Danskin Women's Triathlon - Chicagoland (Pleasant - TriathlonSprint


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Milwaukee, Wisconsin
United States
http://www.danskin.com/triathlon.html
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 26m 38s
Overall Rank = 251/3620
Age Group = W30-34
Age Group Rank = 36/379
Pre-race routine:

where to start??? i have the trials and tribulations of the days leading up to the race here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/index-weekly....

woke up at 3:20am. alarm was set for 4. my mom was already half awake too. made some oatmeal in the room (instant, with hot water from the coffee maker - worked great) and cold coffee from our coffee run the night before. mom had grapenuts with soy milk. got dressed and rounded up our stuff, and before we knew it, it was 4:10. met up with aunt eileen and cousins kate and colleen, who were in another room down the hall. took a while to get all 5 of us out the door, so we didn't leave until 5am (i was hoping to be on a shuttle to the race site by 5am!). arrived at the parking area, waited in a line for a while, finally parked. on a bus at about 5:45. we'd be at the race site by 6am, with 45 mins to set up transition areas. that made me calm down a bit. no flat tires overnight (bikes are checked in on saturday, and sat in the sun all afternoon, so i was worried about flats). touched up body marking, went to the bathroom (my stomach was really upset - nerves? travel? post-stomach virus? all of the above?). after we were all set, we walked to the beach. my mom and eileen were the earliest from our group to go out, in wave 5 at 7:15 or so. my cousins and i got in the looooooong line for the port-a-pots while we waited for the wave. ended up being in line for nearly an hour, but they held my place in line so i could run down to the beach and take a couple pictures. more waiting in line - to the funk of 4000 nervous women. after we had all had a turn in the yucky port-a-pots, i got into my wetsuit and headed down to the beach.
Event warmup:

did a quick swim in the water to make sure my wetsuit was pulled up in all the right places, velcro wasn't rubbing, etc.
Swim
  • 13m 57s
  • 880 yards
  • 01m 35s / 100 yards
Comments:

got in line with my wave - #19 (nearly an hour after my mom and aunt went out in their wave!). and then...I SAW HOLLIS! team javelin trisuit, same age, BT TATTOO! HOLLIS! it was SOOOOO nice to run into her. my mom and aunt went out together, and my cousins would go out together (in the mixed age group wave), so hollis was my serogate sister for about 10 minutes. thanks hollis! oh, and she also inspired me to not look at my watch...or use my timer...or do any splits. :)
What would you do differently?:

nothing (other than actually train for the swim). this was my fastest swim in a race this year! i must have been possessed by kelly for this swim! :)
Transition 1
  • 03m
Comments:

considering how HUGE the transition area was, i'm very happy with this time.
Bike
  • 38m 12s
  • 12.4 miles
  • 19.48 mile/hr
Comments:

didn't push too hard on the bike. paid attention to SAFETY first, since it was really crowded, and my cadence second. only looked at my speed at the very end, which said '18'...so that goes to show how big the transition area was! i passed a lot of people on the bike, and was only passed by 2 people - one gal in race undies and on a tri bike (zoom), and a woman from grand performace bike shop, a shop here in st. paul. i rode a little harder to catch up to her and said 'go st. paul!' and tell her i ride for county cycles. she said 'right on'...and then i passed her. a few miles later, she passed me, but i was just ahead of me most of the ride after that. the WHOLE time i was riding i was watching for my mom and aunt. i didn't think i would catch my mom on the bike - she is a strong biker for her age and had an hour head start. my aunt was very worried about the bike leg though, and i thought there was a slim chance i might see her towards the end. no luck finding her though. i really slowed down a lot and gave lots of warnings of 'on your left' when i was in crowded areas. my mom said not all the faster bikers did that, which is frustrating, since this event is supposed to be a supportive environment for first timers. anyway, i still had a good ride that was over before i really found a groove.
What would you do differently?:

not have my seat up so high. felt fine on the trainer, and fine on the ride, but hoping off i almost fell over after getting my leg caught up on the saddle!
Transition 2
  • 02m 4s
Comments:

again, considering the size of the transition area, this was just fine.
Run
  • 29m 21s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 09m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

