Danskin in the RAIN!

[swimming lily]

I made it through 640 yards of swimming, 12 miles of biking, and 3.1 miles running in a torrential down pour - Danskin Triathlon - Seattle style!!!

Did you know that the 3rd weekend of August is the weekend with the least propability of rain in Seattle? Not this year ladies.

It was pretty hilarious, and I ended up doing pretty good - ranked 564/3496 (1600 women didn't show up!)
Swim - 13:48; T1 - 4:06; Bike - 40:40; T2 - 2:39; Run - 33:13; total: 1:34:27

The swim was short and crowded, lots of flailing arms and legs, no room for breast stroke, no chance of sighting with so many bodies thrashing around. I pretty much just went with the flow, and sped through any clear water I could! Sally Edwards (triathlete and spokeswoman for Danskin) gives each wave a different word to insert into pre-race countdown cheers: I am a ____ swimmmer! I am a _____ woman! etc, etc...My wave's word?? SEXY!

The bike was crazy and treacherous - there's a S shaped hill up to the I-90 express lanes, single file climbing, with about 2 feet of room, along with a single file of women walking their bikes up the hill. I think its pretty cool that they close off the express lanes for us, but really - that many women in 6 feet of space? I was able to get some speed on the way out to the turn around, but on the way back across the bridge, I thought the wind and rain was going to knock me over! Sadly, saw a few crash scenes - so scary! Not to mention the way back down the S hill - get out of my way, woman! I just took it slow, but amazingly still held a 18 mph average somehow.

The one good thing about the sheets of rain coming down on us during the run? I never felt dehydrated, all I had to do was open my mouth and catch the raindrops...no really, it was hard not to laugh, and laughter my friends, is a great distractor during the last leg of a race. I am so glad that I ran up that dang Genessee Hill about 10 times in the past 2 weeks! I raced right past the fast runners (even if they passed me again afterwards!)

Then, it was over so fast! It took me about two hours, a latte, a hot shower, brunch and a mimosa to warm me back up!

Now I'm prepared if it rains on Sept 23rd for my Oly!!!

[KnottedYet]

Wow! They made you ride back *down* that nasty little path after the I-90 bit! I wondered how that would go this year. Last year there were women crashing all around the access path on the way up, but we didn't have to deal with the path on the way down (it was a streets route). I figured with the rain it would be especially interesting. Sounds like it was bad.

Good for you for doing so well in such adverse conditions!

[Zen]

I'd like to present you with these honorary steel balls and the not honorary but very real title of One Tough Chick

[Tri Girl]

WOW! Quite an adventure, I'd say. I'm glad you didn't crash- sounds like there was ample opportunity!

Nice going out there! Be proud, dadnabit- you are a sexy swimmer, a sexy woman, and a doggone tough cookie!

Congrats!!!

[HillSlugger]

Great job under terrible conditions! Wow!

[mimitabby]

thanks for the report! I was wondering how it went... it was so rainy i didn't even go down that direction to check.

YOU ARE ONE TOUGH GAL!! congrats!

(and WELCOME TO TE!)

[HeatherErin]

I kept thinking, "It just has to let up soon..." But it never did.

I survived as well - my first tri. Though, with somewhat slower times than swimming lilly. The rain felt like needles when I started on the bike. I still don't think I'm dry...

[teigyr]

I don't know how you all did it. I was in the car and was whining about the bit of walking I did from the house to the car in the rain!

It's impressive though and I think it only gets easier.

Anyway, I think the Danskin finishers are tough and can say they are triathletes with pride.

[swimming lily]

I kept thinking, "It just has to let up soon..." But it never did.

I survived as well - my first tri. Though, with somewhat slower times than swimming lilly. The rain felt like needles when I started on the bike. I still don't think I'm dry...

I know!! I still can't believe I did it in that rain!! Congrats on your first tri Heathererin!

[trickytiger]

Yeah.....wet just doesn't describe it, does it? There has to be another word, kind of like how the Inuit have 84 terms for "snow".

My only motivator at 4:30 am on Sunday morning when I woke: I was going to be wet the entire time anyhow. It's become my ritual to be a Swim Angel for the Seattle Danskin. But Oh My Gosh, it was absolutely NUTS! I was wearing a surfing wetsuit, and sheparding swimmers around the course keeps me warm- but still! I have the utmost respect for anyone who biked over I-90 in that rain!

After 2+ hours in Lake Washington, it was a welcome deal to see the last swimmer out of the water and to get into some DRY CLOTHES. I spent the rest of the day under my down comforter with the new Harry Potter book!

[KSH]

WOW! Great job. Sounds like it was nasty with all the rain and you went out there and rocked it.

I probably would have been with the 1600 that stayed home.

Good luck on your next race- hopefully it will be dry!

[colby]

It was... WET. WET WET WET. I felt pretty dang slow, especially on the bike -- I don't usually bike in the rain in the summer, it's a lot more dry on my side of the mountains. Hard to prepare for that when it's out of season, I'd have to drive to find rain. All the turns were really cautious, no sudden movements or avoiding people, watching a lot more closely for slippery obstacles.

I also had the awesome skill of dropping my flask right as I started the bike, clearly not learning from the last sprint I did where I promised I'd buy a Bento Box. You can bet that's what I'm doing now. Anyway, that made me short a couple hundred calories for the bike, which I felt on the hills. Bumma! Ah well, all in good fun.

I also decided because of the sheer quantity of people, it's hard to race Danskin like other things. A lot more strategizing is required or you end up wanting to swim, bike, or run over the top of people, and I'm not good at being pushy. My swimming has improved a lot since last year when my rotator cuff killed badly enough that I couldn't actually crawl. It felt awesome to swim this year, I wasn't even pushing (too crowded, go with the flow).

Amusingly, I missed my swim wave, so my time was 3 minutes off. Stupid stupid stupid, but there were just so many people to wade through. My husband knew right away that I had missed my wave -- I was the yellow cap passing all of the green caps, ending up in the back of the yellow pack I should have started in. I wear my watch on my right hand and breathe to my left, which is a dead giveaway with binoculars.

Swim: 00:15:09 (approx, with the 3 minutes taken off, official time based on the wave I didn't actually start in was 00:18:09)
T1: 00:05:47
Bike: 00:44:51 (16.5mph -- dang! 2.5mph slower than I expected!)
T2: 00:03:25
Run: 00:30:32 (9:51 pace)
Total: 1:39:47 - approx 960/3498 (hard to say since I wasn't ranked correctly)

I would have preferred overcast, no rain. I love overcast.

A couple of decent pictures:
http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_...hotos&BIB=3236
http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_...hotos&BIB=3236

[colby]

I made it through 640 yards of swimming, 12 miles of biking, and 3.1 miles running in a torrential down pour - Danskin Triathlon - Seattle style!!!

Good job lily, especially on that awesome bike ride.

My father in law said "you could do Danskin 10 times in a row and never see weather like this again." Go figure. Last year was beautiful.

I try to tell people it really doesn't rain like that much in Seattle, especially in the summer, and then... this happens.