I'm a Triathlete! Race report- Danskin Women's Triathlon Series

Danskin Women's Triathlon Series
Walt Disney World- Orlando, FL
May 11, 2008
1/4 mile swim - 9 mile bike - 2 mile run

Finish time: 1:03:21
Overall rank: 123/1,164
Age group rank: 24/117

Mom, Scott and I arrived in Orlando on Friday afternoon, May 9th. After spending some time walking around the Coronado Springs resort and then the Florida Mall, we had a traditional Mexican dinner and returned to our room to sleep the night away. It had been a long day of driving and walking and we were pooped!

On Saturday morning, May 10th, we arrived at the Danskin Women's Triathlon Series Expo. Packet pick-up was easy since I already knew my race number. My mother got the honors of placing my first ever bodymarkings!

Mom bodymarking me at the expo

I attended a course overview and a motivational speech given by triathlon pioneer, Sally Edwards. Afterwards, I had an opportunity to meet Sally and have her sign my copy of one of her books. She asked me how I was feeling and if I had been training hard. I told her how excited I was about the whole thing and she grinned from ear to ear. I didn't even realize that my husband wanted to take the picture below... it was Sally who said, "I think he wants a snapshot of us!" She stood up and initiated the photo! How cool was that?!?

Meeting Sally Edwards!
After I collected all of my Expo swag, we trekked back to the parking lot, collected my bike, and proceeded to the transition area. It was SOOO hot! Over 100F with the heat index. The heat coupled with the travel day on Friday and the early start on Saturday was eft me exhausted. I couldn't wait to be finished with all of the set-up so that I could get back to the hotel and chill.

Mom and I pose for a quick pic on the way to the transition area.

When we got to the transition area I picked out a spot on the bike rack, covered my aerobottle and computer and then went down to test out the lake water. It felt a lot like a heated pool. Gotta love Florida for temperate swims!

Racking my bike with a smile on my face!

Sunday morning came early... 3:30AM to be exact! Breakfast was a packet of oatmeal with 2% milk + half of a banana. We arrived at the transition area around 4:45AM and I immediately went to work. Unlike Saturday when my bike looked lonely on the rack, the rack was now filled to capacity and just about every bike was facing the same way! Even though I knew it would make my transition time longer, I opted to set-up my items on the opposite side of the rack from where everyone else was setting up. I'm so glad that I did too... I had all the room in the world.

Setting up my transition area!

After a half hour wait in the port-a-potty line, I stripped down to my swim attire and began the tense wait for the release of my swim wave. I was in wave number 7, so I had a good half hour to watch and observe the other waves from the beach. Some folks weren't even getting out 50 yards before they were screaming for the lifeguards! I remained confident, though. I haven't been swimming since I was 3-years-old to freak out about a lake swim. Just before I made my way over to the corral, Scott told me that I better get my butt up in the front of my wave or I was going to be swimming over people! I listened to him and I'm so glad that I did. With mom just before the start of my swim wave.

Wave #7 takes off! I'm up there near the front!

The swim was really everything that I expected. Elbows flying, touching people's feet, people touching my feet... felt like swim team practice back in high school with a bit of seaweed and exhaust from the lifeguard motorboats thrown in for fun. I had zero open water practice prior to this triathlon and was relying on years of swimming experience and some SCUBA experience. Honestly, other than having to dodge bodies as I caught up to slower swimmers from the earlier waves, the swim went well. Admittedly, it is a lot of work dodging slower swimmers, but I still came out with swim ranks that I was super proud of: 80/1164 overall and 7/117 for my age group.

Exiting the swim ahead of green caps from a previous wave! 8:02!
Getting to T1 after the swim seemed to take forever! I think we had to run at least 1/4 mile! Egads! I remember thinking at one point during the run to the transition area that I had no idea 'how' I was going to bike and run yet! I think this was just my body switching blood flow back to my legs after using so much upper body strength. Once I got to T1 and started dressing up for the bike, I forgot about ever thinking that! Gearing up for the bike in T1! T1 time: 2:42

