Vettezuki, triathlon results?

[SeanPlunk]

Come on man don't keep us in suspense - how did it go?

[enkeivette]

Ya dead mon?

[Vettezuki]

When I get some pics, I'll post them up. But here's how it went

4:00 am - wake up call
4:30 am - breakfast, banana, bagel with peanut butter
4:50 am - load busses for transport from Santa Monica -> Zuma Beach
5:50 am - prepare transition area (pics to come), get marked, general prep
7:00 am - pre-race meeting, National Anthem, group pic
7:15 am - Wave 1 - Elete athletes, pros and a couple others
7:20 am - Wave 2 - Celebs and dsiable athlets (as I recall)
7:35 am - Wave 5 30 - 34 Year Old Men (me)

SWIM
I have no background in swimming and it was my biggest concern at the beginning of training back in May. However, with the coacing from Team in Training, lots of practice swims in pools and the ocean, I went from dangerously bad to coming in with the group without having spent much energy at all. Unlike the biking and running which requires some real strength at points, swimming is VERY technical and you can easily waste tremendous amounts of energy. A lot of people really over exert themselves and suffer for the rest of the race. I wasn't concerned about speed here, just wanted an okay time and almost a warm up for the biking.

BIKE
Absolutely my strongest event. I didn't know the course so I held back quite a bit because it was somewhat hilly and you don't want to go off sprinting to find you've got miles of nasty hills you didn't anticipate. I was also holding back some for the run. Still, I did the 18 mile course including a long roll out/in at lower speeds in just about one hour exactly.

RUN
Transition to run was okay, muscles and lungs still totally fine. Unfortunately, my knee decided this was a swell time to light up, so I could only sort of interval walk and run the 4 mile corse. Lost tons of time. :crutches:

I don't have an official time with splits yet, but I think I came in around 2'12" including transitions. This is a decent amateur time for my group even considering the super slow run time. In fact, I think the top 3 amateurs in my group were in the 1'50" range, something I think I can get to pretty easily if I could just get my knee to cooperate for a run. :bigthumbsup:

While it's frustrating to be held back from your max potential by an injury, I'm happy with my performance in my first Triathlon. It was A LOT of fun and I'd recommend it to anybody who wants to get truly fit. People are quite nice and supportive along the whole route, which was really a good experience.

More importantly, however, the point of this event for me was to have a new experience, get fit and raise some money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In this regard, I achieved all my goals.

More pics and details to come.

[BRUTAL64]

When I get some pics, I'll post them up. But here's how it went

4:00 am - wake up call
4:30 am - breakfast, banana, bagel with peanut butter
4:50 am - load busses for transport from Santa Monica -> Zuma Beach
5:50 am - prepare transition area (pics to come), get marked, general prep
7:00 am - pre-race meeting, National Anthem, group pic
7:15 am - Wave 1 - Elete athletes, pros and a couple others
7:20 am - Wave 2 - Celebs and dsiable athlets (as I recall)
7:35 am - Wave 5 30 - 34 Year Old Men (me)

SWIM
I have no background in swimming and it was my biggest concern at the beginning of training back in May. However, with the coacing from Team in Training, lots of practice swims in pools and the ocean, I went from dangerously bad to coming in with the group without having spent much energy at all. Unlike the biking and running which requires some real strength at points, swimming is VERY technical and you can easily waste tremendous amounts of energy. A lot of people really over exert themselves and suffer for the rest of the race. I wasn't concerned about speed here, just wanted an okay time and almost a warm up for the biking.

BIKE
Absolutely my strongest event. I didn't know the course so I held back quite a bit because it was somewhat hilly and you don't want to go off sprinting to find you've got miles of nasty hills you didn't anticipate. I was also holding back some for the run. Still, I did the 18 mile course including a long roll out/in at lower speeds in just about one hour exactly.

RUN
Transition to run was okay, muscles and lungs still totally fine. Unfortunately, my knee decided this was a swell time to light up, so I could only sort of interval walk and run the 4 mile corse. Lost tons of time. :crutches:

I don't have an official time with splits yet, but I think I came in around 2'12" including transitions. This is a decent amateur time for my group even considering the super slow run time. In fact, I think the top 3 amateurs in my group were in the 1'50" range, something I think I can get to pretty easily if I could just get my knee to cooperate for a run. :bigthumbsup:

While it's frustrating to be held back from your max potential by an injury, I'm happy with my performance in my first Triathlon. It was A LOT of fun and I'd recommend it to anybody who wants to get truly fit. People are quite nice and supportive along the whole route, which was really a good experience.

More importantly, however, the point of this event for me was to have a new experience, get fit and raise some money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In this regard, I achieved all my goals.

