The Danskin Report '04

Danskin Sprint
August 15, 2004

4th in AG (45-49), 53 OA (of 3442)
Swim: 20:16
T: 1:57
Bike: 37:05
T2: 1:37
Run: 27:31 (pace 8:52)
Total: 1:29:28

Living in Seattle, it's hard not to have heard of "The Danskin", or know some woman who has done it. For years, as I vaguely became aware of triathlons, I thought I might someday do one. After all,

1. I could swim. I was on swim team in high school (Federal Way High School, Class of '75) and had done some swimming for fitness on and off over the years.

2. I could run. In the 1980's, I experimented with jogging, did a few 5Ks and even made it through a marathon when in my 20's (with a very unspectacular time of around 4:20). I wasn't fast, but I could get through it.

3. I could bike. Recreational cycling I did occasionally, sometimes hauling gear in my panniers to camp under the stars on San Juan Island trips. In 1991, I did the STP 2 day ride (Seattle to Portland, about 200 miles total) and averaged 16 mph for each 100-mile day.

String these activities all together and maybe I could claim having done an Iron distance tri (um, with each event separated by a "transition" of several years)? Just kidding.

I enjoyed a generally active lifestyle and hiked, backpacked, did aerobics classes, played some softball and volleyball, took the stairs instead of the elevator, raked instead of using the blower, carried the baby on my back instead of pushing a stroller.... Oh, there's that baby now! Camille is on the right, she must have been about 3 years old. She didn't become a triathlon orphan until later, when she was 8.

After a couple of years of overhearing chatter at the gym from a younger group of moms, my interest finally piqued. If they can do it, so can I, I thought. They were strong and energetic in aerobics classes, but I was at least as fit as they were. A little competitiveness stirred in me. Not only would I sign up for the Danskin, I wanted to have a better finishing time than these gals.

In March of '04, I reacquainted myself with swimming and running and maybe got a workout or two in each week, while continuing aerobics classes. By April, the old bike was tuned and on the road again. To further prepare, I picked the brains of anyone who I met who had done a triathlon and was introduced to a whole new world. A suggestion I picked up in the locker room after a lap swim was to go to Mary Meyer's swim clinics. So I did. I had been a decent swimmer, but never had heard any of the technique tips I picked up at that first clinic. Ideas like swimming horizontally, rotation, catching the water, not crossing the midline had never occurred to me, but made perfect sense. I still work on these technique points (when fatigue sets in or focus lags, it's easy to slip into old bad habits). From the clinic, I went to an Intro to Triathlon presentation and got tons of useful info for a first timer. I haven't stopped recommending that to people since. Once I started training in earnest, I lost interest in running to the T.V. every time Derek Jeter, the object of my schoolgirl crush, came up to bat. One must make sacrifices for their sport.


At first I didn't tell anyone that I had registered for the race, thinking that if it seemed too daunting a task, I could quietly slip out the back door on this thing and no one would ever have to know. But pretty soon people knew and what came from my mouth was a lot of "I just want to finish". As a month or two of training went by, I saw that "just finishing" was aiming much too low, and I continued to upgrade my goals as I learned more about my abilities. By July, I felt I could try my first race as a warm-up experience so did Seafair. Placing 3rd, forced me to reconsider my goals yet again for the Danskin. I went from "just finish" or "place in the upper 50% of my AG" to aiming for top 10% of my age group. By a week before the Danskin, I was bold enough to say "Top 10 of my Age Group" - that's what I want (not just top ten percent, which would have been about 30 women).


I like to share that thought process because I think it is so typical to underestimate our potential or be unrealistic about goals. I came into this endeavor as athletically better-than-average but untrained, a middle-aged mom, with maybe a few athletic skills and experiences in my bag of tricks. I was sure everyone else came from competitive backgrounds, college-level training and had all sorts of other intimidating athletic resumes'. Aim low and cling to fear, and you will sabotage yourself.

Though this wasn't my first tri, it was "The One" that this season was about. The race was challenging and fun, and all the happy talk I'd heard about Danskin appeared to be true - how supportive everyone is, what a "feel good" experience it is and all that. The race was great and I was so happy to have placed 4th in my AG!

Well, I was in great shape and excited, not burned out, so I figured, why stop now? I went on to do a couple more races in the next few weeks and will have something to say about those experiences another time (Lake Sammamish sprint and The Reebok sprint). I think he misses me: