The TriathleteNut

Pasadena Triathlon - March 8, 2008

This has to be one of my best Triathlons ever! I hit some Personal Bests on this race. I guess the course being a ‘home’ course or training area for me had a lot to do with how I planned to do this race and I’m thankful for that. I do all my BRick workouts at the Rose Bowl and my race plan was to go all out. No ’saving’ myself for the bike or swim. Just let it all out on every single event.

My only issue I had with race day was the fact that I scheduled two triathlons within 5 days apart! Mental note - do not schedule two triathlons within a week apart! Why? Well, as I started my run, I realized that I was NOT fully recovered from the UCLA Triathlon after only 5 days rest.

That being said… I had a plan to go all out on the run. And that’s what I did.

Coming up to the first mile I felt like maybe it was not a good idea! I was teetering with an 8 minute mile and decided that if I just get to the top and around the bend, I can cruise down and not work as hard and still maintain a pace faster than I’m used to.

Well, I did.

I got to the top and rounded the bend and I fought hard to maintain a solid pace as I passed the water station. I rounded the corner and headed down the road as fast as possible. Every so often I’d notice that my pace was a little slower than I wanted so I picked it up and tried to relax. Focusing on NOT tensing up helped me get to the finish line because I was really giving it everything I had and I was on the verge of walking!

But I didn’t slow down!

And guess what! My 5K split was a personal best for a 5K distance but more importantly for a Triathlon. As a reverse Tri, I tend to ’save some’ for the ride. But this time I figured I’d recover ’some’ on the ride before giving it my all. I was worried that I wouldn’t have anything left but maintained my race plan to run hard and to continue the pace into transition to my bike. Normally I take a walk as I reach transition just to catch my breath and rest my legs. But this time I ran to my bike in the Male 40-44 age group section.

So here are my splits:
Mile 1 0:08:08
Mile 2 0:08:25
Mile 3 0:08:22
Last .36 0:02:55
Total 3.36 miles: 0:27:50 (ave 8:17/mile, 7.24 mph)

5K Split: 25:28 (PERSONAL BEST!)

I’m a little disappointed on my Mile 2/3 splits because I felt I should have done those faster than my Mile 1 split. Usually I run my last mile faster but man, I was really fighting hard to keep it up. The downhill helped and yes, my race plan actually worked. But what if I went slower on Mile 1 and really pushed mile 2 and 3? Would that be better? I’ll have to try that run around the Rose Bowl and see if I can match it on a training day.

Transition 1 was fast.

It always could be faster but it was fast enough. I decided to take off my bike shirt because it was getting warmer. So that took a few extra seconds. I slipped on my bike shoes and put on my helmet. But then my helmet was too tight for some reason! I tried it on before the race to make sure it was fitting correctly but I guess after the run, my head swelled with the sweat and heat. I made the adjustment, which again took several seconds. Finally, I grabbed my bike and headed to the exit where I struggled with clipping onto my pedals for some reason.

Mental note: Practice with shoes already clipped onto the pedals for next triathlon!

And off I went.

So despite the extra time spent with the shirt and helmet situation, my transition went smooth. Oh… except that I left my glasses on my towel! Ugh.

T1 Time: 1:48

I didn’t dwell on the fact that I left my glasses in transition. And for a fleeting moment I thought of running back to get it but that would have been dumb. If it were a 50 mile ride, I probably would. But 3 laps around the Rose Bowl I’d let my eyes dry out and suffer a little (my eyes are really sensitive and I get infections [a stigh] if I ride or run without glasses for some reason).

I’m always thinking, I’d make up time on the downhill, but the time I really need to make up is on the uphill. This is where everyone passes me up. It doesn’t matter if they have a tri-bike or mountain bike, I get passed on inclines. Small or large, a steady incline is my monster. On a steeper shorter hill I can really do well. I just need to work on it more. I was going a little faster than I normally do when I train around the Rose Bowl so that was good. And on the downhill I pass everyone who passed me up on the incline. So I know I can be fast on flats or inclines, or as fast as the other cyclists, but I need to be faster and stronger going up. I’ve been focusing on hill training more this year, and it seems to help the endurance part, but for some reason I can’t get enough lasting strength through the climb and have to make it up coming down.

The bike went well though. I was a little dizzy the last 3 miles and tried to clear my head. I was worried I’d get off my bike in transition and fall flat on my face so clearing my head was a priority. I took it slow toward the dismount and lost time cruising to the transition area but I think it helped get my bearings together.

I posted the fastest mile splits for the Rose Bowl and overall for a 10 mile ride so it was another Personal Best at the Rose Bowl!

Mile 1 0:04:28
Mile 2 0:04:08
Mile 3 0:02:14
Mile 4 0:03:22
Mile 5 0:04:25
Mile 6 0:02:33
Mile 7 0:03:36
Mile 8 0:04:35
Mile 9 0:02:39
Last .85 0:02:54
Total 9.85 0:34:54

This isn’t the fastest ride I’ve ever had, but it was the fastest 3 laps around the Rose Bowl I’ve ever had. The fastest ride I’ve ever had was in a Duathlon with rolling hills in Sacramento. I rode 16 miles and averaged 17 mph. But this was the best effort on the Bike at a Triathlon ever! That, following a PB 5K split! Wow.

Transition 2 went well too. No pain, no cramps and no falling flat on my face. I took off my helmet and shoes, grabbed my goggles, kept my socks on and slipped on my slippers.

Whew.

I figured keeping my socks on would prevent me from bending down again and possibly triggering a cramp. I ran from T2 to the pool which was what, 200 million yards or so away. It was a pretty good run and I got to 20 yards away before having to catch my breath.

And that’s where I gave up a lot of time. I took off my socks and walked to the edge of the pool where I stood for about 5 seconds trying to catch my breath. About four people jumped in before I eventually went in. I plunged into the water which was nice and warm.

T2 (which includes the run, walk, and 5 second pause at the edge of the pool): 3:45

I got to the surface and focused on stroke and breathing and let me tell you, this was THE BEST swim effort I’ve ever had in a triathlon. It’s not my Personal Best swim time, but it was my Personal Best swim effort of a triathlon to-date! It didn’t matter that it was only 150 meters, what mattered was that I was focusing on moving and moving and moving!!!

The first turn was a madhouse. People touching the wall, a bunch getting under the lane, there was a couple pushes on my back (hey, it’s LA haven’t you heard of traffic?!) then it was another bump and grind for 50 meters. I was in the mix of things and it felt great to be swimming in a crowd. I was drafting someone in front of me, there was another person on my left that I was able to keep a lead on, and someone was nailing me from my right. I wasn’t reaching as far with my stroke as there were feet right in front of me but I think it helped as a draft. The 2nd lap went smoother than the first and again, a crowd at the wall where people treaded water, pushed people on the back, and fought to get over to the last lane and the swim for home.

That last 50 meters was tough. I had to catch my breath swimming on my side before digging deep and just stroking my way to the finish. I was next to another guy who every time I took a breath he did so we were practically looking right at each other as we swum in close proximity. I was by the wall so I actually got to the line of people waiting to get out of the pool first. And that was a crazy situation in my opinion.

Race Volunteers were calling out bib numbers and punching it in their hand held thing and I’m not so sure this was an accurate ‘finish’ time for 150 meters, or the race in general. I was halfway up the ramp before someone shouted out my number. They didn’t take the bottom part of my race number or anything so I have no idea how the timing of the event worked. But I didn’t really care. I just wanted to rejoice in the fact that I gave it everything I had, it was the best effort I’ve ever given to a Triathlon, and I was feeling great!

From a personal best 5K split, to the fastest average 3 lap MPH at the Rose Bowl on my bike, to the best swim effort I’ve ever had, this has got to be the best performance at a Triathlon I’ve ever had thus far.

150 meter swim time: 4:20 (great for me!) Anything under a 3:00/100 meter swim is great for me and I did this in an average of 2:53/100 meters.

Final time: 1:12:38

WOW! I want all triathlons to be like this!

It will only get better!

The Pasadena Triathlon was a well-run event. I wish there were more vendors during the early morning pre-race period, and more vendors there overall. I was hoping to pick up some gels before the race but there weren’t any being sold. The bathrooms at the Aquatic Center were nice and empty as I think most people didn’t know about them. So I had some convenient bathroom visits a couple times in the 2 hours I waited for the race to start and not that outdoor smelly, dirty public bathroom stuff. Let’s keep it hush-hush.

The transition area was extremely crowded; it could be bigger in my opinion - and closer to the pool if they could figure that out.

The swim should be 400 meters - this would definitely create more space because it was crowded in those lanes! The pool is definitely big enough for 400 meters! UCLA did it their first couple of years: A 400 meter snake swim. And this year UCLA did a 400 meter circle swim that seemed to work well despite the wave start times. Maybe Pasadena could do a Swim/Bike/Run as well.

There were a lot of beginner Triathletes there and I was happy to help them with their questions on transition area and where to exit, run with bike, and general race thoughts, etc.

