The 10th-Anniversary Los Angeles Triathlon is still months away but I feel the pressure and stress today as I prepare and think about the day which is to come. It is not like I am competing for anything or am in a life or death situation, but just the thought that I'll be in best shape of my life on the competition date, all suited up in the triathlon outfits, ready to go head to head with the Pacific tides and across West Los Angeles to the final destination.

The Triathlon Bible has pages and pages of

This being the first and maybe the last triathlon attempt, I am struggling with a lack of motivation to train. I was encouraged to join a triathlon training group of some sort but the problem was most of the groups were located in West LA and a few near the Pacific ocean. Both the distance and training hours were out of the question.

BUT....I know 100% that I'm going to be well prepared and trained for the competition. I am in great shape physically and will now need to work on improving my cardiovascular endurance in swimming and cycling. A friend sent me a link about a risk when it came to triathlon swimming. A tiny percentage (we're talking less than 1%) of triathletes experience a heart attack due to a shock when it comes to swimming in freezing cold ocean. Main reasons were that these triathletes did not practice in the ocean prior to the actual event thus giving their heart a really bad surprise. And they should have rented a wetsuit if the water temperature was at an uncomfortable point. The Los Angeles Triathlon is in October and the event starts before 7am so better get me a wetsuit for the day.

Less than three months to go and I am excited! I can already picture the adrenaline down my body throughout the entire course. It's going to be a fun day and thank goodness it is the sprint version.

I been hitting the swimming pool more often now at the local gym, two to three times a week. Wouldn't mind swimming four times a week but the smell of chlorine throughout the day is not pleasant at all. Otherwise I love the workout it gives especially the cardiovascular workout.

Swimming has been challenging since day one due to the fact that my freestyle strokes and the breathing techniques may be off. Prior to signing up to the LA triathlon, swimming was not really part of my extra curricular activity. Now it is and the progress has been steady and improving.

Swimming is highly recommended for both endurance workout and to tone up your body by burning fat. Another incentive to swimming for male is the widening of your shoulders to give you that V look (broad shoulder and thin waist). Anyone that starts swimming shouldn't expect to see an improvement over night, it takes weeks of practice and learning good forms. And to expect fat burn, you need to really go at it in the swimming lane and not just float around. Lastly remember to drink water during the intensive swimming workout as your body sweats, you just can't see it or feel it since you are in water.

Bike and run training has been put aside for the time being. Been concentrating on swimming and core body workout. I continue to do squats, lat pulls/pull ups, bench press, and HIIT training. If there is enough energy after the workout, I hit the bicycle for good 20 minutes at a steady pace.

Hello,

The LA Triathlon is just around the corner and I get another opportunity to experience the adrenaline gushing down the body!

The sprint triathlon will be the first rundown on the tri-sport and this sport is in a whole different playing field compared to a marathon. A marathon requires the athlete to endure a long run throughout until the finish line whereas a triathlon requires the athlete to "transition" twice in order to finish the race. So this is where the logistics come into play and the latriathlon.com website did not offer enough information for newbies.

Pacific Sports LLC is a premier sports consulting firm that oversees the LA Triathlon event along with other popular marathons and triathlons around the nation. Pacific Sports LLC and USA Triathlon are working hard to introduce the triathlon sports to athletes not familiar with it or been hesitant to venture out into it. These organizations are making sure that the events go smoothly from the planning stage and unto the actual event date so that everyone who is involved with the sport will


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The water temperature's forecast is around mid-60s on Sunday and the wave start for sprint triathletes is at 8:30AM. So I was thinking whether I should ditch wearing a triathlon wetsuit for the sprint to test my manhood and survival skills, after all this is the shortest distance triathlon competition and all I want to do is finish at a good time.

A friend who had done five triathlons both the sprint and the olympic distance highly recommended wearing a wetsuit for buoyancy and time reduction. But other than those purposes, I got a sudden urge to just finish the swimming portion without a wetsuit and just a swimming short. The mere thought of completing it would give me a rewarding feeling.