My actual swimming time was less. I started about five seconds after the first woman. I also paused briefly at the wall--maybe five seconds--to let her pass when she lapped me toward the end of the swim. And then I had to wait briefly--maybe 20 or 30 seconds--for the man in lane 6 to finish so I could swim across his lane to the ladder and exit. And then the swim exit was completely blocked by kids and strollers, and I had to fight my way through them to T1.

Talk with the race director before the race to ensure the volunteer at the swim exit timing mat kept the exit clear of spectators. Also, it's been a while since I've swam, so I felt a little off, but not too off. I glanced at the clock halfway through the swim and saw I was at about 6:30, so I definitely slowed down the second half of the swim.

Kids had completely blocked the swim exit. No mount area marked. Had to ask a volunteer.

Check for mount area and ask a volunteer before the race start.

After I fought my way through the gaggle of kids blocking the swim exit, I hopped on my bike and headed out. The mount area wasn't marked, so I had to stop and ask a volunteer. The way out wasn't marked, either, so again...stop and ask a volunteer which way to go. I went a couple of blocks and passed a sign on a side street to my right that said "Mile 5." WTF?!? I rode a couple more blocks, and then got concerned that I was going the wrong way, so I rode back and asked another triathlete, and he said he thought we headed straight, so I turned around and headed back out. I rode probably an extra half a mile while figuring out the course. The rest of the course was well marked, so no more issues, except the bloody wind. Lots of wind! No trees, just rolling wheat fields. Not fun!

Make sure I had Internet access the night before the race so I could review the race route.

T2 was a couple blocks down the street from T1. Handed my bike to a volunteer, grabbed my T2 bag, and swapped my gear out. No issues with T2.

Nothing.

I used my Garmin only on the run. It was a crappy run. I felt heavy and fat and out of shape. The run was well marked and had lots of water stations. One big hill that I walked up.

Not race so soon after Burning Man.

Shoved food in my face and waited for the results to come out. It listed me in third place, so I waited five hours for the award ceremony, only to find out I'd come in fourth. I don't know why they had listed me as third earlier. After the award ceremony, I drove back to camp and sat down by the water and listened to the waves roll up onto the beach. It was a crappy race.


I raced way too soon after attending Burning Man. Plus, I hadn't trained in almost a month because of...Burning Man.


The biggest issue for me with the race organization was there were kids and strollers completely blocking the swim exit, and there was no one to clear them out of the way. That cost me some time! Also, the bike mount area was not marked, so I had to ask a volunteer. The beginning of the course was not marked, either, so again, I had to ask a volunteer and then another triathlete, who also was unsure of the race route. (There was apparently another event going on at the same time, and the signs for the other event were confusing.) So, this one could have been better organized.