's Danskin report

[Guest guest]

Sunday I finished my 5th Danskin Tri. I really wanted that medal!! On Saturday

morning I headed down to the expo to get my number and register. It was crazy,

but considering the crowds, it was an organized chaos and it went pretty well.

I kept looking for my friends who were doing it too, including Tory I had 5

friends doing this for the first time! I saw other people I knew but didn't

know they were doing Danskin! That was fun. Including my daughter's teacher

she'll have this year. I won't be able to go to the " meet the teacher " day, so

I introduced myself then. After about 30 minutes in line I spotted Deena, and

right at the same time, the 2 women in front of me and I started calling

" DEENA!! " Then we laughed that we knew the same Deena. She's in Team Survivor,

just 2 months out of her second chemo for breast cancer. From then, the line

moved faster! Got marked, looked up some other numbers of friends, got my

shirt, swim cap and goody bag. I didn't get anything at the expo but I did join

the local bike club. By then I had a headache and just wanted to get my bike

racked and get home! Drove to the park to rack my bike- it was early enough

that I got a good end spot just between the bike start and bike finish. Came

home to a quiet house- Tom and the girls had gone with a group of neighbors to

go river tubing in Leavenworth.

Got my stuff together. That night I could not sleep. I was awake every half

hour and finally got up at 4. Made coffee and my usual pre-race peanut butter

sandwich on whole wheat. This time I just could not eat it. Saved it for in the

car- still couldn't eat it, it just made me gag. I picked up Deena and we were

off. Got to the shuttle area at 5:45. Got to the park and got set up. Still

couldn't eat my sandwich. Found my friend a, who was set up just behind

me. We walked over to where her daughter was racked up, she's 14 and was over

by TS. Didn't see Deena or Tory and figured they must be down by the swim start

already. We got in the porta-potty line, double checked our stuff, I tried a

bite of my sandwich and finally threw it away, and went down to the start. It

is so exciting. The elites were just about to come in- it seemed like they were

taking a very long time- it had been about 15 minutes since they started, and

usually they come in much faster, and those buoys sure looked far apart.

Finally it was time for the green group, wave 10 to line up. Sally does

a great job with the pep talk and the send off. Our word was " superb " . I had

my eye on the first buoy, determined to swim straight! We counted down and then

we were off. I got a couple big mouthfuls of water, and it took me forever to

find my groove. That buoy just seemed to get further and further away! I

forgot to start my watch, but it's hard to look at a watch in the water anyway.

I just kept thinking " swim swim swim " . Finally it was over. I tried to run out

of the water, but almost threw up. I decided I'd rather walk than throw up in

front of all the spectators who were cheering us in. Got to my bike and sat

down to put my shoes on. Usually I just stay standing to get them on ASAP, but

I just sat there for a minute. Got my shoes on, tried to eat my Luna bar- lemon

flavor but the smell of the lemon had me gagging. This is not me, I never have

a problem eating! I knew I needed to eat because I only had water and not

Gatorade in my bottles. I could only choke down 2 small bites. The water was

good though, I drank a good amount. Ran over to the bike start and was off.

Now last week I had done a 25 mile ride at a good clip of 16 mph and was hardly

winded. So I was not expecting to get on my bike and just be out of gas at the

beginning! I had to be in my easier gear at the beginning. The swim wasn't

great, and I was counting on making up speed on the bike. a started in

the wave ahead of me, and I really wanted to catch her so that we could cross

the finish together. After the first mile on the bike, and being discouraged by

the low numbers on my speedometer, I just decided that my goal for the day would

be to finish and get the medal. It was a beautiful day in Seattle, the race

course is very scenic, the women are phenomenal, and I was going to be just

happy to be there. I'm not competitive with my times anyway, but had to accept

that my personal best for that day was not going to be what I expected going in.

I was worried about the hill up to the express lanes- it is narrow and has a

pretty sharp turn and is a bit steep. I was having to shift for the little tiny

rolling hills that I'd not noticed were even there.....I expected to have to

walk up the hill, but I made it up the hill. I was breathing so hard but I did

it. Talk about digging deep! Once on the freeway, I started looking for my

friends on their return. I saw Tory, but didn't realize it was her until it was

too late to get her attention. She looked strong and happy! Then I saw

a, same thing, she didn't hear me either. It's not like I'm loud anyway,

and I was still barely having enough energy to breathe, let alone yell! Plus,

going so fast in the opposite direction, you'd have to recognize the other

person pretty early to get their attention. I didn't see Deena or the others.

It was so beautiful riding across the bridge. We turned around and the second

half was much easier for me than the first. I made a wrong turn coming in so

had a nice little tour of the transition area looking for the right area. Got

the bike racked, changed my shoes, remembered to take off my helmet, and grabbed

a handful of Sharkies (kind of like Gatorade gummy bears) and my water. I

stopped bringing Gatorade (or similar drinks) to races because I found I

preferred food and water- but now I think I need to have it as a back up! Almost

got to the run start and realized I'd forgotten my number, so went back and got

the race belt with the number. It probably wouldn't have mattered, but I had to

have it! I tried to run, but almost threw up again. Walked as I drank my

water. Started talking to a nice woman who had started in wave 2, was a

survivor, her son flew up to see her race, and she had taken a break to talk to

him. We had a great conversation. Since I'd already decided that this was just

a walk in the park when I felt like I could give running another try, I decided

that I'd much rather enjoy Jody's company. I'd already lost any chance of a

personal best " time " so I was going to enjoy my time. We finally got to the big

hill Tory mentioned in her report and I knew the end was near. I told Jody I'd

be cheering her in and took off. I cried when the volunteer put the ribbon with

the medal around my neck (again). Then I saw Deena and we cried again. Jody

came in, and Deena and I cheered her in. It was great. From a race performance

viewpoint, this wasn't my best race. In fact, it was by far my worst! I had no

energy, I felt lousy, I was slow! But, from an emotional view, it was probably

the best. Seeing Tory with her big smile on the bike and knowing what she went

through to get there, and knowing that Deena was out there just 2 months out of

chemo fighting stage IV cancer, just being in the company of 4000 incredible

women athletes was just so huge. I can't even put words to it.

This is long and rambly- maybe I should've had my coffee first!!