Tempe International Triathlon - Sprint Triathlon - Triathlon

We were treading water at the start. One girl (not in my age group) kept hitting me under the water. There was no one to the right of her so she could have moved over a bit.

One girl was resting on a kayak when I was on the second to the last straight section and just as I was passing she decided to go and I got nailed right in the face with her arm. I thought I had a bloody nose. It shocked me a bit and I swallowed some of that nasty water. I recovered and kept going. People were really spread out after the first turn so other than that incident I didn't have too much trouble.

The swim time also includes a 150M (approx) run on sand/gravel up an incline to transition.

I need to kick more. This is my 7th tri since last October and I still get out of the water and I don't feel like I have put out any effort. I might try out my wetsuit next time even if the water is 77.

Finally a tri with transition splits! I practice at home but it is different during an event. I had the 2nd fastest T1 split by 1 second. I took time to wash gravel off my feet, and put on socks, so this could have been much faster. I also put my shoes on and did not have them on the bike. I think this was a good decision because we were under the 202 freeway and it's paved but running on that with socks or bare feet would get my feet dirty and nasty, and I would not want that stuff in my bike shoes.

I ended up passing quite a few people just in the transition.

Nothing, I think running in my cycling shoes wasa good idea. I have been practicing leaving them on my bike though.

I was doing great for the first 4 miles, then I hit a wall. I think it was a wall of wind. I should have pushed harder. I always say that, but for once I thought about saving my legs a little for the run. It was very important for me to have a good run at this race. I've been working on my run a lot.

The course was rough, VERY rough. The road surface was not smooth at all, and there was raodkill, and debris all over. Very disappointing. I saw the USAT ref out a few times, I wish he would have come when I saw people drafting.

The course was fairly technical I thought. Lots of small, short hills. I would just get up to 23-24mph and then have to take a sharp corner or go up a little hill. I don't really have a chance to practice 180 degree turns so this was new for me.

The course was almost dead on the 20K, I measured 12.52miles with my bike and 12.54 with my GPS.

Push a little harder, for reasons I will explain later. Also, with how rough it was maybe put my tire pressure at 90-100 instead of 110psi.

Good transition for me. I had the fastest in my age group. My only problem was the person next to me threw their stuff all over mine, and they put their wetsuit right were my bike was supposed to go, so I had to move it. I also started to run out the bike in/out, so the opposite direction, but I only took a few steps before realizing it.

Nothing really. Can't help it if the people next to me are sloppy.

First, the run course was long. WAY long. I know GPS devices can be off, but my bike computer is only off 2-3 feet over the course of a mile. That's pretty darn accurate. Other athletes at the end also commented how slow there run time was and many felt the course was long.

I measured it the night before and my GPS said 3.78 miles. That seem way way off to me. I think because the course passes under some bridges and it threw it off a bit. My bike computer said 3.52, which made a lot more sense. When I was measuring the course myself the race directer and the run route planner were walking back to the main area and I did overhear them saying the course was long, but I did not catch how off they said it was.

I got off the bike, and I could tell I didn't push hard enough. My legs felt great! I took off at a steady pace because I didn't want to over do it and die at the end.

The run course was confusing, the map was wierd and running it was odd too. I saw a bunch of people cut corners. Shame on them. It was only by 20 feet or so, but still, if it came down to seconds that would make a difference. I watched very closely for people in my age group because I usually get passed on the run. I ran really well until mile 1, which, FYI was marked with a giant 1 and was only a few feet off from where I made my little mark the day before. They did not make a 2 marker, and the 3 was by the finish, but way off.


I have been working really hard on my running and it shows in my workouts. My hip trouble from 3 weeks ago was basically gone and I felt good. I ran the whole time except I did a very fast walk through one aid station because I didn't want to spill sticky Gatoraide on myself when I tried to drink. Mile 2 was tough, the middle always is for me, but I was passing a few people, and watching close for those in my age group. I saw 2 pass me. At the last 200M I started to feel sick, probably from the lake water. I got 10 feet from the finish and I threw up while I ran. Once I got over the line I lost it and out came all the water, lake water, and gatoraide. The race director was calling the medics, but I felt fine, I knew it was probably from lake water because it wasn't that hot out and I didn't feel like I was pushing 100%, maybe 90% because I didn't want to hurt my hip again.

I saw my time and I was really disappointed. I knew the course was long, but I guess I felt really good during the run and didn't expect it to be that slow.

Three weeks ago at the tri where I hurt my hip I ran a 10:30 pace and that was with me walking about 1/3 of it. Here, if we pretend the course was right at 5K then my pace would be 11:17 with me running the whole time and feeling good with my legs.

When I do my brick workouts I can usually do a 10:00 min/mile pace, but that's on a hilly area by my house, this course was basically flat. So I know it was long, but I don't know whether to trust my bike computer, or my GPS. Someone said their device measured 6.45 for the Olympic course, but with that course some of the weird turns are eliminated on the second loop.

All I know is, it was long, but I don't know 100% by how much.

I still need to work on my running. I also need to get a watch.

Use a 3rd method to pre measure the course.

After puking I walked around and drank water. I really felt fine.


Worrying about my hip and not pushing myself enough.


Started 45 minutes late. Apparently because the barracade company filed bankrupcy and never told the race director. So they scrammbled last minute to find a replacement.

The race was disorganized, the race maps were terrible. When asking the race director about clarification he said "don't worry it will be well marked tomorrow and you will not get lost" it was not well marked at all! Obviously because people were cutting corners. If I hadn't gone the night before I probably would have cut a corner or 3 as well.

The results were weird too. I came up as 6th in my age group on the instant results. Then I look on the website that evening and it says I am 7th, but I do not recognise one of the numbers as being one that passed me on the run (they would have HAD to pass me on the run) and she has only a bike split posted with the overall time. The girl who won the olympic and was awarded 1st place is not the one who is listed on the website as winning. There were people missing their entire relay results. Plus, they said the results were posted, but no link was given. It was terrible.

There is no mention anywhere what awards are given either. Some races I know go all the way to 5th or 6th and others only top 3 overall, and others top 3 and then age group top 3. There is nothing on the website anywhere. Very disappointing. I know I didn't get anything, but it would be nice to know how deep they give awards.

The volunteers were great though. They saved the race for me. All were happy to be there and super helpful.

Overall I don't know if I would do this race again. I really want to know the correct course distance and what they used to measure it with. They were also lacking in post race activities. The finisher medals and tech shirts were really nice though.