Tempe International Triathlon - Sprint Triathlon - Triathlon

My first OWS was two weeks ago in the same lake. I freaked/choked on that one. Today felt totally different! I got in the water with about 90sec til start. Bobbed under a few times and looked around under water. When he said GO, I just put my head in and went. :) Breathing felt good going every right like I've been practicing for two weeks. Got bumped around by a few women and tried to find openings, but that's a skill for the next race. I'm still slow enough that the top 3 men in the wave behind us swam OVER me (shoulder, head and hip shoved down), BUT I didn't lose my focus!!! I don't think I passed anyone, but I didn't get totally left behind either (at least by my wavemates).
***NOTE: I FELT GOOD, BUT STILL HAVE NO OFFICIAL TIME. MY WATCH PUT ME AT ABOUT 10:18.***

Need more swim time overall. Be more aggressive.

This T1 was FOREVER away from the beach and up a hill!!! They had the rock covered with a mat until a steep concrete drainage chute. Eeek. Ran to bike and got things switched over fairly quickly. Remembered to grab a Gu this time :)
****NOTE: STILL NO OFFICIAL TIME.***

Someday I'll do no socks and have tri shoes.

Felt really good about my swim so I was energized :) It was definitely warmer than I had planned on as I got started. I pushed pretty hard for the whole distance. Used my gears to really try to keep a strong, comfortable cadence and passed a lot of people. At one point Jason said he was surprised to see me just a few minutes behind him going the other direction. There were a few other riders that I played "pass-a-boo" with for parts of the course. And that whole drafting thing...geez, what a mind messer! But, I had a man tell me "You're a good rider" as I passed him. It was pretty motivating, even if he passed me back later :) This being only my third race, I felt like it was a challenge without beating me down.

A couple more sips of water going into the run...sun was strong even early.

Long run down to the rack on pavement (a little slick in bike shoes). And it was quite an adjustment going from full sun to shaded transition even with sunglasses. Came in right behind the guy next to me on the rack. Got shoes changed quicker than last time (I think). Grabbed a quick drink and my number belt. Took off!!!....walking down a flight of stairs.

Tri shoes?

I'm not a fast runner...ever. But the delayed start made sure that my bladder was nice and full a mile into the run. Ouch!!! And maybe I was blind, but I didn't see consistent mile markers. Sooooo it felt like the never-ending 5k. I took little sips of water and Gatorade at each station, and was very happy to have a cold sponge for my neck at the last one...about 80* on the run. I did enjoy seeing Riley and her team go by, and there were some great volunteers that cheered and yelled encouragement. By the last mile I was really just enjoying almost being done, so I was yelling happy things back at them :) A couple 8/9 yr old girls were cheering and giving directions right before the last bridge. Appreciating their exuberance, I told them "Thank you so much! I'm so excited to go over this bridge! And only one turn after that???? Yes!" They gave me a little burst of energy to pass a couple of guys going over the bridge. Almost to the finish, two cheering ladies were yelling "You got this! Go on! You're so close!" "Woohoo! Yes, I do! And it feels soooo good!!!" was my response. Jason was waiting a few hundred yards before the finish, and I tried to kick it in a little going up the hill. There was one guy just in front of me and I could have squeezed by him by a couple of feet. But he was running with a limp, and somehow it just felt wrong.

I might try a visor next time. Hate sweat running down my face.

Told Jason how thrilled I was with my swim...mainly that I felt like I actually SWAM this time! Grabbed water and watermelon. Walked to bathroom...finally! Hung out in transition for a bit and packed things up. Talked to a very nice lady from Albuquerque for a few minutes. Said bye to a friend and rode bike back to the car to head for Starbucks :D


More swim training.


It's past noon...ON TUESDAY!... and we still don't have correct race results posted. We'd like to know how we did, although by the looks of things, there are errors even in the times that have been posted.
The race delay commentary/arguing was interesting to listen to.
I'm not sure about the course measurements being accurate. I emailed them about the results and measurements about an hour ago.
The post-race awards ceremony didn't start until 1pm. That's a long time for people to wait around.
I thought the volunteers and support did a good job.
Not sure if I'll choose to do this one again...second chance next year?