In mid-August, 2006, Jill posted the message below on her forum, on Luna Chix, and on the SeaTri forum. Below are some of the responses that she received.  We have also posted some results and photos of this year's event.  If you would like to have your Danskin race report posted or linked from this page, please send it to yrfm@hotmail.com; if you have pictures, please send those as well.

Jill's Post:

As many of you know the Danskin triathlon was my first triathlon back in 2001. I have some special memories of this race, it was not only physically challenging for me at the time (I went to bed and slept for 8 hours after the race and did nothing the week after!)... it was a challenge for me psychologically. I suffered from panic attacks at the time, on some days I couldn't even leave my house.  For me to go out in public was a huge challenge and to go out and do some thing such as Danskin with all those people was very difficult, to say the least. I had withdrawn from activities I normally had done and everyone in my life. I cannot discuss why right now, but some day I will.  Looking back I wish I had written a race report of my experience. I can only now imagine what I might have written about these challenges.

I intend to do a write up for the front page about why I did Danskin and how doing this race changed my life. I am hoping that a good friend of mine from my Alaska Airline flight attendant days will be there with me . She is a recent cancer survivor and I am hoping that taking her there will inspire her to give it a try next year. I would love nothing more than to help her complete this challenge if she feels she is up to it.

I would like to have some race reports with pictures for my site. I am interested in anyone's race report whether it is your first or you you have done it many times. It would be nice to have a lot of different perspectives. If you have pictures you can send them and we will add them to your report. You can send your report and pictures to yrfm@hotmail.com

Thanks so much and good luck to everyone... I'll be there cheering you all on!

Jill

Jill-

Here is my race report:

As a veteran Danskin participant.(This year was #12) I still find it as exciting an event as the first year I did it and the first year it came to Seattle when there were a mere 300 or so participants....Personally it was not my best race. I was a bit tired on race day and thought it seemed more crowded in the swim and the bike than in years past.  I was trying to beat last year's time, but that was not to be. (How did I spend an extra 2 min. in the transition area? )  I recently completed my first half-ironman (Vineman) which was quite a challenge for me (But alot of fun at the same time)...last year Sally Edwards had signed my race # with a "Do a 1/2 ironman" and so the challenge was on!  (I had her sign it this year too and you can only guess what she put!)

After finishing, me and my "supporter" had breakfast at the little cafe that is on the race course, and it was so much fun cheering people on in that last quarter mile! No  matter what the distance it is a great sense of accomplishment whenever we cross that finish line. I overheard one woman on the phone talking and she said it was the hardest thing she had ever done. I always think those are the best things in life, because we remember them and they can change us. Then next time we go on to something just a little harder.....

Keep on Tri'in!

Eileen Olson

Thanks, Jill!

Here's my race report:

http://jethereal.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_jethereal_archive.html

I'm happy to be a part of your site.

I wish I had race reports from the previous years, but I wasn't keeping

them then!

--Jessica (Zahn)

DANSKIN REPORT:

I’ve trained for 2 Danskins and completed one. I trained for Danskin 2005 and being new to multisport I assumed that more is better. A mistake a lot of newbies make.  I trained often and hard. I didn’t know how important recovery was and I didn’t listen to my body. 2 days before the event, I got out of the pool and felt severe pain in my lumbar. Having suffered from back issues for 15 years, I knew this was yet another spasm that I had to deal with. After going to my chiropractor, taking some Advil and lying down, I realized some time around midnight, the night before the Expo, that I wasn’t going to be doing my first triathlon that weekend. I couldn’t walk! Turns out that I had herniated 2 discs in my lumbar.  I joke that I had my own triathlon that weekend…gulping wine, popping advil and crying.  Once I remembered what Danskin was all about (something I had lost site of for sure) and I thought of all the survivors that were racing, I stopped feeling sorry for myself. What I was suffering was not terminal and I needed to just deal with it.  That weekend was a huge learning experience for me.

