Tempe International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Wow the water was warm! Well maybe 75* is not exactly warm, but compared to the 57* waters of my first triathlon, this felt like a Roman bath! The other big difference between this tri and my first one was the size of the field. The Tempe International Triathlon had more than 6X the competitors and the swim was going to be much more crowded than I have ever experienced. However, this time, I had much more confidence in my swimming ability and did not have any of the nervousness or uncertainty that I experienced the first time around. The first part of the swim went well for me. I was relaxed and found a good cruising speed that I could easily maintain. My "seat-of-the-pants" meter told me I was doing around 1:40/100m. Right after the turnaround though, my goggles started to really fog up and I was having trouble sighting the buoys that marked the course. Unfortunately, I started swimming towards the wrong buoy and was cutting diagonally across the course. After a while, I started to notice the lack of swimmers around me and decided to stop and take a look around to get my bearings. Uh-Oh! I was in the center of the rectangular course. I hauled butt back to where the other swimmers were and accidentally slugged someone in the face as I merged with traffic (if that guy is reading this, I'm really sorry). That little navigation error definitely cost me precious time.

Spend more time reviewing the course. Figure out how to better prevent goggle fogging!

Although the transition area was much bigger than the one in my first race a few months ago, I had memorized where my bike was and was able to find it rather quickly. That being said, everything was much more crowded and I ended up taking a little more time to get my bike gear on.

Nothing. Maybe hustle a bit more...

No complaints here. The weather was gorgeous, the course was relatively flat, there was little wind and my legs felt great! The only people passing me looked like pros and were riding bikes that probably cost more than my car. The course was a bit technical but it was very well marked and completely closed to traffic. Luckily, my tires held out and my fears of DNFing were unwarranted.

Nothing

Meh...Ok time considering the size and crowding in the transition area.

Again, I probably could have hustled a little more...

Sigh....It was inevitable. After being at sea for over 3 weeks, my shipment of "FAIL" finally arrived LOL. At about mile two of the run, my right knee turned to me and said "what you talkin' 'bout Willis?" and completely blew up. OW! With my sights and my resolve set firmly on the rest of my racing season, I decided not to risk permanent damage and quickly throttled back to an easy jog. I could still finish this thing, darnit! So, shuffling along, looking like an 80 year old with bladder problems and stopping every mile or so to stretch, I finally hobbled across the finish line.

Borrow someone else's legs! It was frustrating to be so full of energy and be confined to a virtual crawl because my IT Band decided to crap out at the perfect time! I really felt that I had a sub-50min run in me. Oh well- there's always next time.

Because my run was such a leisurely stroll, I didn't feel the need to do any warm-down routine. My run was the warm-down!


My bum runners knee. I have 3 weeks of break between now and the beginning of my half-iron training for September. I plan to rest my leg and do stretching and strengthening workouts. Hopefully I can put this ITB nonsense behind me.


Despite the fact that I had a disappointing result due to mistakes and injury, I still had a really great time! The event was well organized and the weather was awesome. In the end, this event has only reinforced the fact that I am a Tri-Geek for life. I LOVE THIS SPORT!!