worse.
But one minute into my walk I picked it up again and turned to a song on my iPod called, “How to save a Life” by the Fray.
Next thing I knew I was checking my Garmin and I was at 3.5 miles. I kept repeating the song. It kept me going.
I can’t even tell you what the words are or what the meaning behind the song was. I’ve heard it a couple of times on my runs but never really paid attention. It just plays in the background and my run focuses on other things. All I knew was that it was getting me through. The song is 4 minutes and 22 seconds long. I listened to it over and over for a little more than 4 miles.
At mile 5.7 or so I was passing my sister’s house. I looked up the street and Donna and the kids weren’t back from piano lessons so I kept going. I hit Glenoaks and made a left up a 150 foot climb for 3/10ths of a mile. After going 6ish miles going up a wall is not a pleasant affair… but I trudged up it and conquered it.
Whew.
I breezed down to my sister’s house, walked up her three steps and took a deep breath.
I had forgotten EVERYTHING once I hit start on my Garmin. I wasn’t stressed, I wasn’t depressed, I was just completely exhausted.
7.1 miles will do that to you.
And so there you have it. My long run for the week. Can I get to 18 miles this week?
You might say I ran away from it my stress and depression for the day… but to tell you the truth, I ran it out of me.
Here’s my course:
Click for larger map.
MILE - SPLIT
Mile 1: 0:08:37
Mile 2: 0:09:34
Mile 3: 0:11:27
Mile 4: 0:10:15
Mile 5: 0:10:26
Mile 6: 0:10:31
Mile 7: 0:11:19
Mile 7.15: 0:01:44
Total: 1:13:53
Steve ran the Disney Half Marathon this past weekend. I figured he’d fly through it having done the distance on training runs with no problems. But he got TWO cramps – one on Mile 10 and then another on 11 or 12. That came out of the blue and I posed the question – why did that happen? I figured it was his body waking up at 3:00 AM in order to get to his ‘race corral’ by 4:00ish… That significant change could have brought forth the cramps during the run. His splits were awesome till then… and then lighting struck… TWICE!!! Left calf then right. Yikes.
We talked about the 2007 LA Marathon training plans and how he is starting at the end of the month. His base is a lot bigger than mine so I’m way behind. But… I want to do it. I want to run/walk the 2007 LA Marathon. This will be one of my new goals – along with beating all my Sprint Triathlon times next year on the races I’ve run.
This new goal inspired me to go for a 10 mile run. My goal was to run to Jake & Bella’s school and turn around and come home.
I hate running at night. First, its dark and scary on some parts of the run, but mostly its just plain dangerous. I wore a reflector on my ankle and wore a white hat and white shirt. And I left my iPod at home so I can hear my surroundings.
That being said, I ran at a very-very-very comfortable pace. I’m talking, under 180 beats per minute heart rate pace. And I maintained the level of effort for the whole run! But so what? What happens at mile 7? What happens when I reach the longest distance I’ve done on a long run: 8ish miles. And what happens when I’m not home yet and I still have a mile left to go?
Well, Jake and Bella’s school, from the course I ran, is 4.4 miles away. I already new I had to do some side streets in order to make it a 10 mile run… but as I turned around and passed their school, I knew I was only good for a 9 mile run. This meant a side street to make up two-tenths of a mile from the ‘out and back’.
The 4.4 miles was more than just 4.4 miles and a comfortable heart rate and a 10ish minute per mile pace. It was all up hill for 4 miles. UPHILL! Although my pace was comfy, I actually did more work than I wanted to and I was already feeling it in my legs.
I had something to look forward to… a downhill run all the way home.
It was close to 9:00 PM when I hit the six mile mark. A 5K was all I needed to do. Thirty minutes left on my run… and I was at a point where I wanted to call Donna and have her pick me up. But naw… It’s good to struggle through the pain… sometimes. I didn’t want to injure myself so I kept aware of my form, my pace, and my footsteps in the dark.
