Desert International Triathlon

I have to admit that I wasn't sure I was ready to start the triathlon season. However, it was quite nice that it started with an international tri instead of the typical Cali half ironman.
The race is low key, and even allows day of registration. So nice compared to the logistics of half and full ironmans!
A large group of us that train at UCSD together went out for the race. Everyone had awesome races, and San Diego athletes took over the podium! The swim was a bit cold, but after warming up for 20mins I didn't mind it all that much. I had a decent swim, but had to make up some ground on the bike. The girl furthest ahead of me was Hayley Piersol (sister of olympic swimmer Aaron). She too can swim! And this young athlete will be one to watch at this distance (future olympian herself perhaps?!?!?!)

I haven't been on my TT bike much since Kona (I think 4 times), so the aero position wasn't as comfortable as it should have been. I tried to hold my speed above 23mph and finish as close to an hour as possible. I didn't get caught by any of the guys in packs until the last mile. I was quickly swooped up. Why is it that us girls can ride alone, but the guys are always in packs. Annoying!

I came off the bike with a few other girls in my age group. I was able to run away from those close to me, and was on a mission to catch those ahead. As I approached mile 4 I had caught a few girls, and no one had passed me. I was told I was in 4th. Just then I passed another few girls - but was unsure what wave they started in and therefore didn't know what place I was in.
It wasn't until the finish that I knew I was third. 3rd overall at my first race....I wanted the win, but was very happy with my race. Shorter races aren't my strongest, but I wanted to hit the water and red line as long as I could. My legs were tired from training, and this was just another training day to get me ready for my key races.
I have been working on my speed, and finally think it is helping. Here's the overall podium pic:

This marked my last race in the 25-29 age group. The winner of our age group was the overall winner as well. I was 2nd, and Brandy was third. It was awesome to share the podium with my good friend, and great athlete, Brandy Bounds (3rd place below)!Huge congrats to all those that had awesome season opening race! It was a competitive field, that didn't disappoint!
I hope that is the beginning of many great races and podium finishes this season. Next up: California70.3 on April 4. This means there are 4 weeks to gain as much fitness as I can. I'll start with 20 x 400's on the track tomorrow morning...