Danskin Triathlon 2009!

Today as the big day. The Danskin triathlon in Austin, TX! It was an amazing time! The supportive women and the excited energy is unlike any other event I've ever experienced! It's addicting, which is why I returned to do it again this year.

It was a very early morning. Greg, Kari and I got to the Expo Center at 5:30am. The shuttles to the race were slow and there were hundreds of women in line to get on them. So, Kari and I hit the road for a 1.5 mile hike to the race site. I didn't think it was a good idea at the time, but realized later that it was the best thing for me. It helped me calm down and get in a better place, mentally, for the race.

We got set up, and found our meeting place under a giant oak tree. Before I knew it, Kari was off to start her swim. I was about 12 minutes behind her, so off I went to get ready. We were assigned to different "waves" for start times. I was wave 11, starting at 7:30am. Everyone in my group was between 35-39 and we all had red swim caps. It was so neat to meet my fellow athletes in line.

The swim was tough. They had us in much larger groups for the waves, and set us out every 3 minutes, vs. every 5 last year. There were swimmers everywhere. I was kicked and clawed often. However, the swim was finally done, and it was off to the bike.

Kari had found me a fabulous bike to ride in the race. Since it was foreign to me, I had to think of a way to find it in the sea of thousands of bikes. I bought a children's safety flag and made a lovely green "Lufkin" banner for it. The flag pole was so bendy, that I had it on only to find the bike, then took it out for the ride. I didn't want to take anyone out.

The ride was GREAT! I kept passing so many people! At 3 miles, I pulled my water bottle out for a quick drink. A lady asked me a question, I got distracted, and when I was putting the bottle back it slipped and hit the pavement. Oh well! No one was hurt. At 7 miles, one of the arm rest on the bike suddenly fell of the bike. I had now lost 2 things from this bike! What more would fall?

At 8 miles, Kait passed me. We chit chatted for about a minute and she was off again. It felt so good to see her during the ride. Just what I needed at the time.

Oh wait, there is this horrendous hill at 4 miles. It is so steep and slow. I walked it last year. I thought, if I can ride up it the whole time then I know I won't walk at all. Well, I didn't walk! At the top of the hill I let out a HUGE scream and let everyone know I made it up the hill. It felt amazing!

I made it up every long and steep hill without walking. When I made it back to put my bike in, I didn't see Greg. I was disappointed, but quickly realized he guessed I'd be there much later than I was. That made me smile.

As I came into the transition area with my bike, I heard Kari in my head telling me to work on my speed in the transition. I moved quickly to my rack, and dropped of my bike and helmet. Then, I jogged to the exit. It took me just over a minute, and only because I had to move bikes out of my way.

Once I started to run, it took effort to keep my pace slow. At this point, my goal of NOT walking was in my sites. I didn't want to screw it up. There were a lot of ladies passing me, but I kept my steady pace going. So many women were walking the entire route. I didn't expect to do as much bobbing and weaving as I did.

At 3/4 mile until the finish, there is the HUGE and HORRIBLE hill. It's about 1/2 mile long. It saps all of your energy. I didn't want to walk. I kept saying that in my head. NO WALKING. Then, the evil me started to speak louder and louder... you can walk, everyone else is. But, the stronger Deeann won out and I did NOT walk!!!

I crossed the finish line with the biggest smile on my face. It was an unbelievable feeling. But, I didn't see Greg. I left the finish chute, looking for him, Kari and Kait. It took a while, but there was Greg running up to me. He gave me a HUGE hug that lifted me off the ground. Then, he showed me that I finished in 1:47! Kari and Kait ran up and gave me a huge hug too.

Kari knew my time from last year. I still didn't know it. My goal last year was to finish it, and knowing my time would be depressing. Well, I bettered last years time by 43 minutes!!! Holy cow! Who knew? I couldn't believe I did it in under 2 hours, much less 43 minutes faster than last year.

It was an amazing time. It is so unbelievable to see what my body can do this year. I guess loosing 67 pounds really can help!