Before my run I had Jacob’s Baseball Practice. We had dinner then I helped him with homework and piano practice. I asked Donna if I could go for a run as the kids were preparing for bed and she said it was okay. During Jake’s piano he played a song called, “Mary had a Little Lamb”. Yeah, you know the song. Well, he sings it while he plays but says the ‘number’ of his finger that the notes are on. So if you do this to the tune of ‘Mary’ you’ll get the idea… 1-2-3-2-1-1-1ah 2-2-2ah 1-3-3ah… etc. And at the end he has to hold the note for four beats. It’s fleece was white as snow-2-3-4… but instead of 1-2-3-4 count at the end he says, “Hold that Whole Note”. So in the end instead of ‘it’s fleece was white as snow’ its, “1-2-2-1-2-Hold that Whole Note”.
It’s very cute. I make him repeat it just to hear him count and in the end say Hold that Whole Note.
Wow – a tangent… but it all makes sense at the Mile 7 mark
I didn’t have my iPod. I was struggling with two miles to go… and I had slowed in my pace. I needed cadence, a beat, something to get me step by step with 2 miles to go.
And of course, the last song that I heard before my run… “Mary had a Little Lamb.” I must have sang the song 100 times. Seriously. Over and over in my head I sang it… then it came out in a hum as I stepped to the beat… then it was actual lyrics coming out of my mouth, singing to the beat. And each time I did the song I ended it with “Hold this Whole Note.” By mile eight “Hold this Whole Note” was more of a shout to end the song… “It’s fleece was white as HOLD THIS WHOLE NOTE!”
Like a military cadence, a call at the end of 1-2-3-4… 1-2… THREE FOUR!
“Hold this Whole Note” got me through to mile 8.
Mile 9… that was all heart. It felt like I was walking but I looked like I was running. I turned the corner of my street and struggled through that half block telling myself to go until I hit my house. And I did… all the way… 9.13 miles.
I found a blister on my big toe. I didn’t feel it on the run but its there. Weird. I took a shower, iced my ankles, took a couple Advils, downed a Gatorade and went to bed.
I figured I’d wake up and be completely sore and unable to move. It was hard to get up and brush my teeth before bed… but you know… I recovered fast. I got up, kinda felt the leg fatigue, but no soreness, no pain, just fatigue. If I could get a chance to run a 5K tonight I’d do it. Unfortunately, I can’t.
I vow to not complain about pain and fatigue till Dean Karnazes finishes his 50 in 50. I mean… I did 9.13 miles. There’s no crying after 9.13 miles. Not while Dean is running in the heat!
So I did my longest LSD to-date. A run to Jake & Bella’s school Out & Back. HR was very low at an average of 164 bpm.
Splits:
MILE - SPLIT
Mile 1: 0:10:06
Mile 2: 0:10:50
Mile 3: 0:10:53
Mile 4: 0:12:07
Mile 5: 0:11:30
Mile 6: 0:11:29
Mile 7: 0:10:57
Mile 8: 0:11:13
Mile 9: 0:11:32
Mile 9.13: 0:01:37
TOTAL TIME: 1:42:14 (11m 12s /mile)
Min HR: 95
Avg HR: 164
Max HR: 187
Google Earth Image Map of my Course:
Click map for larger image.
Read the blog entry: “Run Dean Run” about Dean Karnazes running 50 marathon in 50 days in 50 States!!!
THE SPRINT
My Los Angeles Triathlon Race Report
Here was my Pre-race routine:
I woke up at 4:00 AM. Yes, 4:00 AM. It was hard, but I couldn’t sleep very well so once my alarm went off I was up and wandering around the house.
I had a bowl of Grape Nut Cereal and will never do that again. That stuff is absolutely disgusting. I forced myself to chew about five spoonfuls of the cereal before deciding enough was enough. Gross. I drank a little Gatorade, water and coffee and that was breakfast.