There were a lot of participants, which makes me believe it was a success. I’d love to see a series of maybe three Triathlons in one year for The Pasadena Triathlon. Each race longer and more challenging - maybe utilize the neighborhood for a longer run and a longer, more challenging bike ride. Tour of California got to do a 5 mile circuit type race, why not The Pasadena Tri? And we could finish (or start) it off with a 400 meter swim or use both pools and have an 800 meter swim where you cross over from one pool to the other!

Overall, this race was extremely fun. It was especially fun because this is my ‘home’ training area - for BRicks. And - it was just a few miles from home and extremely easy to get to. Within thirty minutes after I got out of the pool, I was in a hot shower at home! And by 10:15 I was sitting with my family at Granville’s in Burbank for breakfast; which is one hour after I crossed the finish line.

I’m definitely doing this race again next year!

UCLA Iron Bruin Race Report
March 2, 2008

“Triathlon will humble anybody.”

I was waiting for my wave to start when I overheard someone make the above statement while watching the race. I thought to myself, yes, that’s true. I don’t do Triathlon to compete against others. I don’t compete with my age group. I race to compete with myself - to overcome a challenge and to persevere.

And here we are waiting for our lowly “Sprint” to start. This is not even close to an IronMan distance; it’s a Sprint. So, how can this itsy bitsy teeny-weeny little race be humbling? Well, it is.

UCLA decided to change their course. I was mentally prepared for the 4 mile run, 10 mile bike, ½ mile Run and a 400 meter swim. It used to be more like a “Quadathlon” than a Triathlon but, although it was a challenge, I was looking forward to the ‘old’ setup.

A few days before the race I check out the course to prepare for race day. I am already mentally prepared for the race and I find out they change the course. I quickly looked at the map and thought, 4 laps around UCLA? This is going to be tough!

Instead of a reverse triathlon, it was a regular Swim/Bike/Run. It was still a 400 meter swim but the ride was 13.5 miles around the campus followed by a 2.75 mile run that has a pretty decent run up an incline.

They proudly announced, during the 6:45 AM orientation, that the bike course is now longer with more hills. [sarcasm]Great[/sarcasm].

How hard could it be though?

Okay, so here’s the biggest problem this new format has. First, the race started 10 minutes late: at 7:10AM. But due to the ‘circle swim’ in the pool, they had to start waves of 20 racers every 10 minutes which meant my start time was at 8:50 AM (originally 8:40AM). I was in wave 11 of a total of 12 waves. Waiting for that long for start times is horrible. It’s cold, you get hungry, you build up more and more apprehension and you get mentally fatigued.

I had to wait ONE HOUR AND FORTY MINUTES for my wave to start! It was cold out there waiting, but the worst part, an hour and forty minutes of waiting really got my hunger going. I was so hungry I didn’t know if I had the energy to even swim 400 meters! I ate 3 more SHOT BLOKS about 30 minutes before my wave and hoped for the best.

I got in the water about 5 minutes before start and got adjusted. I figured I’d take it easy and swim at my pace. My projected time was 12 minutes. Which is actually fast.

3-2-1 and I was off. Swimming your own pace is good when training, but when you are in a competitive atmosphere you tend to forget.

So there I was, trying to stay inside the group. I got kicked in the chest, I got kicked in the face, my left ear was nailed, it was a madhouse. I was fighting guys as I rounded the 2 first buoys and believe it or not, 125 meters I was still in the fray. But that was my downfall. I overexerted myself and decided to back off and find some space. Whew. I was tired with 275 meters to go. I took some deep breaths and finally found a comfortable, slow pace.

As I finished the 2nd lap I thought, that wasn’t so bad. One and a half more laps to go and I’m on the bike. Nine minutes into the swim I passed the next wave of swimmers in the pool waiting to start so I tried to push it to the finish before getting eaten up by their wave. I was about 20 meters away before they caught up and the next thing I know I’m out and happy to be on solid ground.

400 Meter Swim: 0:10:56

So 10min and 56seconds later I had finished a full minute faster than I projected.

Transition 1 was quick and easy. Again, it always could go faster but I had to pack my T1 bag with everything so that it could be transported down to T2 for after race pickup.

T1 time: 0:1:30

Down the hill I go, wet and freezing cold. My legs were fatigued which meant I used too much legs during my swim which was bad. But I managed to get down the hill and started to make my first climb up along Sunset blvd. I ripped open a ‘gel’ taped to my bike’s top bar and swallowed it down with a gulp of water.

Then disaster. Two miles into my trek, my chain popped out – and it was on a straight-away! I jumped off, fixed it, and then struggled, for some odd reason, to clip on to my pedals. I lost at least a minute struggling with the chain and wobbling on my bike before getting it going again.

But the first climb wasn’t bad and I decided to take the first 3.3 mile lap (of 4 laps) easy to see how it would be, then I’d put in more effort. The toughest part was mile 3 of each lap. This was a serious climb made for mountain bikes and not Triathlon bikes in my opinion. I passed up several riders who were walking their bikes up, but I wasn’t going to fall into that trap. I convinced myself to keep pedaling despite how hard it was. I still had to do it 3 more times and believe me, I was not looking forward to it. I was wishing for more gears on my 9-speed bike. I wonder if I can get a 10-speed on this thing.

The hills were tough and coming down them wasn’t even enough time to catch your breath or rest your muscles. The downhill was extremely fast and the next thing you know you were back on a climb.

Mile 3 of lap 2 a guy gets on my side and we hold a little conversation up the hill. “We have to do this 4 times right?” he asked. I was like, “Yup, number 2 for me. How about you?”

It was number 2 for him. I wished him well as he pedaled past me.

I caught him on up at North Campus and passed him up.

Again, the mile 3 of lap 3 he caught me on the climb and we gave each other encouragement and joked about coming into Transition 2 early and nobody would know.

I told him that for $75 entry fee, I’m not going to cheat myself out of the torture I paid for. He laughed and agreed. He pedaled past me once again.

I caught him a little further away this time and again, he came up to me on mile 3 of the last lap. I told him I couldn’t believe I made it and he said the same thing. I told him I’d see him at the finish line and he continued on past me.

Finally. Transition 2.

13.5 mile bike: 1:05:26

I walked my bike to the rack and reached down to put on my socks but couldn’t reach down to get it. My left hamstring was tighter than it ever has been and when I tried to sit down, pain shot through my whole left leg. I thought I was done. Over.

I noticed tightness with about 3 miles left in my ride and tried easier gears with a higher pedal cadence just to keep it warm and moving but it was sore and tight. My left side ached, my left calf was cramping, my whole upper chest cramped up and my hamstring was so stiff I couldn’t even bend down. I stretched out my chest, praying to get loose. I was thinking, oh my god, this is it: just lay down and get a DNF (Did Not Finish).

Believe me, the bike ride alone made me want to lay down and give up. But I kept pedaling - finding just enough to get me to the top of each hill. But this was physical pain that I wasn’t sure my mind and body could get past. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t bend down. I couldn’t even get my socks on!

Finally, through pain, torture and a helluva’ struggle, I slipped each sock on. And my pain was so bad I couldn’t get them on correctly. They were a little crooked on my right foot as I felt the crease of my sock inside my shoes. Thank goodness for “Yankz!” (http://www.yankz.com/). Instead of having to tie my shoes, I just slip them on and run.

T2 time: 0:2:19

Slipping my shoes and socks on was easy compared to the hard part - running. I walked as fast as I could to the exit of T2 and started to pick up my feet and my pace. It was tough and thank goodness we got to run around the Intramural Field for about ¼ of a mile because the next thing we had to do was run up where we biked down.

I kept thinking, in 3 miles I’ll be done. Over. No problem. It’s just a 3 mile run! I’ve done several of these with no problem. Just move your feet and run. So I did.

It took a mile for my legs to loosen up. And wow, mind over matter got me through the bike, and now it got me past all the pain and things were good to go.

This is the best part of Triathlon. Getting into the run after all the struggle of the two other parts. This is where you find out that if you put your mind to it, you can actually do it.

And there was that guy again; the guy who shared conversation with me up the hill. He kept looking behind at me and every time I got closer, he sped up.

I was going to catch him. No matter how hard it would be I made up my mind to catch him.

He kept looking back. And he kept speeding up. But every time he did that, he seemed to tire out a little bit more. I kept my pace. It was steady and strong. It was a half marathon pace so it was definitely not fast. But it was strong. I was at full capacity as far as breathing. My heart rate was skyrocketed. But it wasn’t affecting my run. I kept pounding and finally, he looked back over his left shoulder this time, and I was at his heels close to the 2 mile mark.

He gave me a pat on the back as I got next to me and I said, “we made it!” We actually shook each other’s hands and congratulated each other for making it this far. It’s nice to make these small connections while doing a race. It seems to happen every time I’m out there.

And then I was off to catch three more runners ahead of me.

Coming down the hill was such a relief. The finish line was not too far ahead; just a swing around the Wooden Center on a flat surface and a nice long look at the finish line that you could sprint to.

I gave it everything I could that last quarter mile or so.

I couldn’t feel the pain. In my head, there was no more pain.

Just heart.

