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2002-06-11 - 1:45 p.m. So after three years of talking about it, I finally participated in the Danskin Women�s Triathlon. Here are my official results, with accompanying commentary by yours truly, and photographic evidence of the feat by Rob. Race ResultsRace: 2002 AUSTIN RESULTS First Name: SARA Sex: F [Of course, female. I mean, it�s a women�s triathlon.] Class: 25-29 [They take a black sharpie and mark your race number on your arms and legs. Then they mark your age on the back of your left leg. I paused when the volunteer asked how old I was. I almost didn�t remember. I haven�t been 28 for that long, and just saying it out loud like that, and later, seeing it written out on the back of my leg when I turned my head far enough around � well, it just felt so old.] Swim: 00:22:32 [Okay, this is what happened during the transition. I scrambled out of the water, and ran up a hill, barefooted, the crowd cheering me on, while I tried desperately not to make eye contact, and hoped my breasts weren�t bobbing up and down too licentiously. Found my bike, dried off, put on my running shoes, unhooked my bike from my rack, made my way out, realized I didn�t put on sunblock, dropped my bike, ran back and liberally but unevenly applied sunblock, put a bandanna on my head, put the helmet on, and then I was off. Not bad for under five minutes. Can you spot me in the picture below?]  [Can I just tell you that I kicked ass on the bike portion? I only have a mountain bike. Mountain bikes aren�t made for speed. So I took my time, imagined myself on a nice leisurely bike ride through the country, and tried to ignore the dozens of cyclists that passed me. Until we got to the hills. There were a lot of hills. And they were steep too. That�s when I started passing everyone, even the fancy bicyclists with their fancy bicycle clothing and their fancy road bikes. Some of them were even walking their bikes up the hill! But fancy bike stuff is no match for how stubborn I can be, and I was determined not to stop and walk my bike up the hill. Of course, they all passed me when we started going downhill.]  MPH: 13.0 Trans 2: 00:03:03 [Bike to run transition. Struggle to put bike on rack, fail miserably, contemplate throwing bike on the ground, but compromise by finding another rack. Take off helmet. Take off bandanna. Pin my hair back with barrettes, and wonder rather vainly how it looks. Attempt to put on sports bra and simultaneously remove bathing suit top, without showing excessive nipplage. Mostly succeed. Apply more sunblock. Realize it�s hard to rub sunblock in when you�re all sweaty. Wipe off excess sunblock with towel. Take off running. All that in three minutes. Not bad.] Run: 00:29:44  Final: 01:57:48 [Under two hours! Woo-hoo! That was my goal. Well, my actual goal was to finish and not embarrass myself. So I succeeded on both fronts!]
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