Southern California - Toyota Desert International Distance and Sprint Distance Triathlon (4/20/2008)

Toyota Desert Triathlon

http://kleinclarksports.com/deserttriathion.html

Here it is again for 2008!

Location: La Quinta, CA @ Lake Cahuilla

International: 3/4 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 6 mile run (8:00AM start)

Sprint: 500 meter swim, 14 mile bike 3 mile run (7:00AM start)

The course is very flat and quite nice.

Bike course map:

http://www.routeslip.com/routes/33839

Register before the price goes up on March 1. :D

I'll be there doing the sprint distance again hopefully doing some of this:

http://www.emotioneric.com/kickasstakenames.jpg (http://www.emotioneric.com/emotionfill/kickasstakenames.html)

I'll be out there, probably volunteering (thankfully, not the volunteer coordinator anymore :)) My husband is the announcer.

I shouldn't be too hard to spot... I'll be the one getting dropped by a 12 year old girl. :(

I have IMAZ on 4/13 so I'll probably pass on this one.

I might be in for the Toyota part.

Bump! Only 2 weeks away... I hope i'm ready. :o

I have IMAZ on 4/13 so I'll probably pass on this one.

Really? Very cool. Hope you'll post a report after.

Jim <--- sprints are fine for me ;)

Really? Very cool. Hope you'll post a report after.

Jim <--- sprints are fine for me ;)

Yeah, sprints are great. I don't know what the F I'm thinking.

Bump! Only 5 days away... I think i'm ready. :) :(

I'm definitely in better shape than i was the first time in 2006 but i think last year i was in slightly better shape overall. We'll see how my time this year compares to last.

Weather forecast looks like it'll probably in the mid 60s at the time of the race start with a 10-15mph wind... :(

I did this race in '05 and the bike course was fairly sheltered from the wind with the exception of one side of the rectangle. You'll be OK, it's a very fast bike course.

Good luck and have a great time!!!

I'll try. :) Last year i was able to maintain ~20mph on the bike without aerobars or aero helmet and there was no wind. The wind is only a problem because it was kicking up these silly big waves (for a small manmade lake anyways) when i did it in '06...

if someone want to swim for me, I can bike and run:D

Good luck tomorrow!

Thanks. :) Gotta get stuff lined up and ready. Looks like it's going to be windy though so no fixed gear bike...

I'll be heading out somewhere around 3-3:30am... :(

If the weather is anything like today, the wind did not kick up until a little later in the day. When I was riding hardly noticed any wind until about 12:30/1 pm. Nice day. Hope tomorrow is the same.

Good luck out there--I am the parking person, be sure to say hi. :)

Good luck!

Well? Did you win???

Well he should have! :D The weather was almost perfect. Not too much wind and not too hot. For the desert in April, that is perfect :)

Pics?

Pics?

Not from me, I was the parking lady and general all-round gofer :)

Well? Did you win???

Um, I finished? :) I'm usually happy with that.

Time was ~1:41:??, 4 minutes slower than last year probably due to my wetsuit being a PITA to take off, i took my sweet time putting clothes on during T1 (if i'm not warm on the bike, i'm not fast), and i lost time during the run (had to stop and stretch twice because my calves were cramping up). I've done very little running this year.

However i was able to use the fixed gear bike and i was definitely flying along, usually averaging ~21mph along most of the course except for the south side of the loop where a slight incline and a slight breeze pushed my speed down to around 17-18mph for that stretch, about 2.5 miles long. Passed lots of people and only 1 or 2 people passed me (because most of the people who could pass me were out of the water before i was). :o I actually had my little Oregon Scientific action camera mounted to my aerobars but the batteries died about 6 miles into the bike leg...

The swim went pretty good for me (i'm pretty slow actually). I didn't take long to get acclimated to the water this time (it wasn't as too cold and i didn't freak out like i usually do for afew minutes at the start of an open water swim).

Run was my weak part (always is, probably always will be...) In the first mile i had to stop to stretch twice and i was walking a little bit, but after that i was able to jog the remainder once my legs got used to it.

I'll be back next year again. :D

Clicky for larger versions:

From right to left: me, my brother in law, <---his cousin (he was doing the olympic distance), and some of his classmates:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01533.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01533.jpg)

Swim start, calm water:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01539.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01539.jpg)

Stumbling out of the water:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01544.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01544.jpg)

Blur with the bike:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01557.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01557.jpg)

Running out of T1:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01558.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01558.jpg)

Back into T2:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01584.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01584.jpg)

Finish line where the announcer (Shnuddy's husband) thought i was wearing my wetsuit still :lol: :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01596.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01596.jpg)

At the finish:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01601.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01601.jpg)

Finish line where the announcer (Shnuddy's husband) thought i was wearing my wetsuit still :lol: :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/th_DSC01596.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v178/psydotek/2008-4-20%20Desert%20Triathlon/DSC01596.jpg)



Nice pics! My hubby remembers you...he did think "Wow, he did the whole thing in his wetsuit!" :D

After revewing my times from last year versus this year, i found out where my problem was... My swim this year was 4 minutes slower and my transition times suck... :o

In terms of fitness, i felt fine in the water but i did notice i was drifiting to the outside, going wide around the buoys, and zig-zagging in the water. :( It's hard to see some of the buoys when you're nearsighted...

My T1 time was also dreadful at almost 7 minutes (i tend to walk when moving through the transition area to catch a short rest) and the PITA wetsuit didn't want to come off. I suppose i could have saved time by not putting on my gloves/socks/kneewarmers/long sleeve shirt, but then i may not have been able to hammer while on the bike (i need to be warm when on the bike). :lol:

2008 Results
Swim - 17:36.5
T1 - 6:51.7
Bike - 42:49.9
T2 - 2:46.9
Run - 31:17.5
Total - 1:41:22.7

2007 Results
Swim - 13:49
Bike (includes T1 and T2 time) - 53:57
Run - 29:20
Total - 1:37:06

So in retrospect, i feel my fitness levels are at the same level as last year (which is good), just afew minor mishaps kept me from besting my time from last year. :)

After revewing my times from last year versus this year, i found out where my problem was... My swim this year was 4 minutes slower and my transition times suck... :o

In terms of fitness, i felt fine in the water but i did notice i was drifiting to the outside, going wide around the buoys, and zig-zagging in the water. :( It's hard to see some of the buoys when you're nearsighted...

My T1 time was also dreadful at almost 7 minutes (i tend to walk when moving through the transition area to catch a short rest) and the PITA wetsuit didn't want to come off. I suppose i could have saved time by not putting on my gloves/socks/kneewarmers/long sleeve shirt, but then i may not have been able to hammer while on the bike (i need to be warm when on the bike). :lol:

2008 Results
Swim - 17:36.5
T1 - 6:51.7
Bike - 42:49.9
T2 - 2:46.9
Run - 31:17.5
Total - 1:41:22.7

2007 Results
Swim - 13:49
Bike (includes T1 and T2 time) - 53:57
Run - 29:20
Total - 1:37:06

So in retrospect, i feel my fitness levels are at the same level as last year (which is good), just afew minor mishaps kept me from besting my time from last year. :)

Good job regardless! Could you have left the shirt and kneewarmers on under the wetsuit?

Good job regardless! Could you have left the shirt and kneewarmers on under the wetsuit?

I could, but i want them dry so they warm me up. :) I already have on my tri shorts and a short sleeve UA shirt under the wetsuit. Air temperature at 7:20am was still around 65 degrees and since my knees are sensitive to cold i had to put the knee warmers on (i cover up anytime it's under 70 degrees). Had it been a bit warmer (over 70), i would have been out of T1 without them.

Well done!