I strode past the finish line knowing I gave it everything I had. I felt I could have run another mile if they asked, because I was in such a runners high, but I was glad it was over.

FINAL TIME: 1:48:14

My post race activities were to find a drink, pack up my stuff and leave. I still had Jacob’s baseball practice to attend and a dinner I was planning on making.

This was the toughest Triathlon I’ve ever done, I thought. And it was.

I look at the race: 400 meter swim, 13.5 mile bike, 2.75 mile run and think – that’s simple and short but:

“Triathlon will humble anybody.”

Yes, that’s what Triathlon does to a person. Experienced or beginner (like I still am). If you give it your all, Triathlon is no means an easy task despite the short distance traveled. It’s what you do during the short distance that matters.

And it’s not about the Triathlon. It’s about the distance traveled just to get to the starting line. And, for me, it’s the distance traveled after the finish line. I have a long way to go. And believe me, I am humbled by that fact and I’ve said it before – I’m not going to quit.

IronMan here I come!

2007 Redlands Triathlon Race Report

But it wasn’t without a T2 (Transition 2) dizzy spell where I had to hold on to a wall before continuing on with my journey to the pool!

There seems to be drama every time I do a Triathlon doesn’t there? Well, this one isn’t as big as it seems but it sure made a difference in my Personal Best!

The weather was perfect. Compared to last year’s flood, this was ‘walk in the park’ weather.

As I sat in my car at 5:30 in the morning, I went through the triathlon checklist in my head. Did I bring everything? Well, I was sure I did. But then when I got to Redlands I realized I didn’t bring my energy gels. Oh well, it’s only an hour race, I reasoned; I didn’t need energy gels.

Hmm… interesting- as this one very thought actually had a key result in the race!

I didn’t go into this race at peak condition. I’m in pretty good physical condition, but after the San Diego Marathon I burned out. It took a lot out of me. So, since June 3, 2007, my training has been next to null. In fact, other than swimming recreationally, playing golf, having a couple of runs and weight lifting sessions here and there, I have slacked like a true slacker that I am.

Since June 2007 I ran less than 50 miles, I biked ZERO miles since February of last year. That’s a whole year! And I swam maybe two miles at best and that’s only recreational swimming at Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii back in August and LaCosta Resort and Spa in San Diego in September. I am very meticulous when logging my training. From tenths of mile on runs for EACH pair of running shoe I use, to logging yards to meters conversions on swims for each goggle I own.

Since June 3, 2007, my log is blank. It’s pretty pathetic.

Since the beginning of this year I ran approximately 30 miles, biked 35 miles and swam ZERO meters. ZERO.

So considering the lack of training, I wasn’t expecting to hit a personal best at all. I just wanted to finish and finish strong considering all of the above.

My race plan: Run hard but save some for the bike ride. Then, get on the bike and give it EVERYTHING I could while focusing on the climb. I figured if I gave it everything and really pushed myself on the bike ride, my time would speak for itself in the end. After a hard ride, all I had to worry about was a measly 100 yard swim. That’s 91.44 meters for those metric folks.

Of course we all know what happened the first time I did the swim back in 2006; it was a near death experience. Two years removed from that situation, a 100 yard swim is nothing. In fact, a quarter mile ocean swim in 40 degree water and 10–12 foot waves is nothing!

So expectations were that this Triathlon would be well, like the weather: walk in the park.

It was all according to plan. My run was smooth. I felt great throughout the whole run even thinking my pace was faster than it should be but it wasn’t a struggle to keep so I kept it up. As I turned the last corner I was in really good stride. I remember at this point last year I was struggling to keep up with some 9 year old girl while I struggled with a quarter mile left. This year, I was still running smooth with a quarter mile left. It wasn’t an all out sprint to T1, but it was a really good pace that got me to my bike with some serious energy!

5K run: 27min 5sec (Slow, but decent considering).

T1 was really good. It could be better, but I always have a mishap with something or another. I took off my hat and accidentally snapped off the ear piece of my Oakley sunglasses. It’s fortunate that I have an extra pair of glasses at my transition area and this was one of those times I was glad I was prepared. I also have an extra pair of shoes and goggles just in case.

Other than that, T1 was smooth and fast. I decided not to wear gloves, got on my bike and was off and pedaling pretty hard considering I gave the 5K run a strong finish.

T1 Time: 1min 8sec (average time for me and could improve)

I checked my speed and was at a speed better than the other two times I did the race. Staying on my big gear for as long as I could helped. I practiced this at the Rose Bowl every time out. It made a huge difference in my climb. Then it was downhill from there.

I flew down hitting 34 mph at one point and passing up other cyclists who were also in aero position. I was like, I guess my bike is pretty fast! I’ve never really passed up cyclists coming down this hill before. Especially cyclists on tri-bikes, in aero position, and who were already ahead of me coming into the bike portion of the race! They either ran faster than me and were already in front, or biked passed me going up. I was able to catch a bunch of people on the way down regardless! It was awesome.

The second time up was tougher.

First, I imagined how motivating it would be if Donna and the kids were there cheering me on like they did two years prior. Other people were cheering family members on as they headed back up, I got a few cheers of encouragement, but it wasn’t ‘my family’. I took it for what it was and smiled and continued on my push to the top.

I really thought I had more in me but I struggled back up and decided to ride on my small gear practically all the way up. I got off my saddle a couple of times but managed maybe 30 revolutions on my pedals before having to sit back down. Those that I flew past on the way down were now passing me on the way up.

Looking back at my HR data shows I was really pushing it every step of the run and every revolution of the ride! So I did what I planned on doing.

On the way down I was flying but I could barely get past 30 mph it seemed. I also nearly flew off my bike when I was passing another cyclist on the way down. I yelled, “LEFT” and as I made my move there was a little dip in the road that I wasn’t prepared for and it bumped me off my seat a little. Fortunately I was holding onto my aero-bars securely as I passed the rider or else there would have been disaster! Needless to say, it put a scare into me that made me think: HOLY SHIT I ALMOST DIED!!! Whew.

I took the last u-turn and got off my saddle and biked as hard as I could to T2.

It was awesome. My race plan was going perfect. I was giving it everything I could…

And then T2 happened.

10 mile ride: 37:28 (That’s 2 ½ minutes faster than last year and 3 ½ minutes faster than 2006!)

I got off my bike and I was woozy. I gulped down some Gatorade and it made me feel nauseous… Note: Don’t drink Low Calorie “G2” Gatorade during a race!

And remember the part where I forgot my energy gels?

Well, this is how it works: I usually take a gel about 20 minutes before the start of the race. Then, after about a mile or so on my bike ride I take another gel.

I try to fuel every hour when training and especially during a race. And today, I didn’t fuel before, and I didn’t fuel during. But come on… does it really make a difference?

Yes it does!

You see, lack of calories, protein, and carbs, can ruin your long training day and can definitely jeopardize your race day. Your body needs enough fuel to maintain itself throughout the race and help prevent early fatigue. There are three things to think about in order to train and race properly. 1) preparation (which I lacked), 2) pacing (one I focused on despite lack of training), and 2) fueling (one I completely ignored on race day).

With more preparation, this Triathlon would have been a serious personal best and not what it eventually was. With a little more care to pacing, maybe my all out bike strategy would have not caused my T2 demise! (you’ll see why). And if I had fueled properly, this race report would have been over already!

So here I am, off my bike and struggling to stay on my feet. No cramps, fatigue was not a problem (I thought), I was breathing fine and my heart was feeling good. But my brain wasn’t functioning properly. The world was spinning. I wobbled like a weeble. I felt feint like a fallen foe, and I thought I was going to collapse hard on the cold concrete. How’s that for an illiteration.

I gagged, thinking I was going to throw up the Low Caorie “G2” grape Gatorade crap, but held it in. I grabbed my goggles and walked, for a lack of a better word, to the pool like an alcoholic walking into his house in a stupor after a night of drinking.

I leaned against the wall at one point trying to clear my head. I remember trying to spit into a trashcan and instead dribbled down my arm. I think. Were those girls grossing out over what I just did? Why are they laughing? Do I have yuck all over my arm? What’s going on? Where am I?

I struggled to the edge of the pool. People were diving in – you’re not supposed to. The life guard wasn’t saying anything. I had the inclination to go head first and get a good start. Instead, I let myself fall in.

I was able to relax despite my state of, how can I call it, unconscious consciousness. Or conscious unconsciousness. Anyway, I took stroke after stroke after stroke.

In my head I went over a conversation I had with Donna the night before. I told her I had planned on swimming but didn’t get around to it. 18 holes with Chip & Dale was my choice of training on Saturday and not swimming in a dark lonely pool at the gym. She said she thought it would have made a difference. During my first 25 yards I thought… would it? Later that afternoon I thought it wouldn’t have made any difference at all. Today, I believe it would have made a huge difference. I forgot technique. If I swam on Saturday, at least I would have had a mental checklist on technique and would have brought that with me into the Triathlon.

