Toyota Desert International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Lots of contact at the start. Got blocked and stuck in traffic. Loosened up about 150-200m into race. Looked up and was right on line - yes! Felt swimmers on my feet. Warmup helped deal with cold water. Breathing was good. Technique was ok - some lapses in concentration. Breathing left every 2 strokes (no bi-lateral). Sight occasionally. Feet / calves cramped up a bit if I really worked on reach/rotate and had to back off.

Take salt before start, get out a bit quicker. Overestimated pace of the chase pack.

Garmin wasn't turned on, so I hit the power button first. Crowded at mount, so I couldn't jump on bike. Had to stop and wait. Not enough speed to get into shoes. Trouble. Weaving. Almost lost a shoe. Had to stop again. This was in the bike time though.

Put shoes on first at this race. A lot of congestion at bike mount made it tough to mount quickly to get in shoes before quick incline.

Rough road at start (after hill). Struggled with shoes. Left one came off pedal - holding on by a tippy toe. Finally got em in. Focus. Said sorry to Tri-Clubber I almost ran into while fiddling. And I'm off. Uh-oh...Rainy. Wet. Windy. Cold. Miserable. At least it was flat. Calf cramped up on backside of second loop (~mile 19). Took some Bloks. Never drank any water. Hammering. Wet roads. Passed by someone in my AG in last stretch of loop. First time I had seen anyone. Jockeyed back and forth with a lot of younger AGers from our wave. Penalty for drafting: rooster-tail spray in the face haha!

Put bike shoes on in T1. Not enough room from late waves for flying mount and there's a hill shortly after the bike mount. Push a bit harder? Take some salt before race? Don't know why I was fighting cramps. Maybe lack of hydration? Either drink water or don't bring a full bottle along for the ride. Maybe just bring it half-full?

Crowded at dismount. Wet. Downhill. Didn't swing leg over for fear of stacking up in traffic. Just dismounted. Crowded run through transition. Barefoot. Rocky. Stubbed foot on someone's bike. Hat and shoes were soaking wet. Racked bike, took off helmet, put on hat and shoes shoes and ran out with my race belt. First time running barefoot in Newtons (with Superfeet). Can't feel feet. Legs feel surprisingly good.

Cover shoes if chance of rain.

Had some people in sight to run down after the bike. Caught them in first mile and started to pull out of the deadlegged state. Struggling with breathing. Slow down. Past first mile, check split: 6:15. Loosened up after 2 miles and second loop felt good.

Run faster on the second loop. It was easier than the first, but I still emptied the tank down the stretch. There's more there, I just need to find it.

It was freezing. I went straight to transition and, luckily, my warmups were not soaked. Changed and loaded up backpack. Went back to watch other finishers. Tried to stay dry.


Rain. Lack of swim fitness (first time in wetsuit since Thanksgiving). Was hoping to break 2 hours, but the we course made for some slower bike times. I hit my 20 min swim split, broke 40 on the run by enough to absord transition times, but the bike was 3 minutes over where I wanted to be. About a mile per hour. I needed to be at 24 mph and I was under 23.

Turn on Garmin before heading to swim. Don't take full water bottle on bike if you're not going to drink it. Take some salt in the morning to help with cramps.


The rain put a damper on things. If there would have been no rain, it would have been perfect conditions. But it was cold and wet.