I signed up for this: http://www.cityofangelshalf.com/
Speed
400's @ 1:50
800's @ 3:42
1600 @ 7:45
2 min jog in between
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Malibu 2007 Race Report
Sunday Morning: Up around 4am. I was able to stay with Luke Bost at the Pepperdine campus (right next to two girls’ dorms). I thought I got up early, but turns out Luke was already awake because of a work-related call he got at 3am! Luke bid me good luck and I drove to Zuma beach. It was still dark, calm and peaceful.
This year traffic wasn't bad and the race organizers did a great job of herding everyone through the gigantic parking lot.
I pulled into my parking spot at 5:15am. I loaded up my stuff into a backpack and rode my bike to the transition area. It’s about a mile away and luckily my friend who lent me the bike had a light attached to it. I arrived at the main staging area and start preparing.
(click on the pictures for larger viewing)
6AM: I set up my transition area. This is the spot where you rack your bike, and change in and out of the gear between each leg of the triathlon. I decided to try a slightly different technique for the transitions for this race.
1.) No socks. This cuts down on the time you need to put them on with cold wet hands after the swim. I think this saved me a good 15-30 seconds. It may not seem like much but when you think about running 15-30 faster over 4 miles, it actually makes a big difference.
2.) I wore my shirt under my wetsuit. Same philosophy here: Putting on a shirt with cold hands and while soaking wet can take up valuable time. Probably saved another 30 seconds.
So I was all set. There was a pre-race meeting and then Debbie Gibson sang the national anthem with a beautiful sunrise in the background. It was awesome.
The swim start is south of the main area, so everyone walks down the beach to the start. On the way, I jumped into the water to get used to it. It was very cold (60 f according to the race announcer) but because the air temperature was also cold, it wasn’t that shocking.
On the way towards the swim-start I caught a glimpse of David Duchovny. He’s been participating in this race for a few years. Last year, he had a better time than me. So the small competitive fire in me really wanted to beat his time this year. More on that later…
7:15AM: I was in the first wave of swimmers to start, so we lined up and waited anxiously for the canon. It’s a strange situation-- standing on the shore with 100 other guys in bright orange swim caps waiting to willingly jump into some pretty cold and choppy water in order to swim half a mile all the while pummeling one another for position. But once the canon goes off I didn’t think about anything but breathing and staying calm. I guess it worked because before I knew it, I was rounding the first of 3 buoys that help guide the swimmers in the right direction. I got elbowed a few times in the face by faster swimmers passing me in crowded sections. I didn’t let it bother me though. Especially since I unintentionally kicked a few guys who got a little too close. HAHA.
I felt pretty strong during the swim, but I was also getting passed by a lot of people. I wasn’t concerned since I know swimming is not my strong discipline.
I swam until I could touch the sand with my hands then stood up and jump/ran towards the shore.
Swim time: 800 meters in….17 minutes! (slower than last year, but I feel like the cold water and some sighting errors on my part are to blame more than bad form or lack of strength. Oh well) I will be working on the swim in during the fall/winter.
T1: Transition #1 is the transition from swim to bike. It involves running up the shore to your individual transition area and stripping off your wetsuit, swim cap and goggles. For me, I had to put on a bike helmet, gloves, sunglasses, and bike shoes. I did all this in 2:27. Last year my T1 time was 5 minutes, so I was able to cut it in half this year. Very nice.
(I think this is me heading out on the bike)
Bike: 18 miles. The bike portion is the longest both in distance and time. I immediately started feeling the effort in my legs when we departed from the Zuma Beach parking lot and got on to PCH . When we hit the first hill I knew it was going to be a rough ride. I soon realized I put the front wheel on backwards. This isn’t a big deal but my speedometer didn’t work because of that. So I had no idea how fast I was going. This is a problem because in a race, with the adrenaline pumping, you can tend to go out too fast. Pacing is very important even in a short race like a sprint tri.
I intentionally held back for the first 9 miles. On the downhill sections I tucked in and got as aero as possible and saved the legs for the many rolling hills.
Other than some really clumsy and inconsiderate bikers on the course, the bike ride was great. I finished in 56 minutes with average speed of 19.1 mi/hour.
Not a bad time, but to give you an idea of how good the pros are, I think the top guys average about 25 mi/hour. Insane!
Here are a few more bike pictures:
trying to hammer a bit :)
Cruising:
T2: No socks rocks. That’s my motto. I ran my bike to my transition area, racked the bike, took off my helmet, put on my running shoes and I was out. Simple. Fast. It was great. 1:50. Could have been a little faster…next year.
Let's do this thing:
Run: 4 Miles
I immediately noticed the guy in front of me. He was tall lanky and according to the mark on his calf, he was 16! Awesome. I decided to follow him and see how his pace was. It seemed pretty good, so I just put on the cruise and followed this kid. The run course is set up so that it’s an out and back. You run 2 miles then turn around and head back. This allows you to see people who are in front of you as they pass you going back towards the finish. I saw a lot of amazingly fast guys run past me. It was really inspiring. I also saw some smoking fast women (who start like 30 minutes after the guys!) run past me from behind.
