Accenture Chicago Triathlon - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic

The swim went very well, I was out of the water at about 29:00 but it took a few minutes to jog to the transition area timing pad. There were a ton of swimmers, I swam through a few waves to get to the finish, best advice is to stay off the wall about 30 ft to keep out of traffic. Water was very clear and clean for a metropolitan harbor, there was a chop from a strong north to south breeze. I hit my swim-time goal so I was satisfied.

I should have swam out from the wall (melee of swimmers) earlier. About 1/2 way through I broke from the pack since I was having a tough time squeezing through.

This transition area was so big that it took more time to run in and out than change my stuff. Otherwise, the transition went very well. I brought a very bright towel to mark my spot, that helped.

Not much, maybe get in earlier to get a better spot. Bikes were jammed in after I left.

I knew going into this that the bike was my achilles heel since I have little time on the bike. This is my first year biking, I had a target of 20 mph avg. I came really close. The course was very rough but I did manage to stay in the aero position about 80-90% and did well into the wind. I learned to see the rough spots from far away - that's where all the water bottles, saddle packs, and misc. bike parts fell on the road off of peoples bikes. There were many wrecks and flats.

Train, train, train some more.

Again, transition area is huge. I did my thing and got out. My transition time was average among everyone else but good for me.

Next year I will practice the flying dismount.

My plan for this was an "easy" first 3 miles then step it up on mile 4. When I got half way I delayed my tempo change until mile 5. Being my first oly, I thought I'd have more gas for the finish. I am happy with my run but next time I will work on having more speed to the finish. It was a huge rush to come under the roadway and see the crowds and fencing to the finish. I broke into a mad sprint to the finish, one of the best feelings ever.. period.

Train, train, and train some more. I should have done more bricks in the weeks leading up to the event, that would have helped.

Standing under the Aqua-fans, lots of water, a few bananas and much walking. The walk from the finish back to the transition area was about a mile. I had many supports who I thank for showing up to the race to cheer me on.


Hey, this is my first Oly - I am happy to finish.


I love this race. This is my first Oly distance and I am hooked. The event for nearly 7000 athletes was well organized and had a festival feel to it. The pre-race expo is a great event to see new equipment. I recommend the pre-race talks at the expo for newbies like me. The post race party looked like fun but I had to go.