Why did I have Grape Nut Cereal? Because it was there and I thought it would be good for me. I don’t prep pre race meals very well at all. I need to learn to do that.
I also had to take two Advils and a couple Tums. I woke up with a headache – a slight migraine – and a tummy ache – diarrhea… Gross! The stomach ache was probably due to nervousness. The headache was due to a horrible night’s sleep. Or lack thereof.
I prepared my water bottles, poured myself a coffee to go and I was out the door by 4:30 AM.
I drove around LA trying to find where to park my car. I saw several school busses and found the parking entrance on the south side of the Convention Center.
I was on the bus by 5:00 AM with about 8 or 9 other athletes. The logistics of the LA Tri was a point-to-point race. So we had a choice to take a bus to Venice (20 miles away) or park at Venice and take a bus back after the race. Or do it yourself with family and friends. I chose the bus. It was a hassle. But in the end it worked out fine.
We sat with our bikes as they straddled two seats and across the center aisle. I haven’t been in a yellow school bus in ages. I was sleepy but kept a conversation up with a guy I met, Ray (32), a Filipino Hawaiian who teaches Special Ed in Los Angeles. He talked to me most of the ride to Venice. He was very excited about the race. He had a mountain bike with him which would slow him down but he said he was a strong swimmer and loved to run half marathons. He was a surfer and said he would nail the swim. He was a really nice guy. He tried to encourage me about the swim saying the water was probably flat today. He loves surfs in Malibu whenever he can. So the guy had it going – he was a strong swimmer and loved to run. Unfortunately he had that mountain bike.
We were in the same wave – 13.
When we got to Venice it was still dark. The Transition Area was open and there were maybe two hundred people there already. Maybe more. It took a while, and after I asked a volunteer and a race director, Ray and I found our racks and racked our bikes. I found that the volunteers really didn’t know much about anything except what they were told to do I guess.
Ray put out a towel and laid down for a few minutes while I went to the porto-potties to… you know… There were about 30 of them inside the transition area. Thank goodness they equipped the area with several of these things. There were more than 2,000 competitors scheduled to race.
They started the Professionals around 6:50 AM. I ate an energy cookie and had some water as I watched these PROS run in from the swim 15 or so minutes later. They were fast! They grabbed their bikes and took off. Transition times for these guys were less than 30 seconds! Of course they didn’t wear wetsuits. They just threw their goggles and swim caps on the ground, got their helmet on and ran with their bikes to the exit. I have to learn how to do that.
7:15 AM. I swallowed an energy Gel, had a gulp of water and went to the beach. I had an hour and fifteen minutes to go till my wave.
Here’s my event warmup:
I shivered due to nervousness as I stood knee deep in the water and watched huge waves crash on competitors to the ohhs and ahhhs of hundreds of people on the beach.
That was it. I was a little on edge, a little shocked, and a little intimidated to say the least.
The first thing I heard when I got to the beach was a spectator say, “I wouldn’t go out there.” It didn’t help when the announcer rubbed it in – “I bet all you guys are thinking, ‘I wish I should have swam more’!” Yup… I’m sure EVERYONE thought the same thing.
I was dreading it but as I watched the waves and timed it, I figured I’d dive under three and I’d be out in the calm waters. It’s getting under the three that was going to be hard. Was I scared? To be honest, I was apprehensive, but really not that scared. It was scarier than Imperial Beach, that’s for sure, but for some reason I had more courage than I ever had. All I said to myself was, ‘get past the waves’.
Guess what… it’s 8:30 AM and my wave was not yet ready to start. There were about three more waves to go.
The lifeguards did not want more than 400 people in the water at one time. Which is good. But that just made my wave wait, and wait, and wait.
Finally, at about 8:50 AM, the countdown began.
