Danskin Part III: Huffy Girls Can Grow Up To Be Triathletes, Too!
at transition, i found the bike next to mine lying across my belongings. it had fallen over and was dripping oil from the chain onto my stuff. SHIT! i set the bike up and quickly wiped black smudge from my bag w/ a tissue. i peeled off my wetsuit, put on socks & shoes & helmet & singlet, and pulled on my tight, sexy black bike shorts. then, the neighboring clunker bike fell again. DAMMIT! then i remembered my developing sunburn and fumbled for lip balm and SPF 45 and slathered it on. then i remembered i needed fuel but didn�t think i could eat much, so i ripped open a granola bar my sister had given me to take one bite. CRUNCH! uh, i�d assumed it was chewy, not crispy, and stuffed it back into the bag. i was ready to go. or not. OOPS, i�d forgotten to remove my earplugs after the swim. if i�d been more experienced at cycling, i�d have left them in and proceeded to bike, but this being my 1st bike race, i didn�t want to risk not hearing someone approaching to pass me on the left. finally, according to my watch, at 9:46am, i was on my way.
i hopped onto my bike, put on sunglasses, and started pedaling and sipping from my camelback. the prairie sun was blazing hot. i started wishing the swim had been longer and hoping i wouldn�t overheat. the 1st mile was easy and amenable to coasting and gentle pedaling. as we exited the Arapahoe Park/Aurora Reservoir Complex onto Quincy Avenue i knew what was in store for me but reminded myself that slow & steady was better than explosive bursts of pedaling that would wear me out before the toughest hills later. i�d rented a hybrid bike that handled exactly like my bike at home, so i felt some comfort and familiarity.
the loop was a 12-mile out and back loop (6 each way) on a two-lane road made of rolling hills through the high-prairie. the outbound was harder than the return b/c we were riding uphill against the wind. i�d naively figured that what goes up has to go down, but the hills were unrelenting. still, i kept pedaling, drinking, shifting gears, glancing my watch, and telling myself i�d get through. � of the way up the 1st steep hill, i came up on many women walking their bikes. so i dismounted and joined the friendly bunch! many were 1st-timers, some had come from elsewhere like myself, and had only gotten to practice on flat park trails, like me. at the top of the hills, where it was flat, i rode some more. i repeated this pattern twice more going out.
suddenly i heard my name shouted out. i turned around, happy and relieved to see my sister catch up (and pass me) on her gorgeous red italian road bike. i knew she�d feared the swim, so i�d been worried about her b/c i�d witnessed numerous women either hanging onto kayaks to rest, or being rescued by lifeguards. at transition, i�d noticed her bike still there, so i knew she was still in the water, and hoped she�d handled the choppy water ok. i hoped to see her later on the bike course, and sure enough, it happened. since she�s road-biked more than i have and is used to local hills & altitude, it didn�t surprise or bother me that she came from behind. after she passed me, i glanced at my watch and realized i�d definitely take more than an hour. my new goal was to at least finish in under 1.5 hours. the hills were killing me. as i worked my way up the final outbound hill, i saw my sister headed back, flying downhill, shouting out encouragement to me. yay!
i later learned that many women gave up and turned around before reaching the �-way point and completing the entire out course. i can�t say i blame them, but�CHEATERS! at least my slow times were honest. we had a tailwind on the return loop, so i didn�t have to walk my bike at all, and it was thrilling to zoom downhill. while there were hills on the return route, the downhill momentum propelled me up some hills. if that wasn�t enough to keep me going, guess what? remember sally edwards, the woman who starts last after the mixed wave, and paces herself to come in last? remember how i joked that i hoped i wouldn�t see sally on the course? well as i was neared the bike finish line, i actually saw sally starting her bike portion! haha! if that wasn�t a kick in the butt for me to pedal with all my might to the finish line, i don�t know what was.
as i crossed the bike finish, i glanced at my watch, relieved it hadn�t taken me 1.5 hours, but rather, 1 hour and 19 minutes. hardly impressive, but finishing in under 1.5 hours was good enough for me and i was pleased, since i�m new to the sport. (heck, i started riding in late may)! if i could do this, anyone could--isn�t it empowering to know that girls who grow up riding Huffy bikes around their neighborhoods can graduate from the cul-de-sac to triathlons? aw yeah! oddly enough, even during the killer bike course, i never once thought i wouldn�t make it. maybe it was adrenaline, maybe it was the support, maybe my bicycling abilities weren�t SO bad, or maybe it was my attitude that it�s better to finish slow than burn out.
DANSKIN TO BE CONTINUED: RUNNING & FINISH LINE ARE IN SIGHT!�
