Danskin 2010
As I prepare to do the swim portion of the Danskin Tri this year, I reflect on the Tri I did a few years ago. I posted a race report at beginnertrialthete.com. Here it is for your reading enjoyment. Just remember, girls, DFL is better than DNF. 🙂 ~Lali
Pre-race routine:
Went to the bike racking when someone helpful told us in the parking lot that we could not rack until we had checked in. Good thing before we unloaded our bikes and put them on the ferry. Checked in on Saturday, got body marked and attended a 1st timers seminar hosted by Sally Edwards. Went and racked our bikes. I practiced the walk down to start and back from the finish on the swim without my glasses since I am practically blind without them. Arrived on site at 5:45 Sunday to set up the transition. As I was going down to the waterfront to get water to rinse after the swim, they announced that all athletes had to be out of the transition area. I had a moment of panic as I did not have my goggles, cap, or timing chip on. I hurried back cause I have no idea how strict they are about that sort of thing.
Event warmup:
Walked up and down the beach and watched the other waves go out (as best I could without my glasses). Tried to get my bearings and figure out which of those blurry objects were the bouys.
Swim
Comments:
The main challege was staying oriented as I don’t have good vision w/out my glasses. Also, I feel I could have gone faster but the field was very crowded. Everyone was being so nice and polite that I didn’t want to just try and climb over people.
What would you do differently?:
Invest in prescription goggles. Next time, I will also try to get right out in front quickly.
T1
Comments:
Though I was kicking myself during the bike for taking so long, I really am glad I took my time. I needed it to calm down and get focused. Drank a bottle of Gatorade… really shouldn’t have… nearly threw up in the 1st 5 minutes of the bike leg.
What would you do differently?:
Practice the transition at home several times before race day.
Bike
Comments:
Hillier than I expected. I would have liked the distances to be marked on the course. Don’t know if this is typically done. Though I did train, I was surprised by the difficulty of the bike. Also, the course wound up being 10 miles instead of 9 like we thought when we were racing. Not having had much experience on a bike I am satisfied with my performance. I was mad that there were people passing in the no passing zone. I saw several near-collisions because people were not expecting others to try and pass. It seemed a shame to be needlessly careless like that. Otherwise, there was a lot of support and encouragement from the other women.
What would you do differently?:
Rent a road bike for training and racing. Possibly look into buying one used.
T2
Comments:
I was under the gun cause the cut off to start the run was about 10 minutes away when I got to the dismount point. I really wanted to get moving, but of course my legs were not cooperating. My friend waited for me even though she got in to T2 2 minutes ahead of me. What a pal!
What would you do differently?:
Bike faster!
Run
Comments:
I knew this would be my weakest area. But, I had the comfort of knowing that I could go as slow as I wanted (unlike the bike)! As we exited the park heading up to the finish line, I saw my husband and my son waving to me! It was a big boost as I finished the race. If it were not for my racing friend, I could not have finished this part on my own. She was a huge motivation for me and very supportive.
What would you do differently?:
Running is the worst for me so I just needed to train more. I need to get a running partner cause I find it hard to push myself on the run when I am alone.
Post race
Warm down:
Walked up and down the transition area… stepped in a hole, fell on my face.
What limited your ability to perform faster:
My big a**. Now that I know what I will feel like during the race, I understand where my training fell short. I just did not push hard enough during my training sessions.
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