I saw Ray in the front of the group. Several of us made sure to stay back. We laughed at ourselves and joked about which one would be last out of the water. Ray looked back and caught my eye. He waved. I nodded back giving him a thumbs up. And then it was on. THEY RAN… we, in the back, kinda ran.
THE SWIM
I prayed to God for the waves to settle down a bit. During the hour and a half I stood watching, there were a few times the waves were small. Then they’d build up again and get huge. The hundreds of people watching would OOHHH and AHHHH as the waves crashed on people. I witnessed lifeguards helping swimmers out, their goggles and caps missing. I saw lifeguards guide swimmers out of the water, pointing out where to go for attention. Wobbly feet and dazed looks were everywhere.
I guess God didn’t think it was necessary to make the waves small for me.
It was harder than I thought to get out there and face the waves. I was already waist deep and the waves crashed ahead of me. I just had to face strong white water and a tide pulling me out. I dove under a few and had to hold my breath longer than I thought. I found a life guard and kinda stayed within range. I mean, better to be safe than sorry right? If I couldn’t breath, at least he’d be right there!
I watched as one of us beginners got nailed by a wave. He turned his back to it – which I guess is bad to do. He got up and rushed back towards me as another came towards us. I screamed, “You have to dive under them!!!” He passed me and I think he said, “I’m not going to do it!” It was right then and only then where I felt like I should just quit. I didn’t care who was watching. But just as that thought came into my head, the thought of getting out there and joining the rest the 100 plus in my group motivated me. I dove under the first wave. I doggie paddled my way a few feet and timed the next wave – a big one - and dove under that, and before the next one came I swam hard toward it and got over it before it formed.
I was past the break! I looked at my watch. It took me 5m45s to go about 100 meters and past the break. 50 more meters and I’d be at the first buoy. I was still stressed and I dug deep and swam counting my strokes and forcing myself to think about Jacob running up and down the sidewalk in order to relax. That was my go-to thought for relaxation. There’s something about my son running that makes me laugh, makes me feel young. It relaxes me. And so that’s what I did. I thought of Jacob running. I got to 10 strokes and told myself 10 more. I took a breather and looked up. Just 25 more meters to go. I swam again, counting my strokes, thinking about Jacob running… 10 more… I looked up and saw a guy without goggles. I asked if he was okay. He was doggie paddling. He goes, “I made it past the waves! Yeah, I’m okay”. I go, “It’s the easy part now.” He replied, “That is until we start going back!” He and about two others stuck close by - within talking distance. And before I knew it, I was at the first buoy and the life guards around yelled, “Good job!”
The next buoy was 250 meters away. It was hard to see. The water was fairly flat, but the little wakes would block my sight. Several of the guys in front of me kept swimming in the wrong direction.
The sighting practice I did in the pool really helped. Swimming with my eyes closed in the pool really helped. I was actually swimming straight! I spent most of the time swimming 10 or so strokes, catching my breath, and swimming again. I repeated the pattern over and over again. And the next thing I know I’m rounding the second buoy and for some reason I was curious to see how these things were anchored down. I swam real close to see the rope or whatever it is, disappear into the dark below. I didn’t dwell on it, but I consciously took note of it. How did they get them out there I wondered. I made my way around it and headed to the last buoy about 175 meters away.
The next wave was catching us. I found some feet in front and tried to keep up with them hoping to catch a draft. They were way too fast. I found a beginner from my group who was backstroking back SOUTH WEST to Hawaii and yelled at him. He turned back North and I followed him in to the last buoy where I dog paddled my way back towards shore. I was almost done.
I kept looking behind me, hoping to make sure I didn’t get caught by a wave. I managed it pretty well diving back under one, which defeats the purpose of swimming to shore, but saved my butt. Then there was one that got me, pushed me down, I panicked a little and just waited to get to the top of the water. NOTE: Make sure you can actually breath before you try to breath. I choked on some nasty saltwater and coughed. The lifeguard asked if I was okay and I said yes. Some white water pushed me forward and I felt sand on my feet. I MADE IT!
It was nice to have a few guys swim around you at the same level. We were encouraging each other as we went along.
As I got my feet on the beach I had a huge grin on my face. As far as I was concerned, I had already won the biggest battle. Everything was going to be downhill… Figuratively of course because let me tell ya… the bike and the run - there were UPHILLS… literally! LOL
This is what I learned and what I would have done differently.
I would have put my head down and swam like Dorie. I rested a lot, maybe too much as I thought about what I was going to do going back to shore and I don’t know why. It was probably stress. I should have just really paused and assessed MY physical situation, relaxed and just swam like I would swim in the pool. The water was flat, calm and I could have done the swim so much better. I was just worrying too much.
From starting gun to the water, out of the water, a run/walk up the beach to the concrete pathway and through T1… 0:29:01. It was a long trek back to T1.
Donna couldn’t make it to Venice Beach but she had signed up for Accenture Athlete Alert and within minutes of me crossing the timing pad, she got an update. This was a great feature!!! It let her know that I was safely out of the water. It also let her know when I got to T2 - which meant 30 minutes or so before I would cross the finish line where she, Jake, Bella and my mom waited. Others around her were like, “I don’t even know if my husband made it through the swim.” She said others were worried about their significant others because of what people were saying about the waves. If she didn’t know that I crossed that pad at Venice, she would have been SOOOO worried!
Athlete Alert: Your athlete, GLENN MAGAS finished the swim leg at 00h 29m 01s. -Accenture Athlete Alert text message.
TRANSITION 1 (T1)
Hundreds of racks. 300 hundred 10 foot racks had bikes on them. I made sure that this time I counted my way to my rack. But it wasn’t hard to find. There were hardly any bikes left at my section. I sighted my red bike, all alone at the end of the rack.
Ray’s bike was already gone.
Getting the wetsuit off, packing it into my bag along with my towel, cap and goggles took forever it seemed. This whole thing about packing bags was tedious but in the end, really helped as I just picked up my bag from the finish and went home. BUT… it took forever. I mean 5 minutes?!?! Wow.
I put my helmet on first, then my sunglasses. I poured water on my feet with the water bottle I brought just for that reason, wiped it dry as quickly as I could then slipped on my socks and bike shoes. I then slipped on my gloves and was almost going to just toss the towel but second thought I packed it in my bag. Next time – I won’t wear gloves. I don’t need them and it takes time to put them on. I put my Garmin on and walked as fast as I could to the exit.
I got to the exit and tried to get on my bike. There were a lot of people watching me fumble with the pedals. I decided to just GO and pedal without snapping in which worked out well.
What would I do differently?
I would have my shoes on the pedals. This is what I will practice BIG time during the off season.
T1 Time: 0:05:45. Yeah… that took FOREVER!
And on to…
THE BIKE
Having the opportunity to ride these normally grid locked streets was such a pleasure. It was hard to go all out and I had energy to do so. I was just saving it for SUNSET and the 1ST STREET climb. I use to drive ALL these streets in my late teens having worked in Hollywood for five years. It was neat seeing it from the bike. I enjoyed the ride most of all.
It started on Venice, then a short stint on Fair Fax. Then a right on Whilshire and a left up Highland. And up Highland it went. I saw Hollywood Blvd WAY UP THERE. I just kept on cycling. A right turn on Hollywood Blvd and I knew I was almost home. Hollywood turns into Sunset which was a steady incline. It was tiring but it wasn’t that bad. I pushed it a little but was saving my energy for that one last climb on 1ST STREET.
I passed a lot of cyclist on SUNSET and made a right on Beaudry and zoomed down the hill. Jake, Bella and I drove the course yesterday so I knew to be in a small gear as I rounded Beaudry to a left on 1ST STREET.
And sure enough, I came across several people struggling with the climb. Driving the course with the kids really helped. I knew exactly what I had to do. And guess what… I did it!
