The Danskin Report '07

August 19, 2007
9th in Elite Division, 11th OA

Swim 10:32
T1 1:56
Bike: 35:21
T2: 1:36
Run: 22:34 (7:16 pace)
Total: 1:12:00

Photo: A future Elite wave? (Camille & friends)

This was my 4th Danskin, 5th triathlon of this season and 21st triathlon since 2004 when I first became infected with the triathlon virus. For the first time, I entered as an “Elite”, having qualified by placing in my age group last year. I knew I’d be giving up a probable age group (AG) placing or win by doing this and not earn a USAT ranking for this race (one seasonal goal being to get my required 3 USAT sanctioned races done so as to earn a yearly ranking). I got busy with my homework and looked over past years’ race results and Googled every woman entered as an Elite. When I found results for someone in a race I had not done, I could compared their swim, bike or run splits with other people in that race who were known to me that I had raced against. So I came up with some ideas on where I might place in this group. Best case/worst case guesses. I was pretty confident I would not be last among the 17 or so signed up and I knew there were definitely 8 who would beat me by many minutes, up to 14 minutes or so. Plus a few more who would be close, maybe within a minute or two. So now that it’s over, I’m happy to report that not only are my powers of prediction pretty good, but that I did meet several goals and achieved pretty close to a “best case” outcome.

First I’ll tell you about the race. It rained. There was a head wind on part of the bike leg. At least it wasn’t cold though. The Elites are the first wave of a race, which was a huge plus to doing this. The Danskin is notoriously crowded, making the swim course a challenge of threading your way through lots of obstacles (other swimmers, floaters, side-strokers and whatnot) and the bike is a bit risky what with all the passing and 3 abreast knots of riders to negotiate.

The gun went off and I had a nice strong swim. I’ve been a little frustrated with some swims this season not feeling all that sharp, but this was better. I don’t know that my time reflects it since a couple other people I compare myself to still out-swum me, but it felt like I worked hard. Bonus that in the last 100 yards of the swim I managed to overtake a group of about 4 swimmers who had been ahead of me earlier in the swim. There is Mary M in the photo, the swim coordinator cheering me on and wearing her trademark "Get Out There" jacket (or "Get Over It" as some of us joke).

Out of the water and back to the bike racks for transition 1, I fumbled a bit and didn’t have a very slick T1, which is usually something I’m good at. My pal Darcy says she was right there, in my face, yelling at me. Never saw or heard her.

Now for the bike leg, a 12 mile ride. I worked it hard and though I expected this to be the place that I would be overtaken several times by stronger riders, it only happened twice. It’s difficult to compare this year’s bike time to last year’s. Even though it’s the same course, the weather conditions and headwinds vary. But I did have a clear course this year and no other riders to deal with, so I expected a faster time. Alas! It was only 2 seconds faster this year. My mph average was 21. The fastest woman on the bike, Jill F., a local who is 43, averaged a sizzling 25.3 mph (followed by 24.4 for the out-of-town pro who dropped in to win the race). I mention Jill’s age since one of the things I am proud of is having a good race and going with the Elites at age 50. All the other Elites except Jill and me were mid-20 to 30-somethings. Young pups. Do I get a handicap? An age-grading adjustment? Afraid not.

On to T2, then out the chute for the 5K run. The run is so mental for me. It’s about hanging onto a pace despite the temptation to fade into a more comfortable zone. I usually find some little mantra to repeat in my head to keep me focused at the same time distracting me from discomfort and negative thoughts like “I’m tired. My legs don’t feel good. When is this over? Are we there yet? Just one small rest?” I love the mile markers so I can tell how I’m doing. First mile: 7:14. Yes! Now the challenge was to hang onto that. In past seasons, my first mile would be decent but I’d slump by the 3rd. Second mile: 7:16. Great. The third mile in this race has the hill. Not a long hill, not a terribly steep hill. But a hill that can throw off your pace, make you breathless and nauseated and dizzy. So I run the damn hill. “Hhh—ayy!” I grunt. That translates to “Hi Scott, how you doing? Are you enjoying that nice latte’ on this rainy Sunday morning?” A friend from swimming saw me and had called out a hello to me as I was shuffling over the crest of the hill. Well, now for the downhill home stretch, about the last ½ mile. I always imagine and visualize just going fast here, flying, zooming, sweeping down like an eagle. I mean, how hard can a downhill finish be? Well, it’s hard if you are trying to go fast and already tired. I love the finish line part. It’s what you look forward to but it’s over so fast. Was it two people who passed me on the run and one that I passed? (I expected to be overtaken more than that).
Here's my typical bendover finish.

Anyway, I finished 9th in the Elite wave (though I should have been 10th; Teresa N. had a flat tire, otherwise she would have placed Top 3 most likely). Overall, I was 11th, with 2 Age Groupers bumping me down a couple notches. Despite a fumbled T1 and not improving on the bike, my average run pace of 7:16 is my best ever, whether triathlon or just a 5K, and I am happy about that!

Although I enjoyed a wide open race course (except for the swim start), I could see the congestion as I came back on the bike, encountered a very hectic transition area at T2 and viewed the packed swim course when I ran past that. I heard of many crashes on the bike. The rain, slick roads and closer wave send-offs than usual (thanks to the City of Seattle wanting to get this race over sooner and re-open roads due to construction issues in the area), made for a crazy-crowded race. But the general euphoria of race day seemed to predominate despite those challenges. I enjoyed my energetic euphoric haze for several hours, shared congratulations, happy hugs and race debriefing with my racing friends Ann, Gina, Val, Hillary, Sandy, Darcy and others. Then brunched at Leschi with my good pal Darcy, went home to laundry, dealing with wet race gear and a warm shower. I was all ready for a well-deserved nap (I had been up since 4 a.m.), when I saw that race results were already posted online. Ach! Pouring over all that must be the 5th leg of a triathlon (the 4th leg is nutrition, isn't it?). Here is Darcy and her family post-race. Darcy had a fine race, finishing 8th in her very competitive AG and coming off of injuries from last season. Darcy - we'll get that bib number OUT of your gear bag before T2 next time, OK?