Danskin Triathlon Relay Race Report
A few months ago, one of my running club friends asked me if I wanted to participate in the Danskin Triathlon on a relay team. I said yes right away – I’d been wanting to experience a triathlon up close for a long time! And this seemed like the perfect one – it was sprint distance (1/2 mile swim, 20K bike, 5K run), only 45 minutes from my house, aimed at beginners, and an all-women triathlon.
Originally, I was going to be on a team with two other people from my running club. But in August I asked Erin if she wanted to be on our team and she said yes – she would love to go all out on the bike without having to worry about running afterward. So, it was me, Erin and another person from our running club… who sent us a message a week before the race to tell us she fell off her bike and broke her wrist! Luckily, we hadn’t registered yet, and Erin quickly recruited her running club friend Claudia to join us as the swimmer. So really, I was on an Oak Park Runners Club team, as I was the only Grayslake Running Club member. I thought that was kind of funny. Anyway.
We headed up to packet pickup/the expo on Saturday. It was kind of a mess and the volunteers didn’t know what they were doing. It was hard to get information from people, and when we did, it conflicted with information on the literature about the race. But! We were there to have fun, knew it was for beginners, and didn’t really care. I thought it was kind of funny.
We had to wake up early (4:30!) on Sunday to get to Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin in time for Erin to rack her bike before the transition area closed at 6:30. Parking was two miles away from the triathlon site, so Claudia and I walked while Erin road her bike in.
Because we were on a relay team, our wave didn’t start until 7:41 (elites started at 7:00). The triathlon staff was really pushing people to get to the swim area early, but there was no need to for us. We had plenty of time.
It was actually a beautiful, sunny and cloudless day. Perfect for a picnic. Not for a race! The swimmers swam from west to east so they were swimming right in to the sun, making it hard to see.
But Claudia still kicked butt, and swam half a mile in 12:29!
Transition time from swimming to biking was 1:37.
Then Erin was off on her bike! She completed the “20K” (her watch said it was nearly 14 miles) in 47:51.
I wasn’t sure how long it would take Erin to do the biking part, so I made sure to hang around the transition area. I was really burning up in the sun! I should have put sunscreen on, but was worried it wouldn’t allow me to sweat properly (sunscreen makes me feel awful when I am running).
Anyway, I was distracted for awhile by chatting with Ian. I didn’t even know he would be there! That was a fun surprise. I first ran in to him at the Snowshoe 5K in January!
Erin came in off her bike and I grabbed the ankle bracelet (with timing chip) and was off! Transition time was 1:01.
When I saw Erin, she told me I would be passing a lot of people, and boy, was she right! I was passing people the whole time! I only got passed by about 5 people, but passed at least 50, and probably more. I felt bad though – I am sure I was passing all the people who were NOT on relay teams and were exhausted from doing it all on their own!
The 5K was tough, but just because it was so sunny and there was no shade. I still managed negative splits though – 8:45, 8:37, 8:26, and sprinted the end. My final 5K time was 26:04 (which is off from my watch – not surprised by that).
I saw a lot of my running club friends at the finish, and of course, Erin and Claudia! I remembered to grab medals for all of us.
Our final time was 1:29:03, and we found out we were the third relay team in the “friends” divisions (3rd out of 33)! Placing so high in our division was pretty exciting.
Here are the three teams from our running club: Big Bang Theory (blue and red shirt on left), One Leg at at Time (Claudia, me and Erin) and Two and a Half Women (white and pink shirt on right):
After we finished, we had to walk the two miles back to the car in the hot sun. That was definitely a slow walk!
Overall, I had a lot of fun and thought the three of us made a really good team. I think we should try it again next year and go for first place in the relay division, ha ha!
However, participating in this made me uncertain if I would ever want to do a triathlon on my own. Just seeing so many people wobble around with almost no energy… I know I would feel awful if I felt like that at a race. Maybe at less of a beginner’s race, it would be more inspiring. I just thought I would leave having the “I have to try a tri” bug, but I really don’t. I still want to get back in to swimming, but I think I would really want to be prepared to try a triathlon all on my own!
Themocracy
Hey nice job! I have never done a tri, and I don’t ever think I will…I’m a terrible swimmer. I can’t believe that you don’t wear sunblock! You are brave, have you tried SCAPE? You can get it at REI or online and it isn’t like normal sunblock.
I’ve heard of SCAPE but have never purchased it. I usually get the sport type stuff for athletes but it still seems to bug me and make me sweat even more.
Now that is my kind of tri! I would love to do that – then I can just run and not do the swim or bike!lol Great job girly!
You all rocked it! Well done!
I’m impressed (and envious) of your swimming partner’s time – she’s a zoomer in the water!
Fun! If I ever do a tri, I think it will have to be with two other people…at least the first time! There is just so much more to do than just show up and run!
Awesome! I would love to do something like this some time. And I’m so glad you said that about the sunscreen – I hate wearing it when running, too, and I always thought it was just me.
That course is where I did my first triathlon. The people you saw who looked wiped out may have been real beginners and might not have trained enough to get ready to do the race, but I think you could definitely do it. I loved that race and actually returned to do that course twice more. I was a swimmer on a relay team the third time. The race was starting to get really big and I felt like I wanted to find something closer to home, which is why I haven’t been back. Still, I feel a little nostalgic reading your post. There was a great Italian place in Kenosha where we had our pre-race dinner called Mangia.
How cool! So you are still doing triathlons?
How fun!! You had an amazing 5k run girl!! So proud of you and your whole team!! 🙂
It was fun! I thought it was way more fun to do it that way then to try and do the whole thing myself 🙂 This way you get to hang out with your friends a lot more 🙂
We all did great but I think if I did it again I’d want to do one that seemed a little more “professional”. Does that make sense?
Yeah, that does make sense. Although I am not sure we would stand a chance at a more professional one 😉
I love Pleasant Prairie! It’s one of my favorite Tri race sites! The lake is beautiful!
Great job on the relay! You guys killed it!
I really want to do a sprint tri someday. I lifeguarded one two years in a row at my hometown and have always wanted to participate in that specific event but never have. I have done a super sprint tri where the swim was first (because it was March no northern VA). I didn’t train for the swim or the bike but they were short distances. I don’t have a road bike though so I’m really slow for that leg.
Great job! It sounds like that was a great experience and a lot of fun! I’ve only done running relays, and that had been a lot of fun to watch people come in and transition to the next person!
Congrats on the race!! You three looked like you had a lot of fun! This was the first tri I ever did, and I did it as a relay with my sisters. I was hooked from then on, and that was about 8 years ago!! Never say never on the triathlon scene – its actually a great way to cross-train from running (and saves on the injury factor!)
Awesome photos and write up. I’ve done a few triathlons in my day (back in the 80’s to the early 90’s) and loved them.
Congratulations to all three of you!!!
I know what you mean about being apprehensive about doing a tri all by yourself – the whole idea of transitioning (in a wet swimsuit) just doesn’t appeal to me.