Disney Madness!

This morning was my first Danskin triathlon, and I have to admit, it is definitely one I will remember for years to come.

There's something very unique and slightly crazy about 1300+ women in the happiest place on Earth. Leaping into a man-made, brown-dyed "Paradise Bay" whilst listening to carnival midway tunes and spotting roller coasters and Ferris wheels is crazy enough....but add hundreds of flailing and half-drowning women, and you have a spectacle quite unlike any other on Earth.

I had a tough time finding a balance today between my competitive, die-hard spirit and my compassion for the women who were doing their first triathlon today to prove to themselves that they could do it. I was them three years ago. I know what they were going through and how hard their journey was. But I tasted blood and I wanted to race! Oh, it was difficult indeed.

The race started out with a 4:30am opening of the transition area. Yes, 4:30am. To prepare us for the first wave at 6am. Yes, this is abnormally early!!! I got an end cap and set up shop, then walked around and visited with my friends. Because I knew this would be a crazy race, I had no expectations other than "turn and burn." No stress. No nerves. I was pretty happy.

They moved us into a staging area in back of Disney's California Adventure, between the parking lot and the Paradise Pier area. We never saw the swim course until we were loaded onto the boat dock, three minutes before the swim start. We went off in waves of less than 100, every 3 minutes. I was fortunate enough to be in the front row of my wave, giving me a clean first 1/2 of the swim.

Unfortunately, the rest of the swim was a bit of a nightmare. Lots of people over on their backs breastroking, forming solid barriers that were quite difficult to maneuver around. I saw lots of people hanging on to longboards and noodles....far more than I was expecting. I got stuck behind a lot of these people and rather than swim over them or make them more miserable than they were, I just stood up and walked. Disappointing swim for me, but what can you do?

My bike was fantastic. I was 30th overall out of 1300+ women, and I just felt like I was flying out there. Bike handling is getting better, so I could accelerate in my turns and maneuver around people. I pushed pretty hard and although my legs were a little dead in the end, I felt phenomenal.

T2 was a pain in the rear. Forgot a sock, struggled with my Garmin, and pretty much lost my fight. I ran out of transition, then walked as I put on my hat, watch, and race belt. I then granny ran my 2 miles to the finish line. I was tired, and I just didn't think I could run any faster. In retrospect, this was wrong-- it was all mental! So I have quite a ways to go to get my run in shape, but it was respectable overall with an 8:59 min/mile average pace.

I ended up finishing 4th in my age group out of 135, and 34th overall in the competition. I was floored by how well I did, but frustrated that I didn't try harder because there was only one minute separating me from the 3rd place winner. Next time.....next time I'll conquer the mental demons and have a breathrough race.

Anyways, totally surreal venue and an overall good experience. A lot of women completed their first triathlon today and have jump-started a healthy lifestyle because of this race. How can that be a bad thing?!