More pics and details to come.

Good job.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbs_up:

[CorruptCulture]

My wrestling coach in high school was always on us about the importance of being able to recognize the difference between pain and injury.

"You can wrestle through pain, not an injury."

Sounds like you did the right thing taking it easy on the run. It'd be a shame to do some real damage to your knee.

[SeanPlunk]

When I get some pics, I'll post them up. But here's how it went

4:00 am - wake up call
4:30 am - breakfast, banana, bagel with peanut butter
4:50 am - load busses for transport from Santa Monica -> Zuma Beach
5:50 am - prepare transition area (pics to come), get marked, general prep
7:00 am - pre-race meeting, National Anthem, group pic
7:15 am - Wave 1 - Elete athletes, pros and a couple others
7:20 am - Wave 2 - Celebs and dsiable athlets (as I recall)
7:35 am - Wave 5 30 - 34 Year Old Men (me)

SWIM
I have no background in swimming and it was my biggest concern at the beginning of training back in May. However, with the coacing from Team in Training, lots of practice swims in pools and the ocean, I went from dangerously bad to coming in with the group without having spent much energy at all. Unlike the biking and running which requires some real strength at points, swimming is VERY technical and you can easily waste tremendous amounts of energy. A lot of people really over exert themselves and suffer for the rest of the race. I wasn't concerned about speed here, just wanted an okay time and almost a warm up for the biking.

BIKE
Absolutely my strongest event. I didn't know the course so I held back quite a bit because it was somewhat hilly and you don't want to go off sprinting to find you've got miles of nasty hills you didn't anticipate. I was also holding back some for the run. Still, I did the 18 mile course including a long roll out/in at lower speeds in just about one hour exactly.

RUN
Transition to run was okay, muscles and lungs still totally fine. Unfortunately, my knee decided this was a swell time to light up, so I could only sort of interval walk and run the 4 mile corse. Lost tons of time. :crutches:

I don't have an official time with splits yet, but I think I came in around 2'12" including transitions. This is a decent amateur time for my group even considering the super slow run time. In fact, I think the top 3 amateurs in my group were in the 1'50" range, something I think I can get to pretty easily if I could just get my knee to cooperate for a run. :bigthumbsup:

While it's frustrating to be held back from your max potential by an injury, I'm happy with my performance in my first Triathlon. It was A LOT of fun and I'd recommend it to anybody who wants to get truly fit. People are quite nice and supportive along the whole route, which was really a good experience.

More importantly, however, the point of this event for me was to have a new experience, get fit and raise some money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In this regard, I achieved all my goals.

More pics and details to come.

Nice dude, congrats :bigthumbsup: Overall it sounds like a huge success.

[Vettezuki]

My wrestling coach in high school was always on us about the importance of being able to recognize the difference between pain and injury.

"You can wrestle through pain, not an injury."

Sounds like you did the right thing taking it easy on the run. It'd be a shame to do some real damage to your knee.

This is great advice every athlete (especially younger less experienced ones) have to "wrestle" with so to speak. There are lots of aches and pains, especially to endurance training and events, that sort of pop up and go away. For me, it's not uncommon to feel quite a bit better after being well into a training session, then at the beginning. I tend to get minor side aches while on the bike, or minor butt cramps when running, these are things you can pace yourself through. The knee thing gets to the point of involuntary response which is your body's way of saying, "hey, dip shit, why don't you take it down a notch." I try to take it down a notch just before that point.

For better or worse, I'm a pretty competitive person once I decide to do something. I'm not so concerned with how I rate against other people per se, but whether I think I'm up to what I'm capable of. Psychologically the hard part is not feeling guilty for not performing at what you think is your best and realizing you're doing the smart thing. This probably should be a much bigger part of how young athletes are trained; learning to listen to their bodies intelligently, know when to push through normal pain/discomfort and when to recognize warning signs. Sadly, this is not a strong suit of young athletes and many coaches have a tendency to just push until something breaks. It's dumb, and sometimes outright sad. Particularly in this regard, the TNT coaches were fantastic.

[Vettezuki]

TNT = Team in Training (http://www.teamintraining.org/)

This is the organization I participated with for this event. They exist to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A minimum of 75% of monies raised go directly to programs and services.

The relatively small group of people that I participated with in just this one event (they organize Triathlons, Runs, and Cycling Events of Various Lengths) raised about $250k. Annually, they raise more than $90 million net nationally. This is real money that's done extraordinary good for countless people. If you're interested in doing this kind of endurance event, but don't have the training and are afraid, don't be. Just join, follow their guidance and it'll be an experience you'll have for life.


