Okay…this post is going to be primarily about Cheri because as I’ve learned…it is all about her.
This weekend was the 20th Anniversary of the Danskin Triathlon and Cheri was participating in her second in as many years. We were up early on Sunday morning (and I mean 4:30 early) so Cheri could do some last minute packing of her transition bag and and get a nutritious breakfast of bananas, english muffin with peanut butter, and some OJ. I had put her bike in the back of the car the night before, so we were good to go!  We were a little early, but the area was already filling up with racers putting their bikes on the racks and laying out their transition equipment—biking or running shoes, bike shorts, running top, towels, snacks.  Spectators were not suppose to be in the transition area, so I was sent out to wait and Cheri had to come and find me. You can see that the racers are starting to fill in the area—over 3,500 women participated in the event and it was very impressive to see them all out there!  |  It was still fairly dark when we got to the parking area near the race start. We got the bike out, helmet adjusted and made a final check before heading over to the Start / Transition area.   Cheri needed to put some flip-flops near the exit from the water so she would have something to wear to the transition area. We found a spot right under one of the fences separating the spectators from the competitors. |
Soon it was time to start racing. To keep it from becoming a madhouse in the water the competitors are split into groups of 150, with the exception of the first two groups. The first people in the water are the elite and amateur elite—those who really know what they are doing and don’t need anyone in their way. Next comes a group of cancer survivors in their pink swim caps and everyone cheering them on!
Finally, after a few more flights—I’m not sure if they do it by age but it did seem that some older folks were starting ahead of Cheri and this way, ideally people would finish closer—the yellow-capped group headed into the holding area. Cheri is just to the right of the right banner, and she and 150 of her new friends were waiting for the three minute difference between the flights.
Then they were into the water and ready to go…a few more seconds and they headed out for the first big buoy on a triangle course of one-half mile.
About twenty-four minutes later Cheri was back on the beach and heading for the bike transition point (after finding her flip-flops). You might think that the smile on her face in the second photo is because she just realized that her niece and nephew, Kristina and Brian, had joined me to cheer her on, but I think she was actually excited about passing someone from an earlier group in the light blue cap—although someone much older, she was still from an earlier group.
Look for a link to see in a HD view in the upper right corner of the site where the video is seen.
| Through the bike transition Cheri had to clean off, dry off, put on her shorts, top and shoes and walk her bike to the mounting area. Then she was off and down the road as seen the picture to the left.
Then it was on to the run and we didn’t even have to move. Cheri went into the transition, dropped off the bike and helmet and was on her way out past us. Once again she is smiling and I am not sure if once again it is because we are cheering for her or because she is passing someone from an earlier group.
You can see that I shamelessly “borrowed” and edited the phrase from the SheROX mentoring program. But in this case Cheri really does Rock! Her time this year was only about 4 minutes slower than last year, and much of that is in the transition. She is already talking about next year and getting some of you ladies to join her…so check your caller ID when the phone rings or you may be smiling and waving your way through this event next year! Below the Collage check the box next to your thoughts. |
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