Princess Runner

This is part two of my Danskin Chicagoland experience. To read part one, go here: Danskin Chicagoland Part I.

During the night, I kept waking up every few hours, something I do anytime I have to get up early for something. The alarm had been set for 4:00 a.m. because I was worried that we would encounter the insane amount of traffic that we had on Saturday and didn’t want to miss out on having plenty of time to set up my transition area, which would close at 6:30. However, I woke up at 2:45 and could not fall back asleep so I went into the other room (it was a small suite) and watched two episodes of Roseanne (David secretly moves in with Darlene and Dan has lunch with an old flame) while having some food. I then put on my sunscreen, freaked out a bit when my number ran down my arm, and then got dressed. I re-checked my bag three times before waking Prince E up at 3:50am as visions of a full parking lot danced in my head.

We left pretty shortly after that, maybe 4:15 or so. Back in February when I originally signed up for the Danskin Triathlon, I remembered thinking of how potentially hot the weather could be come July 13th. I was shocked that the high for the day was in the 70s and I was actually chilly prior to the event. I remarked to Prince E the irony that an event in July would be approximately 20 degrees cooler than the marathon last year which was in October. Weather is a strange thing.

We went to get on the highway (the hotel was a few exits away from the mall/parking lot) only to discover that the on-ramp was closed! It was not that big of a deal, though, because there was an access road that paralleled the highway and we were able to get where we needed to be. Although I had envisioned a parking lot filled with hyper women, when we got to the mall it was practically empty. There were maybe 25 cars there.

We quickly got all of our things together and began the mile and half or so walk to the race start area. It was not soon after we began that I realized that despite my extensive planning, there was one thing I forgot: insect repellent. Given that we were walking down a highway next to a marshy area, it was still pitch black out, and I had on sweet smelling sunscreen, I was a prime target for the mosquitoes. We walked and swatted bugs away left and right. Prince E had an emergency rain jacket in his bag, so he was a bit more protected than I was. I tried jogging, but the mosquitoes still ate me and it made it more difficult to swat them. We finally got to the race site, but not before I had acquired 23 bites (yes, we counted). There were several on my neck which would get a horrified reaction from the EMT at the medical tent when I inquired about anti-itch cream (they didn’t have any because their supplies had not yet arrived, given that it was not even 5:30 yet).

I tried to ignore my itching and went to set up my transition area. Although I had read that I should get there with 30-40 minutes to set up, I was finished in about 10. I used one of the porta potties inside the transition area and saw eventual race winner Lauren Jesnen. It was now barely 6:00 a.m. and my wave would not be starting until after 8:00 a.m. We sat around and waited awhile. I then went and checked my transition area. The woman who put her stuff next to me was encroaching a bit, but I still had enough room. Someone had tied a monkey balloon a few bikes down to help them find their stuff during transitions and it worked to help me find my area too (and cost me nothing).

I was getting chilly waiting where we were, so I decided we should go wait by the beach because it was in the sun. We walked over to the beach area about 20 minutes before the elite wave started. We used the bathrooms in the beach house and then sat a picnic table. It was pretty quiet where we were, a stark contrast to the masses of people a few hundred yards down the beach. I could hear everything the announcer said, though, so there was no point being in that crowd if I didn’t have to. We watched the elites go and then another 15 waves before I even went over to the start area (I was wave 21). About 15-20 minutes before I got in the water, I saw the race leaders run by on the run leg. It would be awhile before I would be back at that spot for the run.

As we waited, I could also hear Sally Edwards giving each group of swimmers encouragement. She had everyone high-five each other and say “You go girl.” She then gave each wave an adjective to describe them, such as phenomenal or amazing. They then had to say “I am a phenomenal swimmer, I am an phenomenal cyclist, etc.” It was the same exercise I had to do when I saw her speak at the REI a few months ago. The strange thing was that although I could hear every word she said from my position way down the beach, when I was actually in the group she was speaking to, I could not hear much of what she said. The guy on the microphone and the music were both too loud. I was able to make out that my group was “exceptional.” I was really fidgety at the start and just wanted to get going already.

Here is a video of my wave starting the swim (finally):

The swim was pretty interesting. My open water swim experience is limited to the lake at my aunt’s house growing up and brief jaunts into both oceans over the years. However, I have never swam (swum?) for a half mile in anything but a pool and certainly not with so many people. The navigating around people was not so much the problem, as the effect all those bodies had on the waves. I had trouble with my normal freestyle breathing because the waves kept splashing me in the face when I went to breathe. I spent time on the backstroke and breast stroke while the pack thinned a bit. Of course pretty soon the front of the pack from the wave behind me caught up and I went through the whole wave thing again. Despite my fears, I was never kicked in the face, but did get a kick to my shoulder twice.

Prince E had outfitted my swim cap with pink racing stripes so he could easily spot me in the water. As a result, I have great photos where you can actually pick me out of the crowd. He was wearing a bright orange shirt, so I could easily pick him out on the shoreline. I even stopped and waved to him, but then I got afraid that the lifeguard would think I was signaling for help.