So 25 yards in, a conversation replay in my head, and dizziness and lack of direction yet making it to the wall, I was almost done I took a quick breather at the wall then kept going. And unlike two years ago, despite my fatigue and dizziness, I was still doing what I was supposed to do. It was pretty amazing. My brain was blank, all I knew was I had to swim. My eyes were so blurred that goggles didn’t help. I was so dizzy but I was still breathing well almost like I may be able to do a quarter mile swim! I was a robot in the water. This is good right? I’m thinking, yes.

50 yards in I saw a guy holding on to the wall. The look on his face was defeat. I didn’t think he’d make it. Normally, I’d give the person some encouragement. Even at my toughest moment (LA Triathlon) where I yelled to others “Lets go!” as we struggled back to shore, I couldn’t muster any words for this poor fellow. I wonder what he thought of me as we looked at each and I just left him there to die as I went on my way to the other side.

I bumped into a woman swimming on her back and called out “sorry!” I think she acknowledged me with “that’s okay.” But for all I know she was cursing me out for swimming into her. I couldn’t see, lady! I was about to faint! So sue me already! I believe she said, “that’s okay” though.

I was far from finishing strong. I was ready to pass out. I looked up and saw an older man at the side of the pool encouraging me to swim to the steps. “You’re almost there! Keep it up! Get to the steps and you’re almost done!” he yelled.

I made it. I MADE IT! I got to the steps and crawled out. I managed a feeble “thank you” to the older gentleman who was encouraging the next person (the woman on her back) to keep moving.

I barely made it to the finish line where I was rewarded with some sort of brown ribbon. My medal of honor for, again, finishing a triathlon. They should at least give us a trophy. Or a gift certificate to Yard House! It’s a friggen triathlon!

Okay… swim was better than both years past. Even in my woozy-dreamlike-conscious-unconscious-state.

Swim: 2min 44 sec. (Yup, 40 seconds better than last year and close to 3 whole minutes better than 2006!)

With some pretty good times I posted I thought a personal best was recorded. Guess what… IT WAS? But… I only beat last year’s time by 20 seconds! TWENTY FRICKEN SECONDS!

I finished at 1hour 11minutes and 25seconds.

You’ve got to be kidding me!

It’s amazing how the little things in a Triathlon can make a big difference in a race. From fueling (which isn’t such a little thing) to Transition time. Transition time should take a minute or less. Seriously. It’s quick.

In a Reverse Tri (Run/Bike/Swim), T1 is: take off shoes, put on bike shoes, helmet, get on bike and go. Less than a minute right? T2 is: park bike, get shoes/socks off, get helmet off, grab goggles and jump into pool and finish the race. Should be even less than T1!

So what was my T2 time?

First lets look at T1…
In 2006, my very first ever triathlon, T1 was great. I did it in 1min 10seconds.
In 2007, my T1 time was 1min 9seconds.
This year my T1 time was: 1min 8seconds!
Pretty damn consistent if I say so myself? And I want and can improve on that big time!

Now on to T2.
In 2006, my T2 time was 1min 50seconds. Long! And this is getting a foot cramp on the way to the pool!
In 2007, my T2 time was 1min 5seconds! Nailed it!
And in 2008 my T2 time was… wait for it…

TWO MINUTES AND FORTY FOUR SECONDS! 2min 44seconds! TWO MINUTES AND FORTY FOUR FRIGGEN SECONDS!!!

Two what? It took me 2 min and 44seconds to get off my bike and into the pool! That’s worse than 2006! It should have taken a minute max this year with all my Transition experience! And if I take that into account my time would be better by almost two minutes!

So last year I did the race in 1:11:55.

This year I beat that: Barely. I did it in 1:11:25 (official).

What a bummer. I didn’t figure this out till later that night. I didn’t realize how important that one thought I had at the beginning of the race was. I thought, it’s only an hour race, who needs an energy gel?

Well, I will go out on a limb and say, if I had that ‘fuel’ I wouldn’t have been so empty after I got off the bike. I screwed myself TWO WHOLE MINUTES all because I left my energy gels at home.

I learned a HUGE lesson this year. HUGE.

Here are my year by year comparisons of the Redlands Triathlon.

	2/12/2006	2/11/2007	2/10/2008
RUN	0:27:52	0:26:21	0:27:05
T1	0:01:10	0:01:09	0:01:08
BIKE	0:40:59	0:40:02	0:37:28
T2	0:01:50	0:01:05	0:03:00
SWIM	0:05:29	0:03:18	0:02:44
	1:17:20	1:11:55	1:11:25

There you have it. Another drama filled race by yours truly. All because I forgot my energy gels at home!

POST RACE - I had to eat a danish, drink my cold coffee, and take a 15 minute nap to clear my head before driving home…

So I got a brown ribbon. But the most rewarding thing about completing a triathlon is coming home, getting a hug from Donna and again, hearing her say, “I’m proud of you!”

LIFE IS GOOD

Next up: The Pasadena Triathlon. March 8, 2008. I’m going to tape energy gels to my bike tonight!

First, I’d like to thank my wonderful, most beautiful family, who braved the cold and rain to root me on till the very end. I didn’t think I’d see them out there as I came in from the last lap of the bike portion, but there they were and I heard them loud and clear as I sped by at 30 miles per hour.

Thanks, Donna, Jacob and Isabella! I knew the kids would love the rain, but Donna… thanks honey! If it weren’t for you, I would be a couch potato!

And thanks to Donna’s sister Kathy and her husband Peter for taking us in to feed us after the race. We were in Redlands and San Bernardino was just 20 minutes away so we got dry and warm at their place! I’ve never eaten so much rice and Chinese Broccoli for breakfast in my entire life! It was awesome! And spicy!

Wow… It’s been a year since my very first Triathlon. If you remember, I cramped in both legs and nearly drowned. This is the same Triathlon, just a year later.

The trepidation and fear I had a year ago was not as big as this year – but still, I was apprehensive and nervous.

It was a mini-sprint: 5K run, 10 mile bike and 100 yard swim.

My time last year was 1:17:20. That was because of a very torturous 9 minute swim!

I had projected a 1:15:00 finish time last year and was on course to do it. But cramps and the swim got in the way.

I thought I could possibly finish this Tri in an hour if I ran personal best 5K, did a 10 mile bike in 30 minutes and swam the 100 yards in 4 minutes. But when I wrote my averages down it was impossible.

Here was my plan:

RUN PROJECTION
8:30 5K pace to finish the 5K in 0:26:21: If I did it in 8:17 pace I could have maybe hit a personal best 5K but that would mean no legs for the bike. So my goal was slightly slower, just so I’m not bent over as I got on my bike.

BIKE PROJECTION
10 miles in 35 minutes. That’s doable at the Rose Bowl but there’s isn’t a hill at the Rose Bowl. It was ambitious but a goal. It would cut 5 minutes from last year’s bike time which is totally doable!

SWIM PROJECTION
4 minutes. I can do 100 meters in 2:20 at the gym, 100 yards is 91.44 meters which meant, at a struggling pace, I can do the swim in 4 minutes or less!

TRANSITION TIME
I gave T1 and T2 0:1:30 each.

For a total PROJECTION OF: 1:08:21 which is seven minutes faster than my projection of last year.

Ultimately, my goal was to go all out.

And that’s what I did… until it rained.

THE RUN
The sun blasted through the dark clouds. It was raining just minute’s prior to the start but now the sun was out. It was going to be a nice day. The race started about 15 minutes late and everyone was anxious to get going. And finally we were off and running.

It felt good to stay with a group. I wasn’t getting past too much and I maintained a decent pace up the gradual incline. I knew it was eventually going to be flat and fast on the back stretch then I’d have to run up an incline again at the end.

The run felt good. I felt like I was going too fast after mile 1 and had to hold back. If I continued the fast pace, I may have hit the wall. The way I felt at the end really showed my 2nd mile pace was too fast. Normally, I have negative splits but this run didn’t reflect that. I hit my lap button as I entered T1 and jogged slowly to my area just so I can rest up a little for the bike. My Garmin registered 3.07 miles for the run – a little less than a 5K.

Here are my splits:
Mile 1 0:08:45
Mile 2 0:07:53
Mile 3 0:08:58
Mile 3.07 0:00:45

FINAL 0:26:21 for a 8:35 min/mile pace. That’s 5 seconds slower pace than projected but Mile 2 really took it out of me. I didn’t manage it very well.

I redlined it most of the run. It was tough.

Here is my average heart data per lap.
Mile 1 179
Mile 2 194
Mile 3 199
Mile 3.07 200

194, 199, 200!!! Wow. That’s why my ribs hurt the day after. I was breathing hard!

Some thoughts I had during the run:
ChiRunning. Remember, ChiRunning!
Man I’m going too fast. I’m not going to last.
I need to catch that guy.
I need to speed up.
ChiRunning, baby!
Yes, I passed ‘that’ guy!
I’m slowing up. I’m too tired. This is a good pace. ChiRunning! Go Faster! Relax!
Why is that little girl so far ahead of me with a mile to go?
Screw ChiRunning! Struggle! Finish. Jog.

