I posted this on my little mini-blog over at my myspace (about the only thing I use it for), so some of the stuff is really generic considering my friends don't know a lot about triathlons. Bear with the boring stuff, or scroll to the end for the times!
This weekend was the 7th race in the Danskin womens sprint triathlon series (you can read about them here). The Seattle Danskin race is held at Genessee Park -- it's a 1/2 mile (800m) swim in Lake Washington, a 20k (12.4mi) bike along the I-90 bridge (in the express lanes!), and a 5k (3.1mi) run between Genessee and Seward Parks (not quite to Seward Park, but you can see it). My super awesome mother in law did the Danskin last year with some of her co-workers, so we did it together this year. It was fun to experience everything together, most training and races I do by myself, so it's nice to have someone to enjoy things with.
I signed up for this way back at the beginning of the year, and as you already know if you've read any of my other reports or talked to me about this stuff, I injured my shoulder snowboarding not long before that. I was imagining that problem wouldn't last all year, and I'd be able to train for the triathlon with plenty of time. Boy was I wrong! Up to and including race day I still hurt. Needless to say, this put a damper on my ability to train for the triathlon. I was banned from the bike for a couple of months because of the vibrations being absorbed through my shoulder, and after that decided to rebel unless explicitly told to "take it easy." Swimming was pretty much right out (I didn't even mention or ask or consider it), and even running hurts depending on my posture, speed, or distances (effectively, how involved my arms have to be).
I knew my swim would suffer, so I waited to the last possible minute (the weekend before) to do any serious open water swimming, and then I discovered I have a wobbly freestyle/crawl but could make it a mile or so doing just breaststroke with a little freestyle here and there. I can't really lift my right arm up and over repeatedly, the rotation suffers at the fully extended point (figures, considering it's my rotator cuff that's messed up). It makes me feel kind of off balance, which messes up any rhythm I have a chance of getting. I know the swim really throws a lot of people off, but in the end I was actually worried about one stupid thing: falling off my bike and looking like a total dork. Of all the things to worry about, it wasn't the distance, it wasn't the run (which I am no good at), it wasn't swimming in the open water with creepy crawlies and seaweed or getting kicked in the face, it was falling off my bike in front of all those people. How silly. ;)
Back on the scene, we went over to Seattle on Thursday (drove, it's about 4-5 hours), early enough to have all day Friday to do something relaxing, then packet pickup and bike racking Saturday, then race Sunday and drive home Monday. It was really nice to have the extra couple of days to wind down before and after the event, though I didn't completely unplug from the office (I'm not good at that ;)).
Packet pickup and bike racking was fun, and did help calm some of the nerves (What if I have to walk too far or can't find my stuff in the transition area? What if we get rear ended on the way there!?). We got there early, so we got great parking and got through the line quickly. My and mom(inlaw)'s numbers were sequential, which was kind of cool. We registered together in the Mixed Group so we could start together, and since we weren't competing (or didn't have a chance competing?) for the prizes or anything like that. Picked up the chip, got marked (the girls next to us wore tight jeans... what were they thinking, they'd be marked through their jeans? off came the pants...nice thong :eek: ...), picked up the tshirt (green and sleeveless, not sure when I'll wear it), picked up other info, bought some new goggles (more of the mask type, and tinted), and soaked in the atmosphere. There were a couple of clinics, but we decided to drive the course instead. We did stop by the HeartZones booth in the expo looking for Jayne of Slow Fat Triathlete, but unfortunately couldn't find her :( I at least wanted to buy her book! Get to the car to find out the strap for the chip is too short (and I'm not THAT big, trust me on this, but apparently my less than womanly calves are not meant for tiny little straps), go back in to complain, buy one of their $5 straps (why don't they just use those? the disposable ones seemed cheap).
Next came the long wait... the night before. It felt like the first day of school -- it always does. Will I get up in time? Will I forget anything? Will I look silly? Will I be last? I entertained thoughts possible, irrational, and entirely comical (including the aforementioned falling off my bike with pointing and laughing and snide comments). I got all my stuff together, checked everything, double checked everything, triple checked everything, thought "where's my bike?" for about 30 seconds, and actually somehow still managed a good night's sleep in a bed other than my own.