Toward the end of the swim I heard one of the swim angels, these fabulous volunteers who are in the water in case a woman starts struggling, talking to a woman and telling her to open her eyes and breathe. The woman was hyperventilating a bit which freaked me out. Although the swim felt like it took an eternity, I finished five minutes faster than my in-the-pool time trial (which was 50 yards less than what I swam in the race): 19 minutes, 15 seconds for 1/2 mile.

Once you hit the beach, there is a bit of a slope you have to run up. I spotted Prince E on the sidelines again (he managed to navigate the course the whole day and saw me at every start and finish!) and began to run to my transition area. I thought it was interesting that many of the other women were just sorting of sauntering around. I got to transition and managed to remember to do all the necessary things and grab everything I needed. By the time I was out of transition, 5 minutes, 59 seconds later, Prince E was already on the sidelines of the bike course to catch the photo below.

As I started the bike course, I was so happy to have done so well at the swim and I had no idea that the bike course would actually be harder for me than the swim. Although I ended up with the exact time that I thought I would have (just under an hour), I really had to work to get that time. I think if the conditions had been a bit better, I could have easily averaged closer to 13 or 14 miles per hour instead. The rolling hills were a problem, but the wind was more of an issue. There was a strong enough cross-wind at times that I actually felt my bike move side-to-side. I honestly thought that there was something wrong with the bike because it just wouldn’t go without substantial effort on my part.

I got really discouraged going up some of the hills because I was being passed by people on mountain bikes and granny cruiser bikes. While I expected people will nicer bikes to pass me, I realized when I was being passed by people that it was just me that was going slow and could not really blame my bike. I thought I had a good understanding of what gears to use when, but maybe not. Or maybe it was me just not wanting to push myself. Or maybe I was tired from the swim. Or maybe the fact that I had finished the swim and had not crashed yet on the bike that put me more into cruise-mode than push-really-hard-mode. Whatever the reason, I felt like I had to put in a lot of effort for my 12.6 mph average while everyone else zipped by me at 15 mph plus. Even the downhills were not as fast as I am used to.

The bike course ends right next to where is began, so I saw Prince E again waiting for me in the same spot I left him an hour before. I thankfully managed to dismount without falling over. You have no idea how grateful I was to have not fallen the entire time I was on the bike. I think that a large part of the reason I don’t enjoy the bike as much is because I am afraid of falling and afraid that I will have a bike malfunction. I spend a lot of time needlessly worrying that there is something wrong with my bike. I also did not take in enough liquid on the bike because it was difficult for me to get my bottle back in the holder while I was riding with the wind. I actually had to stop and put it back in at one point.
Bike Time: 58:39 for 12.4 miles, 12.6 mph average.

I got into transition and was switching into my running gear when I heard Prince E on his megaphone. I was not in too much of a hurry, obviously, as I had time to wave at him. You can see the monkey balloon to the left of me in the photo.

As I left transition, I was in a sprint, which was probably the fastest I ran all day. When I got out onto the path, I slowed down and then began walking as I had some Clif Shot Blocks. I realized that I had too much water to drink during the transition, as my tummy was a bit sloshy. I also needed to use the bathroom, so I stopped at the Porta-Potty about 1/2 mile in. I took my time (the one piece tri suit was great, except for the added time needed to unzip it all to use the bathroom) and even made sure my hair looked okay in the little mirror for pictures. Vanity won out over speed this time.

Back on the path, I ran by where I had been standing waiting for my swim wave when I had seen Lauren Jensen race by during her run leg. She finished the whole race before I even started the swim with a time of 1:02:24.

I alternated running and walking and wished I had not listened to the rules and left my iPod at home. I could have really used some tunes at that point. The course of the run went on a running path through the park next to the lake and it was really a very pretty setting, although there was no shade. Thankfully the temperature was still fairly low, but I could have used a little relief from the sun. During the last 1/2 mile of the run, the course sidelines were filled with people and I got several high-fives from little kids. That always makes me smile.

I kicked it up during the last part and according to my Garmin my last .1 was at a 5:30 minute pace. Mostly that was because I wanted to pass one woman that was ahead of me. And I did. I was a little confused where the finish line actually was because there were two (maybe three?) sets of timing mats, so I just kept running until I saw the people with the medals, getting my congratulatory high five from Sally Edwards in the process. Run time: 44:42. Overall time: 2:13:55.

As I slowed to a walk to catch my breath, Prince E called to me from the sideline. He told me that I did not do the pirouette that I had planned over the finish line. So I did it right there. Everyone around me got a good laugh at that.

I think there was supposed to be post-race food, but I only saw a booth selling dippin’ dots. I went and gathered my stuff from transition and then had to wait in line to get out as they checked everyone’s bike number to make sure it matched the racer. I overheard a woman talking about the bike course and she said, “I have never had to pedal so hard to go downhill.” I understood exactly what she was saying and was glad I wasn’t the only one.

Prince E and I then had to walk all the way back to the car. I was feeling fine, except for one blister between two toes on my left foot. That and I was tired. We got back to the car and got the hell out of town, glad to leave the masses of people behind. We stopped a few miles later at an oasis for some celebratory McDonald’s. I spent the rest of the day on the couch, including a two hour nap.

Overall, it was a great experience and I would love to do it again, although there were too many people to my liking. This was definitely the perfect event for a first timer because everyone is so nice to one another and it really is just about the experience and doing something great for yourself.

The End.