T1
I decided to keep my long sleeve tech shirt on because it was getting cool. I had a sleeveless tri top underneath. T1 was fast. I took a quick gulp of Gatorade. My transition towel was wet so I carefully kicked off my right shoe and slipped on my bike shoe without stepping on the towel. And in a fraction of a second I forgot to do it with left shoe and I stepped on the towel and my sock got wet. I got my helmet on, unracked my bike and noticed people riding in the transition area (like last year) so I snapped my left pedal on and biked out of T1.

T1 time: 0:01:09! Awesome! That included my little walk/jog to my area!

THE BIKE
I got off the saddle and started to go. I was flying. I felt like I had the legs but maybe a half mile in I was spent. My legs were so fatigued I kept pulling back on my gear lever as if there was an extra climbing gear secretly hidden that I didn’t know about. The climb was about 2.5 miles and it wasn’t big. Just steady and tiring.

And then… it started to rain. The first loop the rain wasn’t bad, but the turns were slippery. One guy, just ahead of me, wiped out. We all slowed down around the turn (he was still there during the 2nd lap – I guess his bike was screwed).

The straight away downhill was awesome. The road was rough as there was road construction but I tried to find a good line and go as fast as I could. I saw Donna and the kids as I flew by and waved.

As I climbed back up the 2nd loop I gave Jake a high five…
And then it started to pour.

Wearing that shirt was a mistake. It was soaked. It felt heavy and I was shivering. I couldn’t see with my glasses as the water beaded up so when I lowered them my eyes would get hit with rain. It was better to see though so I lowered my glasses.

My hands felt frozen and as I hit a bump on the road it felt like I couldn’t hold on. But I trudged ahead. I had more energy after the downhill, but now I was more tentative than ever. I’ve never biked in the rain. So this was a first.

In the end, I didn’t go as fast as I wanted but got it done. It was not a full 10 miles though. Not even a full 9 according to my Garmin. Here are my splits.

MILE SPLIT
Mile 1 0:06:12
Mile 2 0:06:21
Mile 3 0:03:00
Mile 4 0:02:08
Mile 5 0:05:04
Mile 6 0:06:22
Mile 7 0:04:37
Mile 8 0:02:47
Mile 8.89 0:03:31

FINAL 0:40:02

The bike portion really hindered my ability to go all out. I felt like I hit the wall the first two miles and struggled, and when I had my energy back I held back due to fear of death! J

Here is my average heart data per lap.
Mile 1 189
Mile 2 187
Mile 3 188
Mile 4 191
Mile 5 189
Mile 6 187
Mile 7 183
Mile 8 174
Mile 8.89 173
Ave: 185
Low: 165
High 194

Hmmm… I guess I didn’t push it at the end.

Some thoughts I had during the bike:
I NEED MORE GEARS!
When is this two mile climb going to end?
Hey, last year people were lapping me by now. I’m on a roll.
I’m not going to make it.
Just go for it!
I LOVE GOING FAST!
Hey, Jake!
Here we go up the hill again.
I can’t see!
Slow down, don’t die.
I’m drowning!
I should have taken off this shirt.
My Garmin is getting wet!
My feet are freezing!
My hands are freezing.
I’m almost done!!!

T2
Everything was soaked. But it didn’t matter, I was going into the pool anyway. I racked my bike, stuffed my Garmin in my bag, took off my helmet, threw my gloves off and struggled a little to get the wet shirt off my back. I kicked off my shoes and decided to run the 50 yards or so to the pool in my socks.

The difference between last year and this year… I ran. I could actually run to the pool.

T2 Time: 0:1:05

THE SWIM

I jumped in and new how it would feel. WARM! The pool was heated and boy did it feel good! My first lap of the snake pattern was easy. I breathed every four strokes and touched the wall. I took about two or three seconds breather as I moved to the next lane and pushed off. Half way through I was so tired I got on my back and kicked the rest of the way, touched the wall and pushed off hard.

As I swam to the finish I was feeling pretty good: winded but good. And I walked out of the pool and rushed over to hand the volunteers my timing thing.

Final Swim Time: 0:3:18. Not blistering, but speedy enough for me.

Donna had a towel waiting as I shivered back to Transition with the goal of getting everything to the car, drying off and getting warm.

It was over. It was fun. It was cold.

All in all I did well. I went all out on the run, I struggled with the bike but really, did the best I could, and I swam comfortably. My Transitions were faster than ever and although I didn’t finish as projected, I finished 5:21 faster than last year. Which, at least, shows improvement with obstacles like the rain.

My final time: 1:11:59

Three minutes and thirty eight seconds slower than projected.

I’m happy with that.

Some thoughts during the swim:
Ahhh… warm.
Push it, reach, pull, stroke, breath…
No rest, just go!
It’s shallow. I can walk!!!

Some thoughts about the race:
I love the rain.
I hate the rain during a Triathlon race.
I could do this faster.
Next year I’ll be in the top 10 in my age group… 40-45!!! LOL

Imagine, just 3:38 off my projection, which could have all been done on the bike. My bike was just a minute or so faster than last year’s time. It could have been ten.

I can’t wait till the next Tri. Pasadena Tri or the UCLA IronBruin! I think the Triathlon fever is back!

Some Pictures…

I had what looked to be a 10 year old girl in my sights with a mile to go. I wanted to catch up to her. I passed her with about a half mile to go. Then… I realized how old I was and how young she was as she sped by me as we approached the turn to T1.

T1 was nice and fast. A quick drink, wet socks and I’m off into the pending storm.

NOTE: Special thanks to Omkar and his wife Nilan and their friend, three up and coming Triathletes, who recognized me from my blog! Nilan recognized me and they greeted me. We chatted for about 5 minutes before the race started. All three were running the race - their 2nd Sprint! It was awesome to meet them and hopefully we can race together again.

Click picture for bigger version.

Yes, this is a problem. But one I have accepted since everyone else looks like me. LOL

WOW… What a year. I decided to do Triathlons in December 2005 and ventured out into the pool for a 100 yard swim as the last leg of a backwards Triathlon in which I thought I was going to die. And even faced with death, I ventured on to another one, and another, and yet another.

2006 was tiring. I’m going to pick and choose those special races for this coming year. I will be very selective. There are some races I wished I had done last year that I definitely want to do this year. But one thing’s for sure: I vow to do the Olympic Distance LA Triathlon to ‘cap’ the season. So this year will be the year of the Olympic Triathlon. 2008 will be a Half Ironman!

Here’s a review of those races I finished in 2006. And even though the year was filled with long awaited anticipation from race to race, the year seemed to come and go and now, I have a full year of Triathlon and endurance sports under my belt.

February 12, 2006
My first Tri: The 7th Annual Redlands Triathlon. It was the “Quitting is better than Dying” race. Each stroke I took I thought would be my last before passing out in the pool leaving the lifeguards to do what they do best. But I ‘reached’ and ‘pulled’ in poor technique and it finally got me to the stairs and it was over. Immediately after I crossed the finish line I questioned if I would ever race Triathlon ever again. Thirty minutes later, I realized I was addicted.

- Race: 5K Run | 10 Mile Bike | 100 Yard Swim
- Final Time: 1 hour 17 minutes 20 seconds.

On February 11th of this year, I will go back and confront the same challenge with more experience, a faster bike, and a better swim stroke. I can’t wait to crush my 1 hour, 17 minute and 20 second final time!

April 9, 2006
And two months later I raced the UCLA - IronBruin Triathlon! This was a fun and challenging race for a beginner Triathlete. Running trails and up stairs were tough. Climbing the hills with a bike was tougher. And follow all that with another half mile run to the pool – up a hill! This was the “Pee causes Bladder Havoc for Triathlete… (more)” race.

Race: 4 Mile Run | 10 Mile Bike | 400 Meter Swim
Final Time: 1:49:38
Breakdown:
0:37:15 Run (4 miles)
0:02:27 T1
0:42:51 Bike (10 miles)
0:03:50 T2
0:06:54 Run (0.5 miles)
0:16:22 Swim (400 meters)

I’m going to add this to my 2007 schedule because it’s such a fun race! And I’m going to kick ass!!!

June 10, 2006
I missed two Triathlon races between the April 9th and June 10th. It was very hard because the “A” race of the year was set for May 7th. A prep race was set a week before. I was sick for the prep race and DNS (did not show), and on May 7th I DNS as I was up north for my cousin’s memorial service who passed away a week before. I was, needless to say, very emotional.

Ottie, Rest In Peace…

But on June 10th, I ventured out into a Lake for the Los Angeles Tri Express Series #3. It was my first ‘open water’ type swim. This was my, “Screw That Never Quit’ Idea” race. For me, it was a turning point in my Triathlon ‘career’: so-to-speak. If I had quit, my career would have been over. When I crossed the finish line, I knew ANYTHING is possible. I knew, with hard work and dedication, I could and would someday be, an IRONMAN!

