Home Michelle David Configurators Triathlon Other Links	LAC Triathlon Just finished the innagural event today and had a few comments: Pre-Race: -The website could use a little work. There weren't many details online. -Packet pick up was fine. Complete maps of the run and bike course were provided (I wish these had been online) -Packet contents were pretty standard fare, several coupons for Jamba juice, an energy bar, a gel and an extra large water bottle. Race Day: -Love the location. For me it was just a 10 minute drive to get to the course. My wife and son got up later and could easily join up and watch the race. -The racks weren't numbered it was 'first come first serve'. Not sure if this is good or bad. The transition area was small enough ( 20 racks ) that it didn't really matter where you were. I was able to get a spot at the end of rack even though I was one of the last to arrive. Some racks seemed a little flimsly but all were at a decent height so your bike wasn't hanging and waving in the wind ;) -Picking up the chips was an easy enough process The Race:Swim -The speakers in the pool were difficult to hear making the prerace announcements sound like charlie brown's teacher. (They should have had the guy lining everyone up by number do the announcements, he must have spent some time announcing in pools :) -The swim was a 400 yard TT start, seeded by estimated start times. They lined everyone up before anyone started which seemed a little odd but the race was being run by swim team volunteers so they were pretty organized. I had no issues with this anyway. This did delay the start to just around 7:55 instead of the planned 7:30. The delay didn't seem that bad to me. I was actually expecting worse for a first time event so I thought they did pretty good. -As is usual with time seeded starts some people don't know their own capabilities. Sure enough by lap 2 someone in the first 20 swimmers was breaststroking :) I felt bad for the swim team members doing the swim around him. -The rest of the swim was fine except for it being a little congested. The 10 second delay between swimmer starts was reduced to about 6 seconds by the time I started making the pool pretty congested. That extra 4 seconds makes a big difference. The Race:Bike -The bike course was 12.5 miles through mostly suburban neighbourhoods. A number of corners and a few rolling rises but no real hills. As advertised there was little traffic except for one portion just north of Bridlewood. That section had two lanes and no shoulder. By the time bikes were heading both directions the cars had a difficult time navigating. The south crosswinds at 20-25 MPH probably didn't help the navigation skills of some of the triathletes either ;) -The course was very well marked. I had a few concerns about several sets of corners but they had volunteers at each one and they gave directions well in advance of arriving at their corner. My wife heard a few people complaining about missing turns but with the provided maps and the volunteers I had no issues whatsoever. It is up to racers to know the course. -The bike distance was dead on for me at 12.53 miles on my bike after the race. The Race:Run -The run course crossed some sidewalks and followed some trails then followed some roads for a bit. It was rather confusing but the volunteers again were great. There were people at every corner directing people. I don't think I could run the course from memory but I was never in any danger of getting lost. -A lot of the trails were nicely shaded which didn't matter much today given the weather but was a nice touch. -The distance may have been a little short (or maybe I am starting to get faster) but wasn't more than 1 minute or so out at worst Post Race: -They had a decent post race spread with apples, bannanas, orange slices, water and gatorade that I saw. (I finished of my son's leftover McDonalds hotcakes :) -Prelimary results for the swim/bike/run were up within minutes of when I finished the race. Overall results took a little longer but not much more than 15 -20 minutes after I finished. -They checked bike numbers and athletes on the way out of the transition area. -Being so close to home meant that by 10:30am I was in the shower with my bike already put away. Had I wanted I even had time to go for another ride!. -My only issue is where/when online resuts will be posted. Anyone know? Google doesn't give any info. If I don't hear anything I'll contact the RD later this week. Overall I give the race thumbs ups for a first year event. -The volunteers were excellent. They were mostly parents of the swim team members so they had a vested interest in making the race work. -The bike and run courses were interesting. I could see some potential issues with the bike course in the one stretch north of Bridlewood but I'm not sure what other options they have in this area. -The distances seemed accurate as far as I could tell. -They checked bikes when leaving the transition area. Numbers: There looked to be about 180 people entered in the race. Some very good ones and a lot of first timers. My swim time was 7:14 somewhere in the mid 40s overall. My bike time was 34.5 (average 21.5 MPH) which was 15 or 16 overall. 1st was someone from Plano averaging 24.5 or so. My run was 21:38 which was somewhere in the 40s I think also (although I didn't see complete results at that point so it may drop further) Overall time was 1:05 and some change. 8th out of 30 in the 30-34 agegroup. The fastest time I happened to see was 55 minutes or so which was very speedy for this course.
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