I spent the next year going through major back therapy and many, many months of Pilates. I now listen to my body and know what it is capable of and what it needs to get to the next level.  I rest and recover and am still working on finding the balance with training, recovery and life.

My first triathlon was Seafair 2006 and I overslept. (I NEVER oversleep!!!) I raced from Redmond to Seward Park with “Bad day” playing on the car radio…How appropriate. With 2 minutes to spare, I threw everything into the transition area, jumped into my wetsuit (which was a kayak wetsuit, not a sleek neoprene number) and ran to the swim start. While I consider myself to be a very solid swimmer, I panicked in the water. My heart rate shot up and I don’t think I got it back down until I crossed the finish line. Hmm..perhaps it had something to do with oversleeping, not eating properly (no time!), not getting in my coffee and not having my morning bathroom ritual (talk about cramps during the bike and swim….) I remember not loving the triathlon until about an hour after I finished.  Something about having my 2 beautiful kids and amazing husband at the finish line to hug, made it all worth it. 

My next triathlon was Federal Escape. I thought the ¼ mile versus ½ mile swim was perfect for me and while I made it out of the water in 9 minutes, I still panicked and could not keep my heart rate down.

During these events, I met a very competitive female triathlete who told me that I would do Danskin one time and that was it. She said it’s too crowded and there are too many beginners that “get in the way”. I was definitely concerned with the 5,000 participants having had panic in the swim portion of 2 triathlons *and* I’m not a lover of big crowds….But, I was excited that this year I was able to just be there to participate! I wasn’t looking at it as a competitive event and more as a big party. Obviously, the woman I had met lost site of what Danskin is all about as well.

On the morning of Danskin, I got up early and had a very relaxed drive from Redmond along 520….I was heading over the lake when I realized that I was headed over the lake on 520! I should have been on HWY 90. I was so caught up with the pink sunrise and thinking about my day that I completely forgot where I was going. The song “Bad day” came on the radio at that moment and I couldn’t stop laughing. Seemed to be a pattern happening here.

I parked my car and walked along the lake, watching the sun rise above the Cascades…It was going to be a gorgeous day. I was very early this time and able to enjoy my coffee, watch the crowds gather and get my transition gear into place. I went down to the swim start to watch the Elites take off and got in the water to warm up. I was completely relaxed. The best part of being on the water’s edge at the swim start was listening to the amazing Sally Edwards scream into the microphone at us. She got us so pumped up and excited that there was no time to be nervous! She had us wave that monkey bye bye and I felt as though I really did say goodbye to that monkey that has been on my back during my swims. The horn blew and we were off. I stayed completely relaxed on the swim and kept my stroke long and smooth. Yes, I got kicked and yes, backstrokers swam literally across my back but I just laughed and stayed long. I reached the swim finish in 16 minutes and bolted to the bike transition. A very long run! I was on my 2 day old Trek for the first time (something I was told never to do….Try something new at the actual event) and had a bit of a hard time getting my cleats into my pedals but once I did, I was off and going at an average of 19mph. I even tried my new aerobars on the bridge for the first time and loved them. I only had 3 people pass me on the bike the entire time! I knew I must be doing well….I finished in 37 minutes and it was time to run. I spent the run focusing on form and not speed. I met a wonderful woman from Whidbey Island and chatted with her for most of the run….This part of the leg seemed like a social event and it was a blast! I helped her with her form and we ran up the hill to the beating Djembe drums. LOVED that. I got into my 3^rd gear and ran through the finish “tunnel” all alone, crossing the finish line in a total time of 1:29. I was very happy and knew at that moment that I would do the Dankin every year. It was, by far, the most supportive, motivating and inspirational experience I’ve had in years.

The day after Danskin, I was at a coffee shop in Bellevue when 2 women, Karen and Sue, came over and asked if I had just done the Danskin. (My numbers were still showing on my arms and legs.) When I told them I had, they hugged me and said that they were both cancer survivors and that they wanted to thank me for doing something to help with cancer research.  It was, again, a wonderful reminder of what Danskin is all about.

Sharon Ilstrup