On Sunday, August 2, I participated in my most memorable triathlon to date – the Danksin Women’s Triathlon in Philadelphia (formerly SheRox Philly). This was my second time doing this race and I was looking forward to seeing how my time would improve after doing Crossfit.
It rained a bit overnight and there were sprinkles about 2 hours before the race. As a result, the organizers delayed the start in order to assess the water quality and safety. After having a good open water swim on Friday, I was rested and ready to tackle the course. In the end, they decided to cancel the swim b/c there was too much debris and the river’s current was picking up. I was bummed!! The race was changed to a duathlon (1.5 mi run, 15.5 mi bike, 3.1 mi run). I don’t like to run so the thought of running twice was fun at all.
The race had about 2500 participants staged in 14 waves. My wave was the 11th to go off, which meant that we’d start about 50 minutes after the pros. With the swim delay, the race didn’t start until about 8:45 instead of 8am and my wave was now scheduled to go at 9:35. My teammates, Kelly and Carla, were in waves 10 and 11 so we all hung out until the start.
Run 1
The gun went off and I felt ready. Lloyd’s advice was to not go out too fast, but not so slow that I could chat. I did talk to a lady next to me from Pennsylvania for a minute or two, but otherwise followed directions. I tried to keep a steady pace and managed to do the first 1.5 miles in 14:30 or a 9:40/mi pace. This was pretty good for me considering that I’ve historically been a 11-13 min shuffler.
T1
I kept running through transition and didn’t dawdle. The transition area is probably 400m long from run in to bike out. My T1 time was 2:12.
Bike
The bike felt good. The downside to biking after a run is that you’re using the same muscles. So I definitely didn’t feel as fresh as I do after the swim. That said, I managed to keep a good cadence and decent speed. The roads were wet and I was more cautious than normal. The course was made up of 2-7.75 mile loops. Mid-way through the first loop, it started to rain. Nothing to heavy, but it made the roads slick. There were several crashes and volunteers were posted at all of the sharp turns and descents to slow people down.
By the second loop, it really started raining. Full downpour with rumbles of thunder. I’ve never ridden in rain like that. Wow. The weather dampered the crowd’s enthusiasm too. Everyone was hunkered down trying to stay dry.
T2
I got back into transition and everything was soaked. My socks were already wet, so I just shoved my feet into my wet sneakers and kept moving. I was just happy to be heading out onto the run. Only 30 minutes and I’d be done! T2 time was 2:40ish.
Run 2
At this point, the rain is coming down in buckets. It’s thundering and there’s an occasional flash of lightning. My hamstring was starting to talk and I really was having a hard time moving quickly. Finally, I see the 1 mile marker ahead. I check my watch and it says 12:30. Yikes! I’ve really been shuffling. I vow to think about attempting to run faster when a guy at the marker tells us to turn around. The course has been closed due to lightning. I turn around and head to the finish. On one hand, I’m sad that I didn’t make it to the real turn around half a mile up. On the other hand, this reduces a mile of running from my day which is always good.
It is raining hard and the thunder and lightning are really nearby. With a sense of both joy and self-preservation, I pick up the pace. With 200m to go, I see my cousin ringing his cowbell like a madman in the monsoon. I’ve never been so happy to see a finish line IN. MY. LIFE. In the end, the second run turned out to be 22:00. So, I did 12:36 for the first mile and 9:24 for the 2nd. Lesson learned: I can run a little faster without dying.
Overall time: 1:42
The race officials were clearing everyone out of transition. I picked up my stuff and waited for Lloyd and the rest of the group. Like a good Robb Wolf devotee, I sat on a curb in the pouring rain and ate my PWO meal of salmon, sweet potato fries and raisins.
We found Carla and Kelly. Kelly didn’t make it out onto the 2nd run – they closed the course as she was coming out of transition. Carla was stranded with about 50 other bikers on the bike course. Due to lightning, they wouldn’t let them cross the bridge on the backside of the course.
All in all, it was a crazy day.
