Here's my race report. It's really long! My husband has some pictures, but I haven't looked through them. If there's some not to terrible ones, I'll share them
Race Report: Seattle Danskin 8/19/2010
I did this whole thing with a good friend, and luckily we were in the same wave!
Let me first start with the expo, which, lordy was a disaster. I think maybe I'm spoiled by the Disney events, or very small ones or something, but this one was just a mess. There was a huge line to get in (ok, fine with that), but then the three required lines inside all overlapped each other and met in the middle and it was horrible. We got yelled at for cutting in line to pick up our t-shirts and caps, but there were actually two lines that met up and merged. Anyway, not well thought out or organized at all.
Then we headed over to the park where the event was to rack our bikes. Luckily, this was much better organized. We got in, racked our bikes and helmets and walked through all of the exits/entrances to get a feel for the transition area. Maybe I should call it transition country or something, as there were almost 5000 people registered and this thing was HUGE. We were assigned about the worst spot you could have, especially coming back from the swim barefoot, but we also didn't really care, because there was a lot of open space along the fence. It was also quite hot, 90+ at 1PM, so we were a little nervous for the next day.
That night I had to do a lot, both packing for myself, but also preparing the house for the babysitter who was going to watch my twin 21 month olds while my husband played chauffeur and support staff! Luckily I got everything cooked, cleaned and written on the white board, and was in bed by 10. I slept pretty well, and was good to go at my 4:20am alarm.
We got the car loaded up with my DH's bike and my bags and headed off to pick up my friend (she live a few miles away). It was already warm! We live about 45 minutes away from the park, and DH was kind enough to drop us off before he headed out to find parking. Although it was a 6:55 start, we arrived around 6:30 because due to the size of the event, the transition area never closed. Also, we were in wave 21 (of 30, I think) with an 8:02 am start. We had a lot of time to kill. We went to the water to watch the elites and first waves before heading back to set up our transitions. I also had a Luna Bar and a banana.
Around 7:30, we headed back to the water to swim a little to warm up. The water was brisk, but not bad (neither of us were wearing wesuits). DH let us know we had about 8 minutes before our wave, so we went and got close in to the start. We're both strong swimmers, and after watching the other waves go, we knew we needed to be in the front, and off to the sidewhich was exactly where we ended up!
Waiting in the water for our start, there was someone giving all of us an inspirational pep talk and got us to yell and high five and hug. It was AWESOME. We were so pumped up. The swim started and we were off. It was a little crazy for about a minute. I lost my friend, because I got a little boxed out, but I found my rhythm and made it out to the first buoy. I soon caught up with the waves before us. It was a little hard to sight, because there were so many kayaks and swimmers, but I knew I was headed in the right direction, and I actually think I was able to swim pretty straight. I finished a little slower than I thought I would, but I still did well (#186/3310).
Made my way through the long path between the swim and transition area and all the way back to my bike. My friend was getting her pants on, and we both were ready to go at the same time. The bike leg was harder than I expected. I knew there was one steep, narrow, short hill (we had checked it out the day before) and I decided I would just walk up. I didn't want to boink in the middle and cause a crash. However, most of the ride took place on a bridge/freeway, and there was a lot of long climbs. None were too steep, which is why I didn't think it would be too bad. But being out there, some of them went on forever! I did make it a goal to go down the inclines as fast as I could, I think I hit 25 mph! My friend and I leapfrogged the whole course, and she finished about 30 seconds before I did. T2 was fine, just grabbed some Cliff Blox and some water and we were on our way.
Starting the run, my legs pretty good all things considered, but every time I started to jog, my chest tightened up (the muscles). I think I was really tense from the bike, and I just couldn't get them stretched out. I sent my friend on without me, and just decided to walk as quickly as I could. By this point it was HOT (94ish), and the run course was not very shady. The first mile seemed to take a long time. I was really glad to be wearing a visor! Because the course was out and back, everyone was high fiving and cheering each other on (this went on during the bike as wellthe best was in the tunnels, because all of the cheering was echoing!). It was also good the ladies were all cheering each other on, because there really weren't too many spectators. I guess it was hard to get down to this part of the course. There were a few guys with drums to get us up the one hill of the run, and these two cute 20 somethings who were yelling for everyone.
The last ½ mile was downhill and shady (thank goodness!) and I decided to jog the last .1 into the finish line. My run was by far the most disappointing part of the day, but I also knew that I wasn't going to be bothered if I had to walk it all. I crossed the finish line and my friend and DH were there waiting for me (she came in about 11 minutes before me). We didn't really take part of any post-race festivities, we both just wanted out of there and into some AC. DH biked to get the van while we packed up and met him in the loading area. The one thing I would have changed was that I forgot to eat/drink some sort of recovery thing. I just drank a bunch of cold water and didn't eat for about 2 hours. I think that's why I kind of zombieish for the rest of the day.
I had told my friend that she would cross the line and want to do it again, but I'm not sure she believed me. But of course, now she can't wait for next year! (Me too!) I finished about 1 minute faster than I had thought I would, so I feel pretty good that I preformed the way I expected.
I haven't been sick all summer, and just need to hold out one more week! Oh and our air conditioner blew out yesterday. Nothing like sleeping in this heat and humidity with no air. I'm not sure I even slept last night. And we get to sink $4000 into a new one. 
It was a beautiful ride with some decent hills. I finished the bike in about 40min. T2 was better. I got out to the run at about 1hr and 2min total time. 