My plan for the run was to get a little faster each mile. So I would try to start off at a gentle pace and then pick it up each mile. The guy in front of me seemed to have the same plan so I was able to turn off my brain and go on auto pilot until about mile three.
I saw a lot of Lionsgate people on the course either behind or in front of me. It was really encouraging. Near mile 3 I saw my friend Charlie who knew I had it out for David Duchovny (of X-Files fame). I guess he saw him on the course and yelled out that I was beating him. But because of the different wave starts I couldn’t be sure. This was enough to put a little fire in my step. I decided I needed to pass this 16 year old kid in front of me. My first attempt was pretty weak and I just gently picked up the speed and passed him. It didn’t take long for him to do the same to me. I decided if I was to pass him I better do it forcefully and give him no inclination that he could easily catch back up to me. My friend Thom who ran cross country in HS and college told me about this technique. So that’s just what I did. I had about .5 mile left and I pretty much sprinted that distance.
It was a great way to end a very fun race. Of course my run has a long way to go but it’s also come a long way. My run time was 33:51 (avg min/mi 8:27). I’ll take it!
Total time: 01:51:48
3 minutes faster than Duchonvy. :)
This year traffic wasn't bad and the race organizers did a great job of herding everyone through the gigantic parking lot.
I pulled into my parking spot at 5:15am. I loaded up my stuff into a backpack and rode my bike to the transition area. It’s about a mile away and luckily my friend who lent me the bike had a light attached to it. I arrived at the main staging area and start preparing.
(click on the pictures for larger viewing)
6AM: I set up my transition area. This is the spot where you rack your bike, and change in and out of the gear between each leg of the triathlon. I decided to try a slightly different technique for the transitions for this race.
1.) No socks. This cuts down on the time you need to put them on with cold wet hands after the swim. I think this saved me a good 15-30 seconds. It may not seem like much but when you think about running 15-30 faster over 4 miles, it actually makes a big difference.
2.) I wore my shirt under my wetsuit. Same philosophy here: Putting on a shirt with cold hands and while soaking wet can take up valuable time. Probably saved another 30 seconds.
So I was all set. There was a pre-race meeting and then Debbie Gibson sang the national anthem with a beautiful sunrise in the background. It was awesome.
The swim start is south of the main area, so everyone walks down the beach to the start. On the way, I jumped into the water to get used to it. It was very cold (60 f according to the race announcer) but because the air temperature was also cold, it wasn’t that shocking.
On the way towards the swim-start I caught a glimpse of David Duchovny. He’s been participating in this race for a few years. Last year, he had a better time than me. So the small competitive fire in me really wanted to beat his time this year. More on that later…
7:15AM: I was in the first wave of swimmers to start, so we lined up and waited anxiously for the canon. It’s a strange situation-- standing on the shore with 100 other guys in bright orange swim caps waiting to willingly jump into some pretty cold and choppy water in order to swim half a mile all the while pummeling one another for position. But once the canon goes off I didn’t think about anything but breathing and staying calm. I guess it worked because before I knew it, I was rounding the first of 3 buoys that help guide the swimmers in the right direction. I got elbowed a few times in the face by faster swimmers passing me in crowded sections. I didn’t let it bother me though. Especially since I unintentionally kicked a few guys who got a little too close. HAHA.
I felt pretty strong during the swim, but I was also getting passed by a lot of people. I wasn’t concerned since I know swimming is not my strong discipline.
I swam until I could touch the sand with my hands then stood up and jump/ran towards the shore.
Swim time: 800 meters in….17 minutes! (slower than last year, but I feel like the cold water and some sighting errors on my part are to blame more than bad form or lack of strength. Oh well) I will be working on the swim in during the fall/winter.
T1: Transition #1 is the transition from swim to bike. It involves running up the shore to your individual transition area and stripping off your wetsuit, swim cap and goggles. For me, I had to put on a bike helmet, gloves, sunglasses, and bike shoes. I did all this in 2:27. Last year my T1 time was 5 minutes, so I was able to cut it in half this year. Very nice.
(I think this is me heading out on the bike)
Bike: 18 miles. The bike portion is the longest both in distance and time. I immediately started feeling the effort in my legs when we departed from the Zuma Beach parking lot and got on to PCH . When we hit the first hill I knew it was going to be a rough ride. I soon realized I put the front wheel on backwards. This isn’t a big deal but my speedometer didn’t work because of that. So I had no idea how fast I was going. This is a problem because in a race, with the adrenaline pumping, you can tend to go out too fast. Pacing is very important even in a short race like a sprint tri.
I intentionally held back for the first 9 miles. On the downhill sections I tucked in and got as aero as possible and saved the legs for the many rolling hills.
Other than some really clumsy and inconsiderate bikers on the course, the bike ride was great. I finished in 56 minutes with average speed of 19.1 mi/hour.
Not a bad time, but to give you an idea of how good the pros are, I think the top guys average about 25 mi/hour. Insane!
