Twisted Cactus Challenge - Triathlon

On the first day, I felt comfortable in the water, albeit slow. After a disaster in the water at Rage with freezing cold water and choppiness (Lake Mead), I needed a calm, comfortable open water swim to help me get my confidence back. This was the ideal venue to do so. It was narrow, so I was always close to a shore, it was calm, and the temperature was comfortable. I relaxed and swam very, very slowly but made my way to the other end of the lake and back. I knew I would need to make up time on the bike, but felt equipped to do it.

On the second day, I felt a little less comfortable in the water. My goggles fell apart during the National Anthem, and I was struggling to get the m back together a minute or two before getting in the water. Thankfully, I got them together and the held, but I was a little stressed out. I had spurts of being able to swim adequately, but they never lasted as I would encounter trouble with my breathing patter, I would have another swimmer bump me, or something else would throw me off. Thankfully, with a short course, I didn’t lose too much time.

For a course that starts out and ends at the same place, it felt like the Olympic course was all uphill. After such a slow swim, I expected to catch more people than I did, but my legs just didn’t feel like they had a lot of pop. I turned in a decent leg, and the last several miles downhill and into Rancho Sahuarita flew by, but it wasn’t my best effort.

On day 2, I knew that the first half would be a steady climb, followed by a fast descent back to transition. I braced myself for a tough six miles. They ticked away as I passed some of the slower riders. At the turnaround, I let it go and cruised back down the hill. It was a decent bike leg, 12th overall.

As mentioned above, Rancho Sahuarita, the development where the event(s) took place, was very pleasant. The run course showcased it. There is a multiuse path that winds through the development, and the run for both days started there. As the temperature rose, I strung together some consistent sub-10 minute miles. The last mile required another trip around the lake, but it was a nice course. Like the bike, I didn’t feel too strong physically on either day, but didn’t run poorly either.

On day 1, they served a pancake breakfast after the race, which I enjoyed. Day 2 was lower key, but in both cases it was nice to grab my things from transition and have a very short walk to the car.


The two day challenge experience was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the event and the course, despite not feeling like I raced my best. The event was run with the professionalism and quality of a large event, but had the intimacy and charm of a small one. It was among one of the best race experiences I have had.