I got off my saddle, got into the 3rd lowest gear and used my arms and my legs and put my head down and up I went. There were a bunch of cyclists yelling encouragement to each other. I just got off my saddle and pedaled as hard as I could and yelled, “COME ON LETS GO!” to everyone I passed. It felt so fricken good to go 18 miles and then have enough energy to power up the hill. It wasn’t huge, but it was a muscle burning challenge that’s for sure. I think I like climbing.
I got to the top of 1ST STREET and I yelled a cheer YEAH!!! It was awesome. I turned right on Grand and the ride down was SUPER-SUPER fun. I wish it was longer. I was worried about manholes. They warned us during orientation on Saturday about manholes. The guy said he’d witnessed double flats from that downhill on Grand. I didn’t want that to happen. I flew down and saw all the runners struggling up Grand as I rode down it. I knew I had to run up that hill in a matter of minutes. Wow… something to look forward to after a 20 mile bike ride.
I think, in retrospect, I would have pushed the bike more during the twenty mile ride!
Final bike time: 1:16:37.
Athlete Alert: Your athlete, GLENN MAGAS finished the bike leg at 01h 51m 12s. -Accenture Athlete Alert text message.
TRANSITION 2 (T2)
I had to run a block past tons of bike racks. T2 was TWO blocks long. I couldn’t find my bag with my shoes, my hat and my water bottles. A course volunteer pointed me to the right area but I was on the wrong side. An athlete next to my bag heard my race number and yelled, YOUR BAG IS ON THIS SIDE! WOW. What a nice guy.
Then there was the problem of racking the bike. I had to carefully squeeze it in between two bikes and put my handlebars on two other bikes handlebars. I figured to get my bike off before they got there so they wouldn’t be mad (which I did).
I got my shoes, hat, and water bottles out with no problem and ran with them as I put my Amphipod belt on.
There was nothing I could do differently about T2 I guess. Oh - except to RUN faster down the block. It was a full block run to my rack. Whew.
T2 Time: 0:05:25. Bad, bad, bad. But it took forever to gently rack my bike.
THE RUN
It was an AWESOME RUN! I’ll just say that. It wasn’t a Personal Best, it wasn’t ‘easy’… it was just AWESOME. Consider I just swam for 29 minutes. Consider I just rode my bike for an hour and 15 minutes with a climb. Considering I was up since 4:00 AM… the 5K run was UNBELIEABLY AWESOME! An experience I will NEVER EVER forget!
What would I have done different about the run… NOTHING!
So many people commented about the hill that we had to run up right off the bat. It was a wall to be honest. I was able to pass a bunch of people on that hill (Grand). Alot of athletes were walking and I was tempted to walk in order to get my legs used to the run. I’ve done BRICKS… but I’ve never felt this heavy after a ride before. It was like the first BRICK I ever did. But it was easier to overcome as I was used to the pain. As I ran, I kept catching up to the walkers going up the hill so I decided to keep my legs moving and told myself not to stop till the finish.
Once I got to the top of Grand my legs FINALLY felt good and I ran extremely relaxed. I grabbed a Gatorade and an Energy Gel from the aide station and knew I wouldn’t have a problem.
It was a struggle but a good one, and as I came back down that same hill I saw at least three athletes throwing up. I also came across a few athletes stretching out their legs.
With ONE mile to go I realized what all that training I did was all about. It was about making it without throwing up, cramping (like I did on my first Tri) and finishing strong. The run was VERY emotional for me. A few times I choked up thinking about what I was about to accomplish. I only had one mile left.
And then there was Ray.
Ray kept me company on that dark bus ride to Venice Beach. He kept me company at T1 before the race. He made me laugh. He made me relax. He was a really cool, funny guy. He had that totally relaxed Hawaiian attitude and kept saying, “I’m so excited. Lets get the race going NOW!” 