Race: 400 Yard Swim | 8 1/3 Mile Bike | 4 Kilometer Run
Final Time: 1:18:01
Breakdown:
0:13:51 Swim (400 yards)
0:03:32 T1
0:33:38 Bike (8 1/3 miles)
0:01:18 T2
0:25:42 Run (4 kilometers)

June 25, 2006
Every Tri I had up till June 25 had been tough. It never was pretty, nor easy. I experienced it all. A DNS and now a DQ… I DQ’d in the San Bernardino 20th Annual Tinman Triathlon. Yes, I got disqualified for making a wrong turn on the bike course. I finished the race, I just didn’t ‘finish’ the race. When I finished I was so pumped, so jazzed, it was a biking challenge really, and I had to walk ¼ of a mile up a hill. But I survived. Unfortunately… I screwed up. It was my “I got DQ’d from a Triathlon” race. Trust me, I learned from that huge mistake.

July 8, 2006
I had planned to get my family involved in this endurance sport addiction of mine. Get them to at least participate in a relay. It kinda worked. But then my nephew couldn’t do the swim portion of the Triathlon Relay so my cousin and I settled on a Duathlon where I’d run 5K then bike 16 miles, and he’d anchor it with a 5K run (in the heat) at the July TRI for FUN Summer Duathlon (relay). It was ‘our’, “1st Annual Family Duathlon Relay Race.” Although it was just Desmond and me, it was still fun. We had a lot of support: Sherry, Jessica, Drew, Donna, Bella and Jake were there to cheer us on!

Race: 5K Run | 16 Mile Bike | 5K Run
Final Time: 1:53:44
Breakdown:
0:28:02 Glenn’s Run (5K miles)
0:01:42 T1
0:55:58 Glenn’s Bike (15.94 miles)
0:01:00 T2
0:27:02 Des’ Run (5K)

We, “The Triathlete Nuts,” came in first place in the MALE RELAY division and first place in the RELAY DIVISION OVERALL!!! Note: we were the only Male Relay by the way. But hey!!! We beat the female relay and the coed relay and we got a HAT as a prize!

And then came my first open water swim…

August 27, 2006
Yes, my first OFFICIAL open water swim. And was I scared? HELL YEAH. They said the waves were bigger than expected. That made it harder. I almost quit before it started. It was also COLD at the Imperial Beach Triathlon & Duathlon. But you know what, with the help of a ‘swim buddy’ I made it through and actually was looking forward to another open water swim. This was my, “Thank God for Swim Buddies!” race.

- Race: 1/2 K Swim (500 meters) | 15 K Bike (9.3 miles) | 5K Run (3.1 miles)
- Official Results
Swim (500 meters): 0:20:56 = 4:11 per 100 meter
T1: 0:04:19
Bike (9.56 miles): 0:31:09 = 3:16 per mile / 18.41 mph ave speed
T2: 0:01:50
Run (3.3 miles): 0:30:48 = 9:20 per mile / 6.43 mph ave speed
Final Time: 01:29:02

This race was inspiring. It was fulfilling. It was everything a Triathlon event should be and more…

That is until…

September 10, 2006
And here I was. Standing in front of eight foot waves for my true “A” race of the year. The Los Angeles Triathlon!!! I was more in shock than fear as I stood there watching the waves crash on the Triathletes before me. I watched them suffer, I watched them topple, I watched a few Triathletes helped out of the water, I watched some quit. But this was my race. This was the race I trained for. And everything I learned was going to be put to the test. No, not the techniques, or managing endurance, or transition tips, it was the one thing I learned and the one thing I preached to Jacob. How to have ‘Courage’. This is where you practice what you preach to your young son. This is where you face your fears and you bury your face in the dark (literally) and you dig deep, reaching deep inside your gut, and you fight to hold your breath, and you have faith that there will be light and much needed air even when you can’t hold it any longer. And sure enough, just when all seems to be lost, all is found. And guess what… you have to hold your breath and do it all over again.

COURAGE!

The LA Triathlon was a life changing event. Read my, “Los Angeles Triathlon Race Report.”

When I came towards the finish and saw and heard Donna, Jake, Bella and my mom cheering me on, I teared up. They had NO IDEA what I went through. They had NO IDEA what went through my mind moments before I got my feet wet. They had NO IDEA how my heart raced as I took those few steps to the finish - and it wasn’t racing because of aerobic activity. I did the race alone… but I was never alone. I thought about each one of them almost every stroke, almost every revolution of my pedals, almost every single step I took. As I turned the corner towards the crowds I could not wait to see them. They, above anything else in this world, were my inspiration. My family got me through this. I just went to the gym and trained.

This past year I only did the sprint. This year it will be a pier to pier and back to pier swim. An Olympic distance Triathlon.

Will I have enough courage? You better believe it, brother! And I CAN’T WAIT!!!

Race: 645 Meter Swim (.4 miles) | 20 Mile Bike | 5K Run (3.1 miles)
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

I capped the year with a couple races. You know, the tradtional type. The one where you just run. And I just didn’t run 5Ks. I did a 5K, a 10K and finished the year off with the longest distance I’ve ever run to date, a half marathon!!!

October 7 - Saucony Three Point One (Final 5K Time: 25:51)
I dragged Bella and Jake along and they ran the kiddie race.

November 5 - The KOST 103.5 and KCAL 9 Yule Log Jog (Final 10K Time: 55:19)
I dragged Donna along for her first 5K race!

December 3 - The City of Angeles Half Mary (Final 13.1K Time: 2:24:44)
Steve dragged me along as I struggled to the finish line!

So there you have it. My race year in review. Seven Triathlon events and three running events! Whew! 2007 is going to be bigger, better and badder than ever!!! I can’t wait.

Bring it on!

I can go on and on about things so I have to corral my thoughts and just get them down.

First off, remember that guy Ray that I met on the bus on the way to Venice Beach for the LA Tri (Sept 2006)? I never got to see him again except before the swim and as I passed him on the run. It’s a small world when, out of an estimated 5,000 people who ran the LA Half Marathon, I pass a guy at the mile 11 mark and it’s Ray. We were like, HEY!!! I KNOW YOU!!! I told him to email me. He said I zoomed by him on the bike and that was the last he saw me. And that was in September – three whole months ago. So that was a pleasant surprise.

Back to the day…

It started off with denial at around 2 AM… and every hour thereafter. I was thinking about not running. Calling Steve at 6 AM and tell him I’m not going. I got up at 5 AM, made coffee, got my running gear together and waited for Steve. Even at 6:30 I was thinking, if he doesn’t show then it’s a good enough excuse for me not to go. Well, Steve and Mindy showed up and Mindy dropped us off at Griffith Park.

We walked about a quarter of a mile to the staging area and we froze our butts off all the way there. It was still dark and it was cold! It was 41 degrees!

We did a little jog which didn’t help. We found groups of people huddled together so for a while, we jumped in. The body heat of the group actually helped!

I had decided to wear my long running pants, gloves, a short sleeve tech shirt, arm warmers and a fleece cap that covered my ears. And I was still freezing my ass off. I don’t know how Steve handled it just wearing running shorts, a tech shirt, a hat, and a hooded pullover. A majority of people were dressed for the weather, the rest were shivering while dressed for a run in the California sun.

We got in line for the port-o-potties but after 30 minutes and not even halfway there, we decided to head for the starting line. There were maybe forty port-o-potties! We figured we’d find one on the course and make a stop. The map indicated more than enough port-o-potties for the run.

So we bared the cold for an hour and finally, at 7:45 AM, the race started.

Two miles in and the sun was upon us and we set our sights on a no-line port-o-pottie! I quickly did my business, slipped off my jacket and arm warmers and I was good to go for the rest of the day. Steve had thrown his pullover somewhere off to the side between mile one and two. It would be a homeless wonderland if the homeless just followed the route and picked up the clothing that were thrown aside at the start of the race.

Other than the fact that the cold had really screwed with my joints, the first six miles were easy. But the cold had an obvious effect on my left knee and right ankle. They were stiff and sore and tight.

I started to ‘feel’ the run around mile seven – right after the Hyperion Bridge. We ran through Silver Lake and it seemed everything we came across was a hill. At mile 11 I ran into Ray, gave him my email addy and asked him to email me. The last few miles were going to be a struggle.

Running up Sunset was tough. First, we were tired. Second, all the restaurants were opening and we had to take in the smells of fresh tortilla, fried chicken, and even pizza! It was awesome and torturous at the same time!

And where were all the bands on the street that they promised? There was a church that had a drummer drumming to a CD or something which was nice, but there werent’t any other bands before that. And that was like late in the race!

At mile 12 there was a cool percussion set under the over-pass, which really got us movin’. Boy, the beat of the music sure helps sometimes!

And when we finally made that last turn for the finish I felt like I was dragging my feet. My legs were shot. My energy was there, my breathing was fine, but my legs were absolutely on their last… well… leg!

We crossed the finish line together with a feeling of accomplishment.

That race would have been absolute boredom if it weren’t for my pal, Steve!

We talked most of the way through. We were reminiscent of the past. It’s funny, Steve said, “Just think, when we’re like 80 we’ll look back and say, ‘remember the day we ran the half mary?’” And here we are, close to 40 and saying, “Remember when we were like the first to ever get online with our Commodore 64s and post at a local Bulletin Board?”

