Danskin 2009: I survived..kind of about the same as always

John mentioned in a previous post that I raced in the Danskin last weekend. This was my third time doing the Danskin and the second time it has happened around a life altering event. My very first Danskin, and my first triathlon in general, occurred two weeks before John and I were married in 2002. My good friend Melany was the inspiration for the start of triathlons, and biking and swimming in general, and we had a blast racing together,along with my other good friend Christi. The second time I raced Danskin was in New England in 2006, where I raced it with Melany's sister Sarah (who was living in Maine at the time) and my friend Shan. I came out of this race so proud of my bike time since I had been racing bikes that year and felt like I had really flown on the bike (I borrowed my friend Caitlin's time trial bike, which was especially fun). My first triathlon was during the year I had joined the Master's swim team in Seattle (also inspired by Melany) and so my strongest leg was definitely my swim. So that brings us to the third Danskin, just a mere 15 weeks after I had given birth, following 50 weeks of exercise that all occurred at or below a heart rate of 145 beats per minute. So I was prepared to be happy if I just finished this race, in fact ecstatic, and I was. I was even happier that despite the fact that I had only run 2.5miles at most so far, I managed to 'run' the full 2.9 miles. I say run since this is the slowest I've ever been in my life, but it was still a huge accomplishment for everything my body has been through in the last year. Despite the fact that I know I should be happy about this race, I can't help but be a little bummed that there is only a 6 minute difference in my race times between my very best fitness (2006) and my very worst fitness (now). I suppose it make sense, when a race is so short the accumulated difference in time due to a slower pace won't be as dramatic, but still..it makes me wonder if I've ever actually been in good shape? Or if there's no point in even training?? In fact, more depressing is the fact that my swim this year was the fastest it has ever been, and I only swam three times prior to the race! I'm attributing this to extra buoyancy, but really, mentally I would have been happier to have been a slower swimmer as opposed to a better floater due to additional baby weight.

Despite my mixed feelings about my performance and my annoyance with the sheer size of the Danskin (3500 people this year=1.5 hour wait for the port-a-potty before the race), finishing the race with a friend is an absolutely fabulous experience. This was Megan's first triathlon and hugging her after the race reminded me of my first experience with Melany and Christi, and I was just as happy this year to have 'survived' as I was that first year. Doing this race and writing this post has also reminded me of how much my general lifestyle has changed in the last (gulp) 7 years, I would definitely say for the better. I'm also reminded that John, just like he is in every other part of my life, is as supportive as ever. I'm very thankful to have the physical ability to compete in an event like this, the support of my family, and the best of friends to do it with.