Danskin Triathlon--2011

My goal for this year, was to train and complete the Danskin Triathlon. It was a sprint triathlon, so it was a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run. Well, I did it! The whole experience was a little overwhelming! There were over 2,000 women competing in this event--just imagine a transition area with over 2,000 bikes racked! There was not enough parking at the event, so everyone parked at Safeco field and school buses shuttled us to the event.
We drove up on Saturday, got checked in, racked my bike and then the race was on Sunday. My fantastic friend Heidi drove me down to Safeco at 5:30 a.m. and we got on the bus for the park. My swim wave didn't start until almost 8 a.m. so I had time to lay out my area, get everything set and even see the first wave start and complete their swim. (I was wave 18--and there were 100 people in each wave).
When it was finally my turn, I had my wetsuit on and was ready to go. (The water temp was about 66 degrees, so the full wetsuit was a must!) I am a strong swimmer, so I got in front before the start. I knew that I didn't want to get stuck in the middle. Since I was in front, I was able to escape most of the bumping and pushing that tends to happen at the beginning of the swim. I got about 150 yards out and started feeling like I couldn't catch my breath. I think the whole thing was just a little overwhelming and I was having some anxiety. I just rolled over and kicked on my back for about a minute and then was able to start swimming again without anymore issues. I was not prepared for the choppiness of the water--after I rounded the second buoy, I felt like I wasn't even making progress because of the waves. (I was, but it didn't seem like it!) The swim was rough--not going to lie--I was SO glad to be done and I was wondering how I would finish the race after such an exhausting swim. I ended up finishing the swim in about 17 minutes and I finished 262nd over all in the swim!

My transition went pretty well after the swim, even with getting my wetsuit off. I got my shorts, shirt, socks and shoes on and headed for the bike start. My transition area was really far from the swim area and the bike start, so that did make it tough. I got on the bike and went! I knew the bike would be my weakest leg. I used that leg to hydrate and re-charge a little. I am not a fast biker and I did try to save some energy for the run. The bike crossed the floating bridge on I-90 and went through the tunnel. When I reached the halfway mark and turned around on the bike, it seemed to have gone very fast. I finished the bike leg in 54 minutes--not great, but I felt okay starting the run.

I changed shoes, racked my bike, hit the restroom and went to do my run. The first mile seemed to go on forever!! It is always hard when you aren't familiar with a course to run. (At least for me!) I did have to walk a few times throughout the run. I would set an end point each time I started to walk though; I could walk to the next stop sign, then I had to run again. I was able to run the better part of the last mile, but there was a huge hill right before the last 1/2 mile. I made it up about 3/4 of the way up the hill before I had to stop and walk. After that, I was able to run the rest and run hard into the finish line. I finished the run in 33 minutes.
This was definitely challenging for me--I finished in 1 hour and 57 minutes and placed 1139th overall. I am ready to do another one! It really was fun and the feeling of accomplishment at the end was amazing. I think I'll sneak a couple of 5K's in before next summer and then I'll find a tri to do, maybe closer to home!