TRI Hard, Live Easy…

What can I say? The positive atomosphere and sisterhood of the Danskin TRI is something I’ll forever remember and cherish.

Friday

Chesty and I hit the road at 6:30pm. The rush hour traffic slowed us down and added an additional hour to the usual 2.5 hour trip. The event needed additional volunteers, so Donna headed down early and met up with us at the hotel.

Chesty crashed on a chair while Donna and I stayed up chatting like girls at a slumber party until close to 1 am. LOL So much for the wild night on 6th street.

Saturday

The TRI-DIVAS hit the hotel gym at 7:00am (we are truly fitness babes) for a 45 minute workout. After breakfast, we headed to the Travis County Expo Center to pick up our race packet and sign waivers. The event was sponsored by Shape and we got all kinds of good stuff: various protein bars, ThermaCare heat wraps, and samples of Dove deodorant, 8th continent soy milk (very good), and Nair (Applelicious scent, of course). After raiding the goodie tables, we listened to the First Timer seminar and then headed to the park to drop off Donna’s bike.

Donna-Biker Chick Supreme

LOL Not ones to miss a photo op, Chesty and I posed with Donna’s bike too…

After lunch, we decide to head to GNC. While stopped at a light, a man approaches the car asking for money. He claims it’s “for the church”. When he walked away none-the-richer, he told us something to the effect of It’s ok…Jesus loves you anyway…”. After GNC, we make a stop at the grocery store to purchase a mylar balloon (for marking the bike in the crowded transition area of the TRI) and guess who we see? Preacher Man sitting at the cafe table counting his money like a true hustler. LOL

Donna’s fiance joined us Saturday night for dinner at the Olive Garden. Triathletes must carbo load the night before the event (yeah, that’s the only reason we went to O.G….haha!) After making a Diva stop at Ulta 3, we headed back to the hotel to get some good rest.

Sunday–Race Day

Our wake-up call comes at 4:30am. Donna is truly a morning person, so she was rocking while Chesty and I tried to get our eyes focused. We all eat a protein bar before leaving the hotel and pack additional bars/supplements. We arrive at the Expo Center at 5:45am and wait to board one of the many shuttle buses. An announcement is made that Buses 1 & 2 are for athletes only, so we happily jump on. We’re athletes…woohoo!

A couple of pics in the official TRI tank. I hate my arms, but I felt the need to post these…folks seem to be very curious about the loose skin aspect involved with losing a significant amount of weight. As you can see, the skin does hang, but after 170 lbs lost, it could be a lot worse.

After arriving at the park, we head to the transition area to set up our section. Participants and supporters slowly begin to take over the park and nerves kick in for all of us. The first wave of women is the Elite group (professionals). They enter the water and the first contestant is running out of the lake a mere 13 minutes later. Good Lord! 1/2 mile swim in 13 minutes is incredible. There are 24 waves of contestants. The relay teams are in the last 2 waves, so we had awhile to wait.

Donna eventually had to go back to the transition area to setup her bike. I joined her for a bit and then headed back to the dock to wait for Chesty’s wave to start. She was extremely nervous about the swim. Not only was this her first triathlon…it was also her first time in open water. I am proud to say that she finished the swim in 36 minutes! Definitely a great time…especially for a newbie. Seeing her run out of the water made me so proud. After the exchange of the timing chip, Donna took off.

Ms. Donna’s performance was phenomenal. She was feeling a bit discouraged after her first ride on the Danskin course. In just a couple of weeks, she managed to turn things around and finish the event in a little over an hour. Fabulous! I can’t even begin to describe the hills of the course. It’s hard to believe they call the Danskin a “beginner’s triathlon”. Whateva. A volunteer encouraged Donna to keep her “angry rhythm” at the end. LOL I can’t wait to see that Bitch on Wheels picture. D’s entries are definitely worth reading.

Once Donna entered the transition area, she handed me the timing chip and I took off running. Chesty had recovered from her swim, so she did the course with me. We kept a decent pace (16 minute mile) considering the hills and heat. The beginning of the course was hot and muggy. As we got closer to the lake, the air was cooler and the wind picked up. A volunteer passed us and said we were doing a great job and looked “fresh”. That’s funny…I certainly didn’t feel daisy fresh at that point. LOL

Donna joined us near the end of the 5K and the TRI-DIVAS crossed the finish line together. It was a great feeling to hear the applause of spectators and volunteers as our names were announced. A woman asked us to say “I am a triathlete!” before putting the finisher medals around our necks. I can’t believe how much emotion and pride is attached to this object.

The woman who starts the race is not the same woman who finishes the race…

The 3 of us have accomplished a lot in our fitness quests and the Danskin certainly proved that. It didn’t take us long to decide that we’re going to enter the event as individuals next year. We’ll be there to root each other on, but it’s time to challenge ourselves even more.

I couldn’t have done this without you two…what a special day!

Thanks to everyone that offered support through notes and emails. It’s nice to know that people care…and want me to be successful. More Danskin pictures on the way…

-C