Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Nautica Malibu Triathlon

Last Friday we headed over to the Nautica Malibu Triathlon for Landon's first go at an Olympic triathlon distance. An Olympic distance is a 1.5k swim, 40k bike, and 10k run (in miles: .93m swim, 24m bike, 6.2m run). It was a great day for a triathlon. A little cold for the spectators from the Valley, but great for the athletes. The ocean was smooth and there was very little wind for the bike and run. Unfortunately it was not a good race for Landon. Right away one of his calves started cramping during the swim making it difficult to kick, but he still carried on. During the bike he struggled with even more leg cramps, a flat tire and some brake issues. Still he continued on! Landon tried to walk a few times during the run, but couldn't get any relief from the cramps. He finished the race at 2:44:17. Landon was certainly discouraged by all the cramping, but was happy to have completed his first Olympic distance. Right away he did some research on the cramping and is pretty sure it was due to dehydration and possibly some vitamin deficiency. He will definitely be sure to hydrate efficiently for his next race! Landon's training partner Brian did a great job on his race. I think he even surprised himself at how well he did. His finish time was about 2:35. His wife and kids were very proud of him too.
The event itself was great. The race was well organized with clear start and finish points. The landscape was beautiful and it was fun to see a few celebs. Friday night we bumped into Matt Reid at our hotel (pictures at bottom of post). He was past years winner of the triathlon as well as this years. He was amazingly fast and made it all look effortless. My friend Susie and I saw Trista Sutter (The Bachelorette), whose husband Ryan was competing, as well as we were arms distance from Paul Mitchell. We didn't stay for the celeb race on Sunday. I'd like to do that next time, because there is also a tot trot that would be fun to enter Halina in. The girls had a blast playing with the Groh's. Their oldest pretty much babysat Elise the whole time, she even pushed the stroller as we went from start point to start point. Overall it was a fun and relaxing trip and I hope Landon isn't too discouraged, so we can go next year and he can redeem himself!










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