Totally Separate from Team in Training, the Nautica Triathlon is a fundraiser for the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. In one day, they raised over $900k total. This is where the Celebs get involved.

I'm not a star struck person, but there were quite a few celebrities there. Here's who I can remember:
- Jennifer Lopez
- Matthew Mcconaughey
- Cindy Crawford
- Some Baldwins
- Some tv stars I don't recall as I don't watc tv, but including Andy Baldwin of the Bachelor who is a bad ass Triathlete.

J-Lo, Matthew, and at least one of the tv stars participated in the event itself. I wasn't paying so close attention so I'm not so sure who did what. I think I might have some colorful pics to post later though. :bigthumbsup:

[Vettezuki]

There were a considerable number of "disabled" athletes. It is humbling to know some participants pulled themselves across deep sand on their chest after having swum in the ocean pulling non-functional or missing legs; to see people pedaling their trikes with their arms, or running with prosthetic legs. I think it is very healthy to be reminded of just what the human spirit looks like. For me it looks like "fu*k you, I'm gonna do this."

[BRUTAL64]

My wrestling coach in high school was always on us about the importance of being able to recognize the difference between pain and injury.

"You can wrestle through pain, not an injury."

Sounds like you did the right thing taking it easy on the run. It'd be a shame to do some real damage to your knee.

My wrestling coach in high school name was Richard Peter--Dick Peter---Mr Peter. He used to say pain is only pain and an injury is damage or something like that. :rolleyes:

[enkeivette]

My wrestling coach in high school was always on us about the importance of being able to recognize the difference between pain and injury.

"You can wrestle through pain, not an injury."

Sounds like you did the right thing taking it easy on the run. It'd be a shame to do some real damage to your knee.

Wrestling is queer.

[Vettezuki]

Some Pics

Group pic on Saturday. A great bunch of people, this is just a small section. I hope to see the coach (all the way left) on race day sometime in the future. The coaches are seriuos athletes that donate their time and make sure people like me don't drown and other good stuff. (I'm in the blue cap.)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/juliakcohen/SNRCndW9OcI/AAAAAAAACLY/9ApfCX8zahM/s800/The%20Nautica%20team%20pre-practice%20swim.jpg

I am REALLY not a a morning person. My natural bedtime falls in the 3:00am range, so waking up at 4:00 wasn't soo easy, but enough adrenaline and not so bad.

The buses loaded with people and bikes on race morning, about 5:00am.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/juliakcohen/SNRCpMYoKDI/AAAAAAAACLg/4NF49-y41Dw/s800/We%20didn%27t%20learn%20THIS%20in%20training___.jp g


Neat
http://lh4.ggpht.com/juliakcohen/SNRCQwL4s-I/AAAAAAAACKQ/TXteX-tyCx0/s800/IMG_4440_JPG.jpg

I'm somewhere with the green heads. The color coordination of caps helps to keep everything neat and tidy. Waves go out 5 minutes apart.
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg298/Vettezuki/GreenHeads.jpg

Considering how bad I was at swimming before starting training, everything worked out pretty good.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/juliakcohen/SNRAmW0Bg1I/AAAAAAAACE0/HFTbqMGn2Wg/s512/IMG_4469_JPG.jpg


Don't have good pics from the bike or run, but you get the idea. It was a great experience, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to combine getting fit with a great charity.

Team In Training (http://www.teamintraining.org/)

Go Team!
http://lh3.ggpht.com/juliakcohen/SNRBpj8YGyI/AAAAAAAACIY/ge_vKXE49J4/s800/Go%20Team%21%21.jpg

[Vettezuki]

Triathlon is a very competive sport that is simultaneously open to amateurs of all levels. So one of the cool things is that you can compete on the same day on the same course as the best in the world. For example, here's my time with splits:

Swim 00:21:25.9
T1 00:04:32.9
Bike 01:02:03.2
T2 00:02:50.9
Run 00:41:43.3
Finish 02:12:36.2

Not bad for a 200+ pounder for a first time out on a bad knee. But, Chris McCormack (who happens to be the same age), current Iron Man world champion was out for a stroll on the same day . . . a bit faster.

Swim 00:10:29.0
T1 00:01:24.6
Bike 00:42:47.3
T2 00:01:12.2
Run 00:22:53.0
Finish 01:18:46.1


This is the amazing part to me. I think I know my body pretty well and what it's performance limits are. If I went absolutely ape-shit with training I think I could get into the 1:30 - 1:40 range. But that would be balls to the wall, lights out. He holds very close to this rather faster pace at the Ironman; roughly 6x longer! (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, marathon). The human body is remarkable.

Bet you he can't hit a curve ball though.:smack: