2008 Danskin Sprint Triathlon

The day I have waited for, for a year, finally came--a chance to beat the hell out of my time at the 2007 Danskin. Last week I did a rehearsal and knew I was on track to do well (over last year). I got up at 315 or 330am (can't remember---still sleeping!) and packed the car, ate some oatmeal, got my water bottle with drink mix ready. I put on my CWW team tri suit, covered up with some long work out pants and a jacket with a hood. At 410am I was on my way to Aurora Reservoir for 2008 Danskin. I ended up getting there about 450am, unpacked my car, and walked with a fellow Danskin triathlete to the transition area. We were there nice and early so we got a great spot, really close to transition. Granted, we had to sacrifice hours of sleep, but hey---whatever it takes to get out of transition faster! Transition was soooo full last year, but that was not the case for a while this year. My new friend and I were both surprised at how long it took people to get there and get set up. So I was standing around, wondering how best to use the 2 hours until my wave blasted off. Alicia (?? can't remember her name now) and I took a walk down to the water, talked to some people about the course, felt the water, and walked back to our area. Then I decided to do a 1.5 mile jog to warm up including some stretches. Next I squeeeeeeezed into my wetsuit! Whew! That is a job! It is hard to get all of the air pockets out of it, and get it up your arms and legs enough. I was tired already!

So the wetsuit finally got zipped up and off to the water we went. (Yes, I learned to pee IN my wetsuit. Sorry to all of you who think it's gross. It sucks more to have to pee and have to stop all of the time at the port-o-potty at every transition.) This year the course was modified. Instead of 800 meters, it was only 400 meters. I heard that the water was deemed too cold (ok, I didn't think so, but hey....) to do a full 800 meters. Honestly, the swim portion felt like a joke. It cheated all the people whose best leg is the swim! And it interfered with me figuring out how much I had truly improved over last year. Anyway.....

So I got out of the water and my watch said something ridiculous like 3 minutes 50 seconds, so my watch may have been accidentally stopped in the water--I don't know. Needless to say, I did not trust my watch the entire tri and didn't keep my own splits due to that reading. It was nice not feeling like I had to remember to start and stop the watch, though.

when I got out of the water, stripped off my goggles, swim cap, and started getting my wetsuit pulled down, I ran into Mom and John. They were in transition! They came over to my transition area and asked me if I needed help. That was sweet, but I told them no. Talk about getting disqualified!

Then it was off on the bike! CRAP!! I got into the right area to get on my bike, but I couldn't get my damn shoe clipped in. That's not a strange happening, I was just pissed that it was eating time! Oh, before I keep blabbing, the bike course was also changed!!!! 10 miles instead of 12, and new roads. I didn't like the new course at all. Partly because I am not comfortable making a lot of turns yet, and partly because I was mentally prepared for last year's course. I passed some people and tried to stay strong. We'll see what the clock says. I hope I averaged at least 15 mph. There were alot of hills, though. I passed people instead of being passed all of the time. That was a nince treat!

So finally I got off of the bike and to transition 2. I had to pee---so I got all of my running gear on, and off to the port-o-potty. There are pictures of me coming out of it I guess.

The run was pretty good, surprisingly. I told myself to imagine that I was out for a nice jog, relaxed, calm, easy pace. It worked for a bit, then I was tired and wanted to walk. BUT I DIDN'T! In fact, I ran the whole 3.1 miles and I finished strong.

Looking forward to seeing the splits.

That's it. No funny story this year.