That was 25 years ago!

Steve and I have gone our separate ways as we left high school. But something or another always brings us together: Martial Arts, paintball, and now running.

Steve was there, a year ago, when I ran my very first 5K race. He had one race under his belt and I agreed to do a 5K after only 2 weeks of training. He was there, again, with me on my first half mary. Again, he already had a half mary under his belt which he did in a little over two hours (2:05 I believe). And here he is, hangin’ there with me through two hours and twenty four minutes of a life changing, future life reminiscing event – until the very end. He could have done it faster but… he did it with me: a metaphor to our life as friends. Friends can go separate ways, never to ever reconnect, one leaving the other behind and just finish life on their own. It seems no matter what, Steve and I will always be starting things and most likely finishing things up together. Just like the race.

Steve, happy that it’s getting warmer, and me on the right…

Anyway, here are our splits:
Mile 1: 0:10:49
Mile 2: 0:11:33 (port-o-pottie break)
Mile 3: 0:09:46
Mile 4: 0:10:38
Mile 5: 0:10:12
Mile 6: 0:10:47
Mile 7: 0:10:50 (Hyperion Bridge)
Mile 8: 0:10:43
Mile 9: 0:10:59
Mile 10: 0:11:12 (running into Ray at the end of mile 10!)
Mile 11: 0:11:27 (the torture of food upon us)
Mile 12: 0:11:00 (running to the beat of drums)
Mile 13: 0:10:22
Mile 13.58: 0:04:25 (a blistering 7:45 per mile pace!)
FINAL: 2:24:43 for a 10:39 min/mile average pace.

OFFICIAL CHIP TIME: 2:24:44 (My garmin was off by -.01 seconds!)

There were 5,000 scheduled to race. Only 3648 crossed the finish line.

We actually ran 13.58 miles and not the 13.1 miles a Half Mary is supposed to be. I can’t even imagine having to do it again to make it a full marathon.

Yet…

LA MARATHON… HERE WE COME!

Official Results:
City of Angels Half Marathon - Half Marathon
Place Overall: 2320 out of 3648
Men: 1407 out of 1839
M 35-39: 227 out of 290
AgeGrade: 41.91% Place: 2781
FINISH: 2:24:44 pace: 11:03
10K: 1:08:03 pace: 10:58
Chip Time: 2:24:44

I didn’t cramp but I did come and conquer as little as a race as this may be… I can log my first 10K race in the books!

But who cramped? More on that later…

And let me say first…

Donna ran her very first 5K race after just a month or so of running 5Ks and less doing 6-10 miles a week. And she finished her first 5K race in 35:27! She came in 10th out of 36 which puts her in the top third of the pack in her AG! A first time race at top of the pack. Wow. She predicted a 40 minute 5K and I told her she’d probably run it faster than she thought. She pushed it a little too hard and at mile 2 took a little walk to cool off (30 steps she said) and then went strong to the finish. Congrats!

I am so proud of her. It takes a lot to go out there with a bunch (and there were A TON) of runners and hold your own no matter what.

Awesome, honey! I’m proud of you! GET ADDICTED!

And on to my 10K race.

There were 21 runners in my AG. A total of 157 runners in the 10K run with 91 total Males runners.

I’m getting to be a middle of a packer but usually back of the pack runner. Today my goal was to be better than 9:25 minute miles: which would be around a 58 minute 10K run.

The day didn’t start off great. I think I have a pinched nerve or something. I had a headache on Friday and on Saturday and I woke up with one on Sunday. My muscles were fatigued, my ankle a little sore for some odd reason, and I was tired. But I was going to run - its just a headache right? I can do some physical activity like paintball, triathlons, running, but if I had to do some analytical work, writing or mental exercises its almost impossible with a headache. Weird huh?

So I ran with a headache.

The 10K is a two loop run around the Rose Bowl. A course I’m very familiar with as I run this a couple of times a month and of course I bike it too. Today was a little different as we ran counter clockwise, which to me is an easier run. It starts with a steady incline until you get to the first turn North of the bowl where it levels off then it’s a run on a decline. The stretch to the finish line is an incline which would be a serious burn at the end. I had to do the course twice so I had to plan it right.

Training is so different than racing. My mind wanders quite a bit during a training run: I fantasize about the run in an Ironman, I think about work, about a script I’m working on… I think about the next time I’ll be running or what I want for dinner. During a race I’m all focus. I can’t remember a time during this race where I was thinking about something other than the race: from pace, effort, planning ahead. Its all about each step which leads to the next and finally the last.

I tend to have a fast first split time and I knew that would be killer as it was an incline start. I told myself that if it felt good, I’d keep it under 9:25 and back off a little during the flat to rest then pick up the pace during the fast part of the course. Then for the second lap I knew I’d be more fatigued and would probably be slower going up but try to really pick it for the last two miles.

That was my plan and it worked.

The first mile was comfortable and I was under my target pace and felt good about it: 9:06. I was only going to get faster on the faster part of the course and naturally I was. Mile two and three were at 8:34 and 8:41 respectively. It was a fast 5K split time of around 26:30 which is 30ish seconds off my personal best 5K race a month ago.

Then came the 2nd lap and the tough incline of mile four which I struggled through. I looked at my watch and I was way off pace: 10:45. I remembered some ChiRunning form and leaned in to the run. It felt like a sprint but not quite. I was at 192 beats per minute so I knew I was pushing. It was tough but not that tough. And believe it or not, I was right on pace! 9:06 for mile four!!! This only meant a faster finish than I ever predicted! I was going to run the last two at a very high effort level. My breathing and heart felt good. But my legs started to feel heavy yet I poured it on as best as I could.

I passed some runners that I was pacing and took advantage of the fast part of the course.

I ran mile five in 8:58 and mile six in 8:44 and gave it my all going up the hill to the finish (.25 miles) in 2:11!

My final time: 55:19!!! I beat my personal best by three whole minutes!

And best but not least… I came in the top third of my age group. I was in the top of the pack versus where I usually am – last of the pack or around there! I placed 7th out of 21 in my AG and 38 out of 91 of the males and 54th overall out of 187!

At first I thought 10K races were just too much. But after crossing the finish line I think this distance is a perfect length to race. There’s a lot that goes into it – pace, effort, etc. On a 5K its just run and run fast. For me, a 10K with improper planning could lead to that dreaded wall and a poor finish. I gave it my best shot. I was exactly where I wanted to be nearly every step of the way!

My headache was gone… that is about till a half hour after the race on the way home. It came back. And that’s all she wrote. I had it for the rest of the day, the night and unfortunately, I have a slight one this morning. But I’ll survive I guess.

Oh, here are my splits:
Mile 1: 0:09:06
Mile 2: 0:08:34
Mile 3: 0:08:41
Mile 4: 0:09:05
Mile 5: 0:08:58
Mile 6: 0:08:44
Mile 6.25: 0:02:11
FINAL TIME: 0:55:19 for an average of 8:51 minute miles.

Heart Rate Data:
Mile 1: 173
Mile 2: 187
Mile 3: 188
Mile 4: 191
Mile 5: 191
Mile 6: 190
Mile 6.25: 197

Next up –

· City of Angels Half Marathon- Sunday December 3, 2006
- Half Marathon Run/Walk (13.1 miles)

I’m in for the challenge of a lifetime there. But heck, if I can do a sprint Triathlon in two and a half hours, I can run a half marathon for two and a half hours right? I mean heck… its just running…

And on to this…

“He Came, He Cramped, He Conquered”

Cycling champion Lance Armstrong calls the ING New York City Marathon “the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done”

Wow… He did it! He made it! He cramped? I watched an interview with him once where he said he hasn’t cramped in like several years. He couldn’t remember the last time he cramped. And yesterday… he cramped.

While Donna was running a 5K and I was running a 10K, Lance was running 26.2 miles which he’s never done before. And get this… he made it in just under his goal of 3:00:00 in 2:59:36. Awesome!

Read the story here: “He Came, He Cramped, He Conquered ”

When do you stop watching your kids run and NOT get the feeling they’re going to fall? I’m tellin’ ya… my kids run and it’s so hard for me to watch. It’s not that they run poorly, have bad form or are just clumsy runners, (well Bella might be), it’s that they go all out and sprint and you figure its bound to happen – they’re going to wipe out.

I digress… The 1st Annual Saucony Three Point One was held at Bonelli Park. Bonelli Park is only a hop away from where I live. There are paved roads for running, trails for running, places to ride your road bike, places to mountain bike, picnic areas and a LAKE!!! Yes, a lake. And before my Triathlon in June (where I suffered through my first outside the pool swim) I never knew about Bonelli Park Lake. And its only a twenty minute ride from home to a beautiful place to bring your family. I’m planning a picnic in a couple of months.

Again… I digress… The turnout for the race was very respectable for a small, 1st Annual race. It was well organized, the announcer really set the tone of excitement, and they were able to draw a few elite athletes. I don’t know their names but one was a female who was on the cover of Runners World, there was another Male who just won some huge event and was like world ranked or something, and the number sixth ranked high school girl in the nation.