The bike course had one major problem in my book... a 1/2 mile "no passing" zone in front of the Grand Floridian Hotel. Since the course was an out and back loop, twice I had to watch my speed drop from 19-20mph down to 11 mph as I went through this zone! There were a lot of mountain bikes/hybrids in this tri and in the no passing zone, you could only go as fast as the slowest hybrid/mountain bike ahead of you. It was agonizing!!! The overall mph averages for everyone are completely skewed b/c of the this! Most of the "faster" bikers only clocked in averages between 16 and 18.5 mph!!! I averaged 16.7 thanks to this zone. I also lost my bike number about 200 yards into the course AND I lost another mesh plug for my aerobottle. I am done buying those things. I definitely learned a few things about my cycling skills yesterday. First and foremost, I am a better cyclist than I thought and second, that I definitely can give more during a race. In hind site, I feel like I relaxed too much during this leg of the race. Cycling ranks: 138/1164 overall and approx. 15/117 in my age group.

The journey back to the transition area for T2 felt nearly as long as the journey to T1... except that I didn't feel nearly as tired (like I mentioned, could've given more on the bike). My legs felt great, mindset was positive and I couldn't wait to get started with the run. Transition time for T2 was 1:34. LOVE my new lock laces! Woot!

Starting the run leg with a smile on my face!

The run through the Magic Kingdom was awesome! The park was still closed, but the cheerful course monitors and Disney cast members were a Godsend ! I noticed that I was among a lot of athletes with earlier wave starts than myself, so I knew I was doing good. All of my small post-bike mini-bricks really worked b/c I don't recall my legs ever feeling like lead. As soon as I passed the first water station, I took out a packet of GU from my race belt and began to suck it down. I ran the first mile sucking down GU. I didn't mind holding onto it and it sort of gave me something to preoccupy my mind with. My pace felt great. I started off slow (near 10:20 min/mile pace) and gradually settled into around an 8:40 min/mile as my hammys and glutes loosened up. I ended up average a 9:23 min/mile pace. I have really been working on my leg turnover and I think it's starting to pay off. I hope I continue to make progress.

In looking at my overall stats, my run is something that I definitely need to work on. The majority of the women in my age group who placed above me did so b/c they were averaging 7:40 - 8:00 min/miles or so in the run. Heck, my swim time was faster than the girl who won my age group! So running, alas, is my weak leg. I know that I can improve with time and training, though. I'm optimistic! Run ranks: 231/1164 overall and middle of the pack for my age-group.

The run finish was awesome! It was amazing to hear my name announced over the loudspeaker! The crowd was awesome! Everyone was cheering! I felt wonderful too! I have been reflecting a lot on my training and my taper. I feel like I was more than adequately prepared for this race AND I feel that my taper worked very well as I was really itching to exercise on Saturday and by the time Sunday rolled around I was really itching to exercise! My body was totally refreshed and recovered!

Crossing the finish line in 1:03:21

I feel really great today! My rhomboids and my traps are just a teeny bit sore, but other than that I feel terrific! I plan on doing a nice 3 mile recovery run this evening and then tomorrow I will sit down and figure out my training plan for the next two months. I have a one mile open water swim coming up on July 4th and then another sprint tri on July 13th.

Words of Thanks

First and foremost to my husband and my mother for supporting my efforts over the past 5 months. Training certainly takes time away from "our time" and I thank you for understanding the importance of all of the training. I love you both so very much! Scott, I can't wait until you are fully healed and we can do these things together! Big hugs to the rest of my awesome family... both here in FL and in NJ!

Chrissy K.- My private tri coach from afar! Even though it's been nearly 13 years since we last saw each other, your vigor for life, health, and the sport of triathlon shines through in every one of your inspirational messages. Thank you so very much for the words of encouragement and tips along the way. Yes, I remembered to wipe the mud mustache off!

Julie H.- Just in case you stumble across this blog someday, please know it was you who first got me to see that 'real people' actually participate in the sport of triathlon, not just elite, professional athletes. Thank you for the poolside chat and race tips. And PLEASE kick my butt in those spinning classes!

Blog friends- Kim C., Rick, Marcy, Stacy, Rachel, Marion, and Shawn. It has been a real pleasure interacting with all of you over the past few months. You guys rock and inspire me with each and every post that you make! Kim C... my mission is to get YOU to do a tri!!!