He was going to kick ass during the swim and he did. He could swim a mile in thirty minutes in the pool. The last I saw him was 15 seconds before start. I had told him that I’d try and catch up to him on the bike because he had a mountain bike. His bike was long gone when I got to T1 which seemed so long ago.
I just so happened to look up at the right time and we caught each others eyes as we crossed paths on the run. We pointed to each other, you know that point like ‘yeah-go-buddy’. We smiled and continued on our run.
I had only less than a mile to go… Ray still had more than two miles to go.
So somewhere along the twenty mile ride through LA and Hollywood, I passed Ray and didn’t know it. He must have gotten out of the water 15 minutes before I did. And now I was 20 minutes ahead of him. It was really good to see him make it.
If I had seen him on the ride I would have ridden with him for a while. It was nice to make a connection with someone else before the race. It reminds me that Triathletes are great people. I’ve met so many at the races. And there’s always ONE that stands out. Two weeks ago it was Tom, my swim buddy. This week it was RAY, my BUS buddy. I hope to meet up with him again at another Tri one day. I should have gotten his number.
I didn’t go all out on that last turn toward Staple Center. The crowds cheered and the finish line festivities at the Staple Center were in full force. I looked all around for my family. I took it all in, the cheers, the music, the announcer’s voice… It was VERY emotional for me.
What a great experience. I wish I could encourage EVERYONE to experience something like this just once in his or her lives. I swear, you won’t be able to do it just once. It is a truly amazing, spiritual, life changing experience. I mean it. It’s life changing.
When I saw Donna, Jake, Bella and my mom holding up a sign that said, GO GLENN GO! I swear I almost lost it. I had a HUGE grin on my face I was SO HAPPY. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I took that little left turn to the FINISH and I couldn’t wait to hug and kiss them. I couldn’t wait to tell them EVERYTHING I did and what I went through. I couldn’t wait to finish. I took a deep breath, crossed the finish line, looked up into the sky and said… I DID IT!
Final Run Time: 0:32:49.
I WAS DONE.
DONE!!!
I FINISHED!!!
I hugged and kissed everyone.
It was AWESOME.
I was in such a high - everything around me seemed like a buzz.
And then I went home.
It was over… Just like that.
It was over.
Athlete Alert: Your athlete, GLENN MAGAS finished the race at 01h 29m 26s. -Accenture Athlete Alert text message.
And that was my LA Tri experience. An experience like no other. And an event I hope to do again, and again and again.
JOIN ME!!!
So these are my approximate times for the LA Triathlon based on my Accenture Athlete Alert and my Timex chrono and Garmin.
Swim (640 meters): 0:29:01
T1: 0:05:34
Bike (20 miles): 1:16:37 (it was actually 21.3 according to my Garmin)
T2: 0:05:25
Run (3.1 miles): 0:32:49 (3.12 according to Garmin but who’s keeping track anyway?)
Final Time: 02:29:26
The Accenture Athlete Updates were VERY close to the times I got from my Timex Chrono and Garmin. I was off only tenths of seconds.
My Chrono after the swim leg was 29:02. Accenture was 29:01.
My Chrono total time after the bike leg was 1:51:16. Accenture was 1:51:12.
My Chrono total FINISH was 2:29:18. Accenture was 2:29:26.
Transition Times were slightly adjusted based on the information I got from Accenture and my Timex chrono and Garmin. I hit the lap button during each transition so the times are as accurate as anyone would possibly want. It’s part of having fun doing these Triathlon events.
They posted the official times for the LA Triathlon. Here it is:
- Official Results
Swim (645 meters): 0:29:02
T1: 0:04:54
Bike (20 miles): 1:17:16
T2: 0:05:29
Run (3.1 miles): 0:32:45
Final Time: 02:29:26
Pretty close to my calculations. I believe the bike ride was a little longer than 20 miles though. Like 21ish.
