Toyota Desert International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I was a little apprehensive going into the swim because of my recent bad experiences on my last two races. My game plan was to relax on the first leg and concentrate on my form and my breathing.

On Saturday I was able to do a 20 min practice swim in the lake. So I was already prepared for the lake's murkiness. I couldn't even see my hands as I paddled through the water. Normally this would have bothered me, but my game plan really worked. I was so focused on my swim keys and breathing normally that I never got an anxiety attack. Before reaching the first I had already started overtaking the previous wave.

My sighting went really well on the first and third legs. On the second leg, I couldn't see the second buoy so I was just aiming at the wave in front of me.

I am ecstatic with my swim. I am so happy that I was able to avoid an anxiety attack. The only thing I would do differently would be to swim harder on the second and third legs. The only reason why I didn't, I was afraid of becoming tired and breathless and then panicking.

Even though I practiced getting out of my wetsuit, it still got stuck on my heels. Also, it seems like its more difficult to take off the wetsuit when its wet, then when its dry.

More practice??

The wet conditions make the turns a bit treacherous. I didn't factor that into the equation and almost took a spill on my first turn. Other than that, it was just wet and miserable. I just tried to keep my cadence high and get it over with. My socks were soaked and I could feel the water squishing in my bike shoes. I had an extra pair of socks in my gear bag, but, I kept thinking that my gear in the transition area had to be getting drenched.

Invest in a rain shell?

I had to change socks in T2. Normally I wouldn't but the socks on my feet were totally saturated. Unfortunately, as I feared, all my gear was also wet, but at least my spare socks were a little dryer. Decided not to carry any water and just use what they had on the course. Also, when I tried to switch my Garmin 305 from Bike mode to Run mode I noticed that it wasn't responding. I think the rain broke it?

Not sure what I could have done differently, everything was wet?

Awesome run for me! I actually had only done 1 mini brick in the last month. I was half expecting for the wheels to fall off, but I was able run the entire way. Without my Garmin I wasn't able to monitor my pacing or the distance.

Walked around the finish area and ate some oranges, bananas for about 10 mins. Then I got my gear and made my way back to the car to get out of the rain.


Getting sick 3 weeks from the race and losing a week of training.


Very well run event. Flat and fast. I had a great swim, decent bike, and surprisingly good run. I look forward to doing this race again next year.