Accenture Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Capri Events
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 33m 8s
Overall Rank = 408/6567
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 71/700
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 3:15, got dressed, got in car drove to Rick's house and picked him up. Starting eating a little of my cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter at about 4:30. Arrived downtown around 5:00 parked at office garage, and walked over to transition. They were checking that you had your chip and bib before they would let you into transition, so everyone had to stop and get them out of their bags which cause a backup. Set up transition area, still in the dark, and walked back to Rick's office to wait to wave start at 8:37. Drank some coffee and HEED, and ate bagels while watching Olympic triathlon while waiting.
Event warmup:

Walking the mile from were we waited to the swim start, and then wrestling on wetsuit while in line. Not much room to stretch or warm up.
Swim
  • 32m 31s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 59s / 100 yards
Comments:

Garmin showed I was out of the water under 30 minutes, but the time includes 500 yard barefoot run into transition. Swim was slow and easy, and except for a detour when I made a 90 degree turn out into the lake, was just what I wanted. I wanted to finish in about 28 minutes, and i was right there.

Lots of kicking and contact with other swimmers, especially before the turn. After the turn, things opened up a little, but contact was still pretty frequent.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe push the 2nd half a little. I wanted to swim easy so I wasn't tired when I got out of water, but I went a little overboard, and my RPE was never above a 2 or 3.
Transition 1
  • 03m 29s
Comments:

My suit got stuck on the chip on my left ankle, and I wasted time getting it off. Also, I dropped my gel bottle, realized it, dropped the bike and returned to find it, which also wasted time.
What would you do differently?:

Move faster, not sit to remove wetsuit, not drop gel.
Bike
  • 1h 06m 1s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 22.58 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike field was very crowded. The race directors wants riders to ride on the left, and pass on the right, this always causes confusion here, and riders are strecthed two lanes wide for almost the whole ride, and passing can be difficult.

Also, there was a major head wind while riding northbound on the two loop course. Overall I'm happy with the ride, pushed hard when I had openings and had fun.
What would you do differently?:

Ride faster. Train bike intervals more often.
Transition 2
  • 02m 23s
Comments:

T2 was ok, just a lot of ground to cover and people heading out on the run while I was heading back into transition caused a pile up.
What would you do differently?:

Move faster.
Run
  • 48m 42s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 07m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

When I left T2, I knew that I had to have a good run in order to make my goal of breaking 2:30, so I pushed hard in the beginning, and was doing ok until I hit about mile 4, when my Heart Rate spiked and I started to bonk a little. So I slowed down a little at this point, and walked the remaing aid stations, and suffered and still missed my goal by about 3 minutes.
What would you do differently?:

Do more brick training with tempo runs after the bike. Couldn't hold the needed pace long enough.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed an icey towel, and several cups of water. Tried to stretch out the cramp in my left calf. Walked around a little, and made my way to the beer tent!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I was suffering on the run a little, and couldn't push any harder.

Event comments:

Well organized race put on by Capri Events. Larger but smoother than Steelhead. I had a good time, and will do this one again.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-04-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:32:31 | 1640 yards | 01m 59s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/700
Overall: 1738/6567
Performance: Average
.
Suit: Blue Seventy Wetsuit.
Course:
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 03:29
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Bad Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:06:01 | 24.85 miles | 22.58 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/700
Overall: 122/6567
Performance: Good
Avg. 157 Max. 171
Wind: Headwind with gusts
Course: Two loops on Lake Shore Drive.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:23
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:48:42 | 06.21 miles | 07m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/700
Overall: 562/6567
Performance: Average
Course: Out and back along the lakefront path.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4