Danskin Part II: Getting My Feet Wet & Thinking Quickly
my sister and i got up before dawn on sunday and headed to Aurora Reservoir, just east of denver. i was glad we had checked out the site the day before and driven the bike course. we�d gone there after picking up our race packets and buying last-minute items at REI, so i knew what we faced�namely a HILLY bike route. i was excited and scared, all at once, alternately wondering: �Can I really do this? Will I finish? And in a respectable amount of time?�, and then thinking �This will be awesome!� we arrived in the transition area to set up our belongings, rack our bikes, and meet up w/ the three other women doing the race w/ us (my sister�s friends). since we participated as �mixed-age group� athletes, our wave would be the last to go out. that gave us time to relax, stretch & warm up, get psyched-up, eat bananas and Luna bars, hydrate, take pictures, touch up our race number markings, apply sunblock, and watch the first waves of athletes start the race. elites began just after 7am, then cancer survivors, then the oldest age group (age 70-75�s) on down to the youngest, and finally the mixed-age. as day broke, the weather looked perfect for competition. they had originally forecast a high of 95 degrees, but it was in the 80�s with no wind, and slight cloud-cover.
just before 9am, we donned our sexy wetsuits and purple swim caps and headed to a swim warm-up area. the water temperature was 71 degrees�colder than what i�m used to�but i had a good warm-up (thank goodness for the wetsuit). my most recent � mile pool swim had taken me 14 minutes, so i felt confident this would be my strength. then we lined up for the real thing and wished each other luck. as luck would have it, the sun emerged, and wind began blowing and kicking up waves in the water. at 9:09am on my watch, i stepped on the timing mat and proceeded forward. i hung back towards the back edge, which my open-water swim coach had advised as a strategy not to get swum over or kicked. so it wasn�t until 9:11am that i actually began swimming. or not.
i was instantly frustrated b/c the water was suddenly so choppy. there were white caps and huge waves & swells from the strong wind (not from other swimmers). no lie--it felt more like swimming in the ocean. i tried to freestyle a few strokes but it wasn�t an option b/c water smacked me in the face when i turned to breathe on either side. then, my brand-new purple TYR goggles started leaking. the mass of women in front of me weren�t breaking up and i wanted to lose them and plow ahead, but no one seemed to be swimming�they were all too stunned by the sudden huge swells. many were swallowing water, sputtering, and breaststroking. all i saw ahead were other swimmers� purple caps bobbing up and down in the turbulent water. we were going against the waves. not good. in my mind, breaststroke wasn�t an option b/c it�s a slow stroke and it would use too much leg strength, and my strategy going in was to save my legs for the bike and run. it hadn�t occurred to me that i�d need to use any other stroke than freestyle in the triathlon.
the waves were too large so i summoned my quick-thinking for another way to skin the cat. i quickly flipped onto my back and decided to backstroke the entire thing. i have a strong backstroke, and knew that the mechanics of it are most similar to the crawl, where i could use a "two-beat" kick to conserve leg strength, and let my arms do most of the work like propellers. it worked, and i briskly sliced through the water, churning ahead of a whole mass of women! furthermore, once i made a turn around the buoy, i used the swells to my advantage b/c i realized that they were propelling me towards shore. at 9:35am, i reached the swim finish and a volunteer helped me gain my footing as i exited the water. the swim had taken me 26 minutes! but it�s not bad, considering the choppy seas. furthermore, the backstroke tactic had worked, b/c my legs weren�t tired. i was ready to tackle the bike. but first, i had to decide whether to race the clock and zip through transition, or use it to compose myself and even pee in the port-a-jon, and then start biking w/ poise.
then...UH OH! i suddenly realized that backstroking had exposed my face to the sun and i�d already begun burning and would have to reapply SPF during transition�MORE TO COME: DANSKIN TO BE CONTINUED�
