Race Report: Nautica Malibu International Triathlon

The second half of triathlon season is here! We kicked it off with the Malibu International Triathlon. It was our first time doing this race, but it won't be the last.

The race took place on Saturday, September 11, 2011. Since it was 9/11, the morning started off with a moment of silence. It was a sobering way to start off a day. Made me grateful to be alive and healthy enough to be doing triathlons. The race was held at Zuma Beach in Malibu. Since the race wasn't too far away Skyler and I just woke up super early that morning (3:45) and drove to the race site.

Since we were practically driving to Malibu in the middle of the night, there was no traffic and we got there fairly quickly. Of course it was pitch black when we arrived, but that's how all races are. We gathered all of our stuff and made our way to the transition area. Our friends Jeff and Kelly also did this race. This was Kelly's first road triathlon. Jeff raced Ironman Boise with us in June.

We set up all of our stuff in the transition area and had to be out by 6:30. This is the part I don't like: the waiting. The race didn't start until 7:00, but that's when the first wave begins. My wave is usually one of the last, so I ended up waiting around for almost an hour before I got to start.

Skyler's wave started at the same time as the pros, so he got to start right at 7:00. The cannon blasted and he was off. I didn't see him again until the end of the race. Since Kelly and I didn't start until later, we nervously chatted while we waited. We watched the other racers begin the swimming portion of the race, which consisted of a short run from the sand, fight against the waves, and a quick right turn about 100 meters out. We noticed that there was a northern current, so when other racers started swimming directly towards the buoy they ended up swimming past it, forcing them to swim against the current to backtrack. This helped us as we knew to aim for a spot south of the buoy so the current would pull us into the right spot. It totally worked.

My wave started around 7:30. We were off! The swim went relatively well. It's weird swimming in the ocean because you feel like you aren't swimming very fast. About halfway through I started thinking about sharks and how much I looked like a tasty seal. That inspired me to swim faster. We had to swim alongside of five buoys lined parallel to the shore. I thought there were only four so when I saw that I had a longer distance to swim I was a little bummed.

Skyler Swim 30:56

Elise Swim 31:51

I came out of the water and raced into the transition area. I always have a little difficulty taking off my wetsuit. Next, I put on my bike shoes, put on my helmet, grabbed my nutrition (two GUs), and grabbed my bike.

Skyler T1 2:15

Elise T1 3:48

The bike ride was pretty much a 12 mile ride north on PCH and then you turned around and came back. There were lots of rolling hills, but nothing too big. On one of the hills my chain came off. This has been happening a lot during races. It's super annoying. I hopped off my bike and pulled the chain back on. It probably took about 30 seconds, but I ended up with grease all over my hands. I wiped them off on my legs. There were a few spots on the bike course where there were "no passing zones." Of course I would end up being behind a slow person at these times. The last time this happened I just went around the person. The one thing I didn't like about the bike course was that it took you past the transition area and then back around. This is a little deceiving if you are thinking that you're done on the bike, but you actually have another mile to go.

Skyler Bike 1:10:21

Elise Bike 1:19:43

Transition #2 went pretty well. I pulled off my helmet and bike shoes and put on my Team Sparkle skirt, socks, and running shoes.

Skyler T2 1:23

Elise T2 2:24

This is usually the hardest part. My legs usually feel like jello as I start running, but this time I felt different. I felt great and my legs felt strong! I didn't have my Garmin watch with me (it died before the race even started), but I was measuring my mile times by the mile markers. Oh, I forgot to mention my goal time for the race. My fastest Olympic-distance race before this day was last year's OC Triathlon. To beat that time, I needed to finished faster than 2:44:00. My swim was about two minutes too slow and my bike was three minutes too slow. To beat my time would be almost impossible, but I was determined to try.

I was flying on the run, but was still thinking a PR (personal record) wasn't obtainable because I would have to run a 10k faster than I ever had before. I knew I was close to beating it, but I wasn't sure how much time I had because I accidentally stopped my watch in the middle of the race (argh!). I came to the last mile marker and floored it. I remember thinking at that moment, if I finished right then, I would feel ok. But I didn't want to feel ok, I wanted to feel tired, like I gave it my all. So I pushed myself harder. I started sprinting for the last 1/2 mile. Along the sideline I spotted Skyler and Jeff. They saw me and told me to push it. I did! I crossed the finishline and was exhausted! I could barely stand up. That's how you should feel at the end of a great race.

Skyler Run 46:21

Elise Run 45:20

I didn't know my time at the moment since my watch was messed up, but I knew it was close. I had to wait until they posted preliminary results to find out. About 15 minutes later the results were posted.

Skyler Total Time 2:31:18 (17th out of 81)

Elise Total Time 2:43:08 (7th out of 63)

I did it! I have no idea how I ran that fast. I keep thinking that I must have skipped part of the run course to get that time, but I didn't. Skyler told me that his legs never turned on during the run. He wanted to run faster, but just wasn't feeling it. He beat his fastest Olympic-distance time, so he should be proud of himself too!

Skyler's been putting in some long training hours in preparation for Ironman Arizona. I'm so excited to see him put his training into action next month.