Here are a few more bike pictures:
trying to hammer a bit :)Cruising:
T2: No socks rocks. That’s my motto. I ran my bike to my transition area, racked the bike, took off my helmet, put on my running shoes and I was out. Simple. Fast. It was great. 1:50. Could have been a little faster…next year.
Let's do this thing:
Run: 4 Miles
I immediately noticed the guy in front of me. He was tall lanky and according to the mark on his calf, he was 16! Awesome. I decided to follow him and see how his pace was. It seemed pretty good, so I just put on the cruise and followed this kid. The run course is set up so that it’s an out and back. You run 2 miles then turn around and head back. This allows you to see people who are in front of you as they pass you going back towards the finish. I saw a lot of amazingly fast guys run past me. It was really inspiring. I also saw some smoking fast women (who start like 30 minutes after the guys!) run past me from behind.
My plan for the run was to get a little faster each mile. So I would try to start off at a gentle pace and then pick it up each mile. The guy in front of me seemed to have the same plan so I was able to turn off my brain and go on auto pilot until about mile three.
I saw a lot of Lionsgate people on the course either behind or in front of me. It was really encouraging. Near mile 3 I saw my friend Charlie who knew I had it out for David Duchovny (of X-Files fame). I guess he saw him on the course and yelled out that I was beating him. But because of the different wave starts I couldn’t be sure. This was enough to put a little fire in my step. I decided I needed to pass this 16 year old kid in front of me. My first attempt was pretty weak and I just gently picked up the speed and passed him. It didn’t take long for him to do the same to me. I decided if I was to pass him I better do it forcefully and give him no inclination that he could easily catch back up to me. My friend Thom who ran cross country in HS and college told me about this technique. So that’s just what I did. I had about .5 mile left and I pretty much sprinted that distance.
It was a great way to end a very fun race. Of course my run has a long way to go but it’s also come a long way. My run time was 33:51 (avg min/mi 8:27). I’ll take it!
Total time: 01:51:48
3 minutes faster than Duchonvy. :)
Monday, September 10, 2007
Bike Accident, Bike Purchase
I have been commuting to work on my bike (as I said in my last post). Last week, I was about 1.5 miles from work on my way there, when a SUV driver rolled through a stop sign right in front of me. Before I knew it I was on the ground sliding across the asphalt. I saw it coming and reacted but I didn't have enough to time to do anything but slow down a little bit and slide a few feet away from the car. I do believe that those 2 things helped reduce the impact of the crash. If I would have continued going straight I probably would have ran right into the side of the front of her vehicle and gone over the hood or something worse...like under her wheel.
My main injury is on my left arm. See picture. Other than that my side is a bit scraped and bruised, but that's it.
My bike did not fare quite as well. The handlebars were bent and my left shifter/brake lever is damaged. My wheels are no good too. At this point I'm not sure if the woman who hit me wants to go through her insurance company or just pay me for the repairs, medical bills, etc. So I'm in a holding pattern with the bike right now.
However, the day before the accident I inquired about a Cannondale Six 13 frame that a guy advertised on Craigslist. I ended up buying it. It's a beautiful Carbon/Aluminum frame. He included a seat post, steam, handlebars and a Campy Record front derailleur (which I'll probably sell on ebay) all for $500. You could tell he kept the bike in immaculate condition. He had full Record on it before he went to a TI Seven frame with Dura Ace. Oh to have such options...
I am not sure which groupset I'll go with at this point.
This coming Sunday is Malibu Tri. I've been raising a lot of money for the LA Children's Hospital. I'm really looking forward to the race. Although I'm not sure what to do about my bike situation. I have some friend with bikes and I can always rent something if it comes down to it.
Here's a picture of a built-up version of my new frame Except mine is the Helen's Cycles team framset in forest green and yellow lettering. I'm not crazy about the color, but it's still really beautiful.
My main injury is on my left arm. See picture. Other than that my side is a bit scraped and bruised, but that's it.
My bike did not fare quite as well. The handlebars were bent and my left shifter/brake lever is damaged. My wheels are no good too. At this point I'm not sure if the woman who hit me wants to go through her insurance company or just pay me for the repairs, medical bills, etc. So I'm in a holding pattern with the bike right now.
However, the day before the accident I inquired about a Cannondale Six 13 frame that a guy advertised on Craigslist. I ended up buying it. It's a beautiful Carbon/Aluminum frame. He included a seat post, steam, handlebars and a Campy Record front derailleur (which I'll probably sell on ebay) all for $500. You could tell he kept the bike in immaculate condition. He had full Record on it before he went to a TI Seven frame with Dura Ace. Oh to have such options...
I am not sure which groupset I'll go with at this point.
This coming Sunday is Malibu Tri. I've been raising a lot of money for the LA Children's Hospital. I'm really looking forward to the race. Although I'm not sure what to do about my bike situation. I have some friend with bikes and I can always rent something if it comes down to it.
Here's a picture of a built-up version of my new frame Except mine is the Helen's Cycles team framset in forest green and yellow lettering. I'm not crazy about the color, but it's still really beautiful.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