My race started at 8:15. I did a little jog with Jacob just to get warmed up. I was feeling tight. I ran a personal best 5K four days prior during training (26:19) and did a recovery run two days prior. I felt prepared but I wanted to warm up, get myself really ready, get my heart rate up and just go for it. I was hoping to run under 27 minutes and was not thinking about a Personal Best because it was such a struggle to do the 26:19 on a flat course. I was unsure about the course for this race, but under 27 minutes and I would be happy.

I made my way to the middle of the pack at the start line and as they blew the horn I took off. I maintained a decent pace but was getting passed by everyone who lined up behind me. Was I running that slow? I looked down at my Garmin, I was running a faster pace than I wanted and decided the right thing to do was slow down and don’t worry about other people. I figured EVERYONE was running faster than they wanted. I was. I checked my Garmin at a ¼ mile and was running a 7:00 minute pace. That’s bad. There was no way I’d make it to the end at that pace so I slowed down.

A mile in and I was faster than normal: 8:11 but I was feeling okay.

I decided that it was a good pace. I was really pushing it but that’s what you do in a race. You push it. I checked my HR: 194. Wow. I was really pushing it! What was I going to expect after mile two? Well, I decided to see.

Before I hit mile two I heard the announcer, from across the lake, call the winner. It was around 14 minutes into the race and someone had already crossed the finish line and I was a little more than halfway through. WOW!

Mile 2 split: 16:21: a 8:10 per mile pace.

Right on the money! Almost the exact pace from mile 1!!! My HR: 194 beats per minute. I’ve never sustained a heart rate for this long at Zone 5. But this is where you’re supposed to be when you’re racing so I was aware of what I was doing. It felt great.

Then the dreaded last mile and sure enough, I felt it. My legs were heavy. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I was struggling and the fast two mile split times proved a bad decision… maybe.

I made a turn and felt the tiny incline take its toll. And that’s when I decided to pick it up. Go for it. Torture myself for a mile and enjoy the rest of the day.

Yes, I started that last mile slow. But I finished it off well. I saw the finish line and a runner several feet away. I passed her. I was pumping my arms and had my sights on another runner 20 feet away.

I could have passed him. I had enough left in me. If I ran by him it’d be a real close finish and I decided to let it be and not blow by. The photographer was at the finish taking finish line shots and I didn’t want to get in the way of his picture. Yeah, stupid, but its just a recreational race and I wanted him to enjoy it as much as me. So I backed off from an all out sprint. But I was still going hard, mind you. I could have put the hammer down and pound it out hard and gave it everything I had. But I didn’t. I gave it 99% of what I had instead of 110% and finished 20 feet behind the guy in front and I was happy about it.

I figured to have run under 27 minutes. I figured it was a very, very decent run and I was extremely happy with my performance.

I ran the last 1.14 miles in 9:30: a 8:20 min mile pace. Yes, slower than the first two miles which was expected because of their faster pace – and I usually have negative splits. If I planned it better, I may have had negative splits and a faster race.

Final time: 25:51.

Did I say I wanted to run under 27 minutes? Well, I did. And I beat my Personal Best by 28 seconds. WOW! I did it. I ran a great race.

SPLITS
Mile 1: 8:11
Mile 2: 8:10
Mile 3: 8:28
Mile 3.1: 01:02

HEART RATE
Mile 1: Ave 181, Max 192
Mile 2: Ave 191, Max 194
Mile 3: Ave 195, Max 196
Mile 3.1: Ave 197, Max 198

Based on my HR data I really gave it my best shot. I was in Zone 5 for a total of 21ish minutes out of my 26ish minute run.

Awesome. It proves all that conditioning, the 9 mile LSDs, and ‘race day’ adrenaline is totally different than a training day all out effort for me. Consider four days prior when I ran a 26:19 5K Personal Best and my HR rate was in Zone 5 for under 10 minutes and I struggled more on that run than I did on this.

Training pays off in a 28 second dividend!!!

But that’s not the highlight of the day…

The 1st Annual Saucony Three Point One also had a Kiddie Run. Ages 5 and under ran ¼ miles and ages 8 and under ran ½ mile. The older kids ran 1 mile.

Bella was very, very excited to run this race. For weeks she kept asking, “Can I run the race now?”. I kept having to tell her, ‘not yet.’

Jake… excited about it, but really wasn’t demanding to run it “RIGHT NOW!” And on this morning, right when he woke up, he said he didn’t want to run a race. I gave him a two minute speech about saying something you’re going to do and doing it instead of saying something you’re going to do and NOT doing it. I reminded him about the word ‘courage’ and I ended my two minute speech with… “And you know Jacob, I guarantee that after you do the race you’re going to want to do it again and again. Just like, Papa.”

I left him in bed and if he didn’t want to run it after that little speech, then so be it.

One minute later, literally, as I poured milk into my cereal bowl, he came out in shorts and a shirt, slides with his socks on the hardwood floor into the dining room and announces, “I’m ready!”

“So are you going to run?”

“YUP!”

Yeah… that’s my boy. Courage, baby! Courage.

So here we are, Bonelli Park – their papa just ran a race and nervousness sets in for Jakey-boy.

Pre race jitters… at least for one.

Bella… no problem. She was ready and willing to go. Her race was first. I asked the Race Director if I could run with the kids and they said yes. Awesome. A cool down run for me!

It was an out and back. Bella got in a race stance and as the horn blasted in our ears she was out the shoot like a bat out of hell.

Her arms pumping, her little legs turning, her face was a face of determination, a face of a champion giving it their all out effort, a face of someone who was going to leave EVERYONE in the dust and cross that line the winner.

Well, she didn’t pass anyone. Everyone ran by her. She was the smallest, the tiniest little racer in the whole 5 and under field. And did it matter? Nope. She was still going to give it everything her little heart could possibly give.

Would she last 400 meters? Uh… probably not. I was behind her and called out, “Slow down… don’t fall!” It was hard to watch.

At 100 meters there’s a tiny tiny little hill. TINY. And that was her ‘wall’. Her feet slowed, her arms pumped higher and harder, she was struggling… she still had 300 meters to go. She was only a quarter done and she reached up to me and asked, “Can you carry me?”

“Uh… no, Bella, this is a race. Papa can’t carry you but I can hold your hand.”

So we held hands and jogged. We got to the turnaround point and her jog was as fast as her walk. 100 meters left and she was gasping for air and dragging her legs but then… when we saw the finish line and I told her that Mommy was waiting I let go of her hand and she started up on a good running pace. Not a sprint like she started, but a run, er… run/jog… well, a jog/walk. And she saw Mommy, Jakey, and Emo Vivian (Emo=’Auntie’ in Korean). She waved at them with 25 meters to go and the announcer says through the loudspeaker, “And she’s waving to the crowd!”

I ran ahead, crossed the finish line and squatted down with arms wide open. She ran into my arms and I kissed her and told her how proud of her I was. She got a medal for crossing that line. What a race.

And now… Jacob’s turn. He was nervous. But he was ready. And as the horn blasted once again, Papa, who just ran a total of 3 + miles already, jogged behind Jacob and his little legs. And yes, it was hard to watch. I’m so fricken paranoid. I called to him, “Slow Down, Don’t Fall.” SLOW DOWN DON’T FALL?!?!? That’s not how to race is it? Well, until they can handle running on their own without me following, I’m going to yell, SLOW DOWN DON’T FALL!

We watched another little girl bite it. And I mean bite it. When adults fall they tend to be able to catch themselves. They can fall hard, but they are strong enough to turn their bodies, recover during the fall and prepare for the hit in fractions of a second. This girl just BANG fell. And it was awkward, on her side, arms flailing, legs in the air kinda fall. It looked extremely painful. But full of proof - see… SLOW DOWN DON’T FALL!

We passed kids that took off way too fast and petered out. A quarter of a mile in at the turnaround and I was like, “damn I’m tired”.

Jake kept his pace, didn’t slow, we weaved around kids and parents, we went around slow-pokes, and we got in view of the finish line where Mommy, Emo Vivian and Bella cheered. Jake poured it on. I guess I could have sprinted ahead and let him run into my arms but I was tired. And he was doing fine on his own. He crossed the line, with papa behind him, and I grabbed him and kissed him and told him how proud I was of him. He got a medal for finishing.

And they wore their medals proudly. They deserved it.

Proud owners of Saucony Three Point One & Kiddie Race Medals!

I don’t know why I didn’t time their race. I totally forgot. But they did it and that’s all that mattered.

Now THAT was the highlight of the day. No times, no personal best goals, just two of my kids finishing their first race – with many more to follow.

I hope.

With Emo Chi-Chi (Vivian)

The running family…
Jake, Mommy, Bella and Papa

I wasn’t kidding about the waves. I may sound ‘over dramatic’ but you judge for yourselves. Would you do it? I was already freakin out AND I DID IT!!!

Here are 2 videos taken by someone at the Tri.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI-bjxfgsVI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRr59AvwuaI

Listen to the people oohhh and ahhhh.

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.