We got up early for race day to see if we could catch the start, but alas, circumstances were against us -- we should have prepared more the night before. My husband (photographer and sherpa), brother in law (official car retriever), father in law (sherpa #2 and keeper of the food), mother in law (super awesome triathlete), and myself all set out around 6:00 or so to head down to the shuttle (at Safeco field, for you locals). The bus was full of nerves! High pitched chatter (nerves), totally inane and nonsensical discussion (nerves), and friendly "good luck" wishes (shared nerves!). We set up our stuff in the transition area (with my good luck Scooby Doo towel) and waited our turn...
The swim area was super busy. We were in the Mixed Group, which starts last after all the segmented age groups (and elites, and cancer survivors), and has many multiples of "waves" of about 100. We ended up in the 4th or so wave, and were actually toward the front so we could get in the water and adjust before swimming. The swim start was in a boat dock area, which meant a little dropoff at the end (cue the swimming!). During the prep, Sally Edwards, finisher of a gazillion Ironmans and spokesperson for the Danskins and official training, encourages you to repeat a chant and "get the monkey off your backs." It's cheezy, sure, but it provides some sense of camraderie and encouragement. We started in the water about 9:25am. The swim is triangular, with big orange buoys to mark your turns. You pass people, people pass you, you get kicked, you do the kicking, you touch hands, you sight the turn, you admire the creative swim strokes... repeat for about 1/2 mile! I was only able to breaststroke 90% of the way because of my shoulder, but finished the swim feeling good (but anxious). Headed off to T1...
I did pretty well in the first transition. Wiped my feet with Scooby, had a Clif Shot gel, put on my camelbak, put on my socks and bike shoes, and walked my bike over to the bike start area. The bike was full of rolling hills... up.... down..... up.... down. Most of it is on the bridge across the lake, which I'd driven so many times before -- I definitely have a new appreciation for it now! Plenty of shady areas, but a lot of sun as well. I wore a trisuit (the Danskin one actually, like this) without a jersey, so my shoulders were exposed the entire time... we know where this is going, Sunburn City! I felt good on the bike (and hey, I got ON and OFF without falling!) and went down to T2...
I had to pee. Man. That sucks. You're wearing a trisuit, you're all sweaty, not to mention having swam 1/2 mile, and you have to pee. BAH! I knew this would totally mess up my transition time, but I did it anyway. Laced up the running shoes, dropped off the Camelbak, take in another gel (Hammer raspberry flavor, it was better than the Clif Shots!), head to the port-a-potties, put the $&!@#*^ suit back on (just like putting back on a wet bathing suit), and head out for the run. I pretty much just plain am not a really super awesome runner, and I was expecting this, but I really think the sun took more out of me on the bike and waiting for the swim than I expected. I stupidly did not wear sunblock, not accounting for all the waiting time with bare shoulders, and expecting it to mostly come off during the swim anyway -- but I think some would have been better than none. I jogged the whole way, but it was a really slow jog. I think maybe I could have kicked it up a notch, but I was afraid to overexert myself. The run was an out-and-back course with a big (but short!) hill toward the end, mostly flat otherwise. A couple of water stops along the way, some went on me, some went in me, both kinds were refreshing ;) I definitely kicked it up a notch when I approached...
THE FINISH! YAY! It felt awesome to finish, it always does, but each victory is just a little different than the last. They gave me a medal and removed my chip (and that $5 strap we paid for, should have asked about that!). I had spotted the cheering squad at various points along the route (cheering well I might add), and my personal photographer was there at the end to congratulate me (what a guy). Super Awesome Triathlon Mom finished a while later, and we all gathered at the end to grab the transition stuff, get a bite to eat, and wait for official car retriever to come back and pick us up.
What a day! I will be working on swimming better (more freestyle, less breastroke), biking the hills a little more consistently/faster, and running (as usual); not to mention avoiding sunburns, which I am apparently very bad at doing (shoulders are lobster red). We also decided for next year's event that we will participate in our age groups, having done it together once -- start earlier, less sunburn, right? ;) My right side, including shoulder, neck, and back is not pleased with me, but it was well worth it. I'm glad I waited to push too hard, but had I been able to train, I know I could have done better.
Times are available on the Timberline Timing site (hard to find) and photos will supposedly be available on BrightRoom sometime soon. My PhotoMan did take some action shots, too, but they aren't pulled from the camera yet.
Swim: 1/2 mile (800 meters) in 20:03 (rank 1558 of 3966)
T1: 05:56
Bike: 20k (12.4mi) in 00:46:00, average 16.1mph (rank 2039 of 3966)
T2: 07:30
Run: 5k (3.1mi) in 00:38:43, average 12:29 minutes/mile (rank 2879 of 3966)
Total: 01:58:00 (2635 of 3966)
