PNW Tri Novices

[mimitabby]

aw, great story, great stats, great photos! you did a great job!!! (for someone with a broken foot!!! )

[jesvetmed]

Great story telling and pics, Salsa!
I'd blocked out coming down that exit from the bridge. I had to have my feet down the entire way, too! Someone jumped off her bike in front of me and no one could pass, but none of us were willing to get off!

Thanks for posting all of those -- that morning picture tells a story about the size of this thing!
J

[dex]

Great report and pictures, Salsa!

Looking at the one of you exiting the water just made me realize that you were done with your swim while I was still waiting for my wave to start. See that group of red caps out there? I was in the next group of red caps, so four or five waves later. (I think it was around 7:40 when we finally went.) I could have watched you finish the swim if I'd thought about it (dammit)! Instead, I was floating around in the warm-up area wondering if I was ever going to get to start...heh.

[colby]

Great pictures, salsa! Especially the fish and chips

I was the pinks, which came somewhere right after the blues, which came right after Jes's red wave. Supposed to start at 7:40, closer to 7:45 or so. Was running over blues, greens, and reds toward the end... maybe there was another green wave after the reds and the blues?

In other news, that's the same suit I got, except the green/blue top. It's way more supportive than I expected, and I think I mentioned a pain in the rear to put on . I had to go to the bathroom after I put it on before the race since I had so much waiting time (my mother in law took off about 50 minutes before I did, in the third wave, mine the 20th). That was fun. At least it was before I went into the warmup zone.

In our experience, if you get there that early, you don't need to take the shuttle. We have been able to park fairly close to the race (about a block away) both of the last 2 years (before that we did the mixed group and took the shuttle), near Dakota and whatever the cross street is, 43rd? Super easy to get home from and no shuttling back and forth.

[teigyr]

I was pink too!!! Though I was an earlier (meaning older) pink.

It is good to know that we could park near the venue if we got there early enough. I don't know if I'll do the Danskin experience again but who knows, I might.

I'm impressed that you ran over some other cap colors I think I passed a few of the wave right before me (very very very few) and then I had a few people from the next wave pass me. Fast swimmers impress the heck out of me.

The warm-up area was nice and floaty except for all the seaweed. Every time I came out of the water I looked like a swamp creature

[salsabike]

You guys, I hate hate hate to burst our common "wow, I went fast" mph numbers, but I talked to a friend (placed 365th) who heard from another friend about a 10.5 mile total on her bike computer. Colby, that's similar to yours. I did not remember to restart my computer until a bit into the ride, but it was only a small bit, I think. I just looked at it now and it said 10.88. Am starting to wonder if they set the course a little short...Did anyone else check their mileage?

[kelownagirl]

How long was your bike supposed to be? I get confused with the variety of sprint tri distances.

Mine was 750m, 20km, 5km (.46 mile, 12.4 mile, 3.1 mile)

[dex]

From the picture conversation over in Colby's Danskin thread:

The person among us who WAS pretty photogenic was Dex. The girl just looks good in photos, is all. Funny how that happens with some folks but not others.

Heh. I think at least half of why that worked that way was because by the time the majority of the pictures of me were taken I had long given up on speed. All of the bike pics were snapped once I'd entered "I'm just going to prop myself up and coast along enjoying this nice leisurely ride by the lake" mode. There are a few of them where you can see riders in the background who were still actually trying. (I cheered them on as they rode by me.)

My wetsuit pic...now that one was special. I've named it, "How many chins can one girl have, anyway?" I think I may frame it and send it to my mom.

Here's the link to judge for yourself: Dex's Danskin pics here

[SadieKate]

I'm trying to figure out how you guys actually got any racing done. It sounds like you giggled the whole way.

I'm actually claustrophobic looking at some of those photos. I hate crowds. I can't imagine racing in a crowd. I tip my helmet to yawl (that is the plural yawl ).

[Connie]

Thank you for sharing your pictures. This was my second DT. My first was in '06 and hope to do it again next year. My daughters did it this year with me in honor of me turning 60 next month! For the women here in the Seattle area where did you train for the swimming? When it was cold I went to Meadowbrook Pool and then at Magnuson Beach when the weather finally got hot! I would love to do some training with you gals next year. The weekend you spent with Wahine sounded like a blast. What are you going to do on the off time to keep motivated? I usually ride the BG trail but get pretty bored with it. I would like to do some rides with Cascade Bicycle Club but most of them are 20 miles or more. Connie

[Connie]

I just read about the mileage on the bike ride and mine read a little over 10 miles too. I think it was 10.47 miles. I thought maybe my computer was wrong but maybe not. I know they did shorten the swim last year but put it back to what it was suppose to be which is 1/2 mile. I'm really curious about the true distance for the bike ride now.

[teigyr]

Hi Connie It sounds like you had a fun time too.

For OWS, I go to Matthews Beach or Madison Beach. Madison is nicer; the swim distance is 150 yards vs. 75 yards at Matthews. The water at Madison seems cleaner too. Matthews is closer to the house so that's where I go when I don't have much time. If you have a wetsuit, I'm sure you can swim for a bit longer before it gets too cold.

For pool swimming, I go to LA Fitness.

I am not a cold weather cyclist so I'll probably go to some spin classes in the winter. Right now I'm training for a marathon so most of my post-Danskin time will be running. I swim once a week though.

It is always fun to train with people! Definitely think about next year or even this year, if it works out.

As far as keeping motivated goes, I keep signing up for things so then I need to train for them

I know I've mentioned it in this thread before but if you're looking for a nice early season Tri, the one at Five Mile Lake is a lot of fun and it's small. It's in June.

Congrats on your upcoming birthday! It sounds like you had a perfect celebration.