Toyota Desert Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

Swim start was a little rough had a few people trying to grab my feet and swim on me. Got out of that and got an elbow to the face. Caught up with the previous wave and navigated through them. Got a little open water half way through. Did really well on swim and according to fiance I was the 15th woman out but I think I had chip problems because my offical times are wacked out. I got out in about 10 minutes but the offical time was posted at 13 and change.

Knowing the field would have started closer to the front. It was my first race and I was being cautious.

Transition went fine. It was a bit of a run to the bike but nothing I couldn't handle. Wesuit came off quickly and I was moving through at a pretty good speed.

Have the straps on my bike shoes open and ready to go

Okay folks ... there is no way I did this course in 29.30. A clue into the timing problems. My top speed was 26mph (according to my garmin). I was on the course about 44 minutes. I enjoyed the course and felt really good on the bike. I followed my plan and passed people from the previous wave and watched as the rock star 40+ women passed me. Hydrated well with powerbar endurance (I have salt issues all the time, got to stay on top of it).

I'f I had known I was doing so well. I would have pushed it a little more on the bike. I had no idea I was at the head of the pack for my division,

Transition was fine, probably only took me 2 minutes according to the garmin but timing was screwed up.

Okay I know the run wasn't 37.24, according to Garmin it was closer to 27 minutes. I hate timing problems. The run was great, kept a solid pace through the whole race. Running in sand at the beginning was challenging but not impossible. The mile markers were off according to my Garmin. Mile 1 and 2 came sooner than expected. The water station at mile 2 was not as organized as it could be and I nearly took a dip in the lake to hydrate if not for the funky blue/green color and the kind gentleman who shoved a cup of water in my hand (god bless you sir).

Run a little faster, if I knew I had a chance to place I would have picked up the pace, I just thought I was further back.

Crossed the finish line gave up my chip grabbed some water and oranges and watched a few people cross the finish line, then walked over to transition to see the elite men in the international race come into T2.


Timing was a big issue for me. I was a little frustrated that my times were so off. I had a bad feeling about my chip coming across the T1 mat and not hearing a audible beep. The race officals were helpful and we able to locate my times eventually but as you can see they were pretty screwed up. Oh well. A great first timer race. I enjoyed this race and would consider doing it again because it wasn't over priced race. This race has the potential to be a disaster if the winds pick up. I didn't feel real challenged during this race but for a first time around I was pleased with my performance and it gave me an opportunity to transition and get the feel of a triathlon.