TEMPE INTERNATIONAL SPRINT TRIATHLON 2014

What started out as an aquabike race ended up as a sprint triathlon, because when I went to packet pickup I found out I was the only aquabike entrant.  No fun that.  So the race director graciously allowed me to transfer to the sprint race.  Great fun that.

T1 AND T2 UNDER THE RED MOUNTAIN PARKWAY

I had raced the olympic distance last year, and the venue remained the same.  The swim entrance to Tempe Town Lake is on the opposite side of the lake from the Arizona Ironman venue.  It provides for a "sandy" beach that drops off quickly, so practically it's still a treading water start.  The transition is under the Red Mountain Parkway (Loop 202) which provides a congested area but is shaded.  For those used to Midwestern type parks with sandy beaches and plenty of space with shade trees, this is not it.

The sprint bike course is one loop with multiple corners and 180 degree turns and multiple bridge crossings over the lake.  Total ascent measured about 400 ft on my garmin.  The olympic distance racers take two loops.  The run course loops around the lake crossing over two bridges and finishing at the same transition under the bridge.  The olympic distance runners take two loops.

OVER THE ROCKS AND UP THE CULVERT TO T1

I had not returned to my regular training routine yet following the Saint George 70.3 Ironman race two weekends earlier and that is why I transferred to the sprint rather than the olympic distance.  For a non-swimming background triathlete, what's not to like about a 400 yd swim?  Water temp of 76 degrees so wetsuit legal, but for the 400 yard sprint swim few wore them. My wave start was not too congested and with a 3 minute spacing I was surprised to catch swimmers from the prior wave, otherwise it was uneventful.  I swam with just triathlon shorts and completed the bike and run with no top to save on transition time.  Reminded me of the early years before tri specific gear was designed and everyone biked and ran in their speedos (cringe).

The bike segment required full attention at all times due to the turns, expansion joints on the bridges, and general congestion with less-experienced triathletes.  I found myself sitting up to "wind break" when riders were leisurely passing one another and not cognizant of the courtesy and rule of riding-on-the-right when possible.  I didn't pay much attention to my power meter because with sprints I just go about as hard as I can.  After the fact power meter readings showed I averaged 240 watts (zero power - when not pedaling - not counted) and 22.6 mph.  My MPH average is usually 10%, sometimes a bit more, than my average power.   So I would have expected about 24 mph plus in this case.  I attribute the average speed falloff to the "wind breaking" and multiple tight turns, which required me to accelerate multiple times which is inefficient.  Indeed, my max power output was 500 watts, a level I don't ever remember hitting or try to achieve.

The run starts with a nice set of stairs down to the road which I took very carefully.  After two bridge crossings and almost 3 miles you get to jog down another set of stairs before the final dash to the finish. Again I took it carefully, while the guy next to me took two steps at a time.  Really?  3 seconds gained? OK, showing my age.  Otherwise just a nice jog in mild Arizona (80 ish) temperatures.

I clocked a total time of 1:08:44.  First in 65-69 age group, 47th overall out of just over 300.  The winner, Dmitry Baer, burned a 55:36.  More importantly I had a good time with this one.  I had expected to swim and bike the olympic distance and not run at all if I had raced the aquabike, but this was mucho fun.