General Discussion Triathlon Talk » LifeTime Chicago Triathlon Rss Feed  
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2014-06-05 1:40 PM

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Chicago, Colorado
Subject: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
Hi all,

Wanted to get a thread started for this race. Did everyone else who's signed up get the email about the changes?

Looks like part of the bike course will now be on Lower Wacker for the oly to eliminate doing a second loop down LSD. The website says on the "newly rebuilt Lower Wacker Drive"

Also, transition will now be open on Saturday and bikes can be kept there overnight.

Having never done this, or any Oly race, is it better that now the bike course is a single loop? I just don't like the idea of riding on lower Wacker. It seems to defeat the purpose of having the race in a beautiful city...

Anyway, hope everyone's training is going well!

Are there any groups that meet at Ohio Street beach to do OWS on the weekends?

Cheers


2014-06-05 2:08 PM
in reply to: cjohns716

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55
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Peoria
Subject: RE: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
I just got this also.

Looks like they are following suit with the ITU race (which im also doing) and going all batman on us.

PLUS - the have changed the triple so that you do the sprint second on the Sunday.
2014-06-05 6:52 PM
in reply to: dspursusa

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Illinois
Subject: RE: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
Personally, I like the changes - they address a lot of the issues Chicago had, like the complete disaster of morning bike check-in. The biggest change, in my mind, is assigned spots in transition, so we won't have ten million bikes in the first two rows.

The course is better, especially if you are in a late wave. I got completely roasted last year on the bike, so the shade is great.

I won't be racing it this year due to IMWI, but the changes are all improvements in my book.
2014-06-06 9:44 AM
in reply to: mirthfuldragon

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Champion
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Chicago, Illinois
Subject: RE: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
Making the bike a single loop and having the Olys go first is nice. Couple of years I done it I really was slow on the Oly and well I could not relax at all having to get my bike out of transition ASAP. Not sure I agree with the bike course changes but seems the best doable option. I guess when I do the ITU I will have a better idea how good/bad lower wacker will be. Though in 2012 when it rained it might been nice to be under lower Wacker drive.

I do understand but kinda dislike the changes to the pros. I am sure the pros like it much much better. Much less of a mine field for them. in 2007 running next to Emma Snowsill was an amazing experience for me. Sure it was for like half a step but still. One think I liked about Chicago.
2014-06-06 10:49 AM
in reply to: chirunner134

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Subject: RE: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
Kinda of bummed about the changes. But I like doing the sprint I would be done by 7:30 and home by 9.

now I have to wait between 3 and 4 hours to do a race a little longer than a 1 hour. Plus on the bike and the run I will have to fight through the back of the packers olympic runners. plus coming off the bike I need to watch a merge of bikers from the olympic distance.
2014-10-29 2:40 PM
in reply to: cjohns716

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Subject: RE: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
So does anyone have any tips for next year's race. I noticed they are updating the course again. I heard that the swim was pretty rough. How was the transition area was there enough space for everyone?


2014-10-29 3:30 PM
in reply to: Nvmiller

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Chicago, Colorado
Subject: RE: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
Swim was pretty wavy just because of the wind that morning. Bike course was awesome. I was kind of dreading the under ground part because the places I've been on the lower road system is smelly and damp and kind of nasty, but the course down there was super cool. Very little damp on the road and no smell that I could detect. Visibility was decent with sunglasses on. The transition is my biggest gripe from 2014. It rained the days before and it was in a grassy area on a small incline. The two paths between the racks were mud slides by like 6 am. I took the loooooong way to get to the in/out chutes so I could avoid running in the mud with my bike shoes on. That being said, it doesn't really matter where you have to rack (it was grouped by age group) because the swim in/ run out is on one side and the bike in/ bike out is on the other side of the transition area. There was plenty of space by me. If they change the location of transition, I'm all for it, as long as the in/outs are separated to give everyone a fair spot. The run was good. No complains there. Plenty of aid stations. Ice cups, water cups, gatorade. Some misters, including a huuuuuge one that was mounted on a fire truck. That felt so good.

Overall, for my first Chicago and first Oly, great experience.
2014-10-29 8:23 PM
in reply to: Nvmiller


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Subject: RE: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
I agree with cjohns716 that the swim was bad because of the winds. It was a little disorienting being tossed around and constantly swimming into other swimmers (and vise vera). If you practice a few OWS at Ohio St and practice sighting, you'll be fine.
I think the transition was the worst part. Its a big part of why I won't be doing Chicago again any time soon. It was a mess. I hate that you are assigned a corral. My corral was split in half (end of one row and beginning of another). After the disorienting swim, I was just looking for my corral number and forgot that it was split. I wasted a lot of time looking for my bike. The worst part, in my opinion, is that it is first come. There wasn't enough space for everyone. A lot of people took away too much space. I had to move other people's stuff. I saw sunglasses, helmets, etc. accidentally being knocked off by other triathletes. The other triathlons I've done had preassigned spots which made it so much easier and organized. I knew exactly where to go and had little problems setting up. Another reason it was a mess was the mud. I had to carry my bike out of transition. It reminded me of a cyclocross race. Everything I had was caked in mud. I'm still finding mud even though I washed everything that same day.
Another complaint was that there wasn't enough policing of the run course. There were a few bikers on the course. It just made the congestion worse. I thought was potentially dangerous for both triathletes and bikers.
Overall, I'm glad I did it for the experience (great crowd support and so much fun racing on LSD) , but never again.
2014-10-30 7:56 AM
in reply to: hubcaps

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Woodstock, Illinois
Subject: RE: LifeTime Chicago Triathlon
I haven't done this race before but I did the ITU last summer. The bike was on Lower Wacker and I thought it was awesome! It was by far the fastest bike I've had in any tri. The only negative was vision was tough coming from bright sunlight into the darkness of Lower Wacker. It was really tough to see with shades on.
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