Tempe International Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

I swam an extra 100 meters or so because of poor sighting. first 700m was into the sun and I had a really hard time finding the buoy. Ended up sighting of the wrong one for a bit and got course correction. Stroke was very strong and confidence was high.

better goggles

Rear tire was flat in t1 hence the long time. I changed the tube and the tire as it was gashed. I wonder if the pre-race fill up was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Use race wheels that aren't as worn maybe. I dunno; seemed like a fluke, but I had another flat on the bike same tire.

I had two more stops in here because of rear tire going flat. Total moving tiem was 1:27 according to garmin.

Carry 2 co2 cartridges. They don't weigh much. The last 10 miles all i could do was pray that the slow leak kept enough air for me to finish. And it did! I am confirming it as a miracle. This was my first tri, i would have been very sad if i had DNF'd.

smooth transition. Tire was flat by the time I racked it!!! My wife was there to cheer me on (she had finished the sprint distance).

It was HOT! High temp for the day was 103, it was high 80's when i was running i think. Probably 90 by the end. Aid stations every 2/3 of a mile. I dunked and drank a lot. Ran the first 5k at an easy pace then went best effort for the last 5k, which went according to plan. This run is actually only 52 seconds off my PR for a 10k. I'll take that!

nothing.

walk around, food, hydration, shade.


flat tires, bike maint, water navigation.


Tempe International/Tuscon Racing has gotten a bad rap in years past but this race was excellent. Well managed, on time, plenty of volunteers/aid. Course directions were good. There was a triathlon 'walk trhough' for us newbies the day before that was very helpful as well.
Oh and my race # was 314. I got to race as pi!!