the best thing about the run was seeing my MOM!!!! where the course turns for the out and back, there was a water station. my mom was coming back from the turn around and was on the other side of the water station. i yelled 'MOM!!!! YOU ARE FABULOUS AND 65!!!!' we got closer and i said 'i'll try and catch up to you and we can cross together' well, she only had 1/2 a mile left...and i had about 1.5 miles left. she only had about 7 minutes to get to the finish line at her pace, but i had 14! so, i never did catch up to her, but it was still a good motivator to keep me moving in the heat. i didn't see my aunt during the run, which made me nervous, especially after seeing my mom. i started to worry that maybe she had problems on the bike and had to drop out, but i hoped for the best. i crossed the finish line with a kick-a** kick, passing about 30 people. the announcer even said 'here's autumn connell coming in for a STRONG finish!'
What would you do differently?:

go faster. i really didn't push that hard, but if i had, i might have been able to cross with my mom. yet again, my ranks illustrate my areas of strength and weakness quite perfectly!
Post race
Warm down:

found my mom, who had been waiting just past the finish line for me, and gave her a HUGE hug. then i saw fiona on the shoulders of my brother-in-law, john, so i scooped her off his shoulders and carried her with me. my mom and i got our finishers' medals together. then i saw bill, and ella, and bill's mom, sandy. lots of big hugs. then ella wanted to go see the jelly belly car and go to the kids area. so, they went off to do that while my mom and i watched for my aunt and cousins.

my aunt eileen came in a little while later. i had the sign ella and fi had made for her. i cheered so much my throat still hurts. she was just beaming. we caught up with her just past the finish line, after she had her medal, and we all hugged and cried. she has been a care giver to so many people, it was fantastic to see her glory in the stong, amazing woman she is. it was a huge accomplishment for her. we waited for my cousins, who started about 30 minutes after me. after a while, we were worried we had missed them, so my mom and i decided to check under the willow tree that was to be our meet up spot if we got seperated amid the 4000 racers and many many spectators. just as we were about to go, they started to read off the age winners. i wanted to listen. i knew i wouldn't place, would be lucky to even get top 10 in my age group, but i wanted to wait and her my mom's age group results. my mom wanted to go, but i said 'no, wait, let's just listen to them all.'

'and next, in the 65-69 category, in third place, from duluth, minnesota, KATHLEEN CLARK!!!!! GO MOM!!!!!!!! she practically jumped out of her shoes. she was so thrilled. i didn't need a camera or video for that moment, because it will be burned in our memories forever. i am SOOOO proud of her. racing at 65 is an accomplishment by itself, but to place too - my mom kicks a**!!!!!

after we visited the winners' kiosk and picked up my mom's prize (a $75 gift certificate to danskin.com), we headed to the willow tree. no one was there, but by the time we got back, both my cousins had crossed the finish line. i'm sad i didn't get to see them off at the start, or at the end, but i was SO happy that they had both finished. the rest of the day involved sitting in the shade, playing with the girls, juggling 10 people, waiting in lines, saying good-bye to our cheer-leaders (bill, the girls, john, and sandy)...and then waiting to leave, etc. we got home, showered, then took a taxi to a mexican restaurant and had a great birthday dinner for my aunt.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

i wasn't aiming for fast. i didn't use my watch. i just wanted to have a good time and be at the finish line to cheer for my aunt and cousins!

(okay, but of course i still think about this one - travel throughs my system off balance, sleeping in a strange place, eating out, etc.)

Event comments:

danskin gets a 4...it was an AWESOME event, with lots of volunteers, and a great venue, and so many amazing women participating. BUT, it was SO big, that everything took a reeeeaaaaallllly long time. this ended up being really hard on the first time triathletes i was with, and for my husband and kids. the lines for the port-a-pots were really long, and the line for the shuttles back to the parking area was insane. still, it was a great race, and it was a VERY good experience overall for my mom, aunt, and cousins. i don't think i'll do it again any time soon...but who knows.

(btw, no age group ranks are listed. there were SO many people, i tried to guess at my placement by scanning through the top 100 in my age group - in general, top 10% overall and age group, 10% on swim for both, top 5% on the bike for both, top 25% on the run for both).

PICTURES COMING SOON!!!




Last updated: 2006-03-21 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:57 | 880 yards | 01m 35s / 100yards
Age Group: 30/379
Overall: 355/3620
Performance: Good
Suit: nineteen riptide full
Course: straight! my first ever experience with a point to point swim in a race. it was pretty nice....'cept for swimming directly into the early morning sun.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:38:12 | 12.4 miles | 19.48 mile/hr
Age Group: 21/379
Overall: 181/3620
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: rolling course of an out, connecting to a loop, then a back. hills were pretty easy.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:04
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:29:21 | 03.1 miles | 09m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 92/379
Overall: 812/3620
Performance: Below average
Course: around the lake, then a small out and back part, then continuing around the lake to the finish line.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4