Naperville Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Still my weakness. But it was a better swim than I have had in the past. I had a mental hurdle to get over after the swim disaster at my last race. I kept it pretty slow at first, but freestyle the whole way. I was happy that I was able to settle in and relax. I actually drafted a bit which I have never been able to do. I did walk around one buoy and the last 20 yards. I saw my family at the end of the swim and was able to give my son a big wet high five.

Need more swim training and consistency.

Huge transition. Racks were by race number which I thought was nice. No one was fighting for prime spots. I got lucky and was racked two rows from bike in/out on an end which was great. But it was probably couple 100 yards to run from swim to my bike.

Some day I will feel more comfortable having my shoes on the bike. But overall pretty good. The majority of this time is the run from swim through a big transition.

2 minute penalty for passing on the right. I was trying to pass a group of slower riders going 3-4 wide that would not move over. As soon as I passed on the right I saw the marshall/motorcycle go by me. I knew she nailed me. Just hoped maybe she got them for blocking. No fluid on the bike which I think was a good decision despite the heat. I heard the family and their cowbells loud and clear on both loops. My son loves ringing the cowbell at races. Shoes off on the bike which was a first for me, and it went quite well.

This is exactly where I wanted to be for this bike. I stayed in my aero position almost the whole time. I only got passed by guys racing with discs (I love that sound) or deep rims. I felt like I was freewheeling quite a bit to back off and avoid drafting on a very congested course.

Yell "on your left" a little louder and avoid the penalty. Some nice race wheels?

Racked well. Shoes on without problems. No socks for a sprint. Two sips Gatorade from a water bottle. Long slow jog to run out. Race belt on while I ran. 1 GU as I left T2.

Run faster to run out? Wait to take fluid at the first water station? Overall pretty good.

Took about a mile to get my legs, then felt decent. Walked the water stations. My slowest 5k to date. This is a minute and a half slower than I would expect on my worst day. Maybe the heat? Maybe I should have taken some fluid on the bike?

Not walk the water stations. I need to improve my run off the bike.

Water and bananas. Hung out with my wife, son, and a lot of friends. There is a nice park there, and we let all the kids play for a while. One of my friends took home hardware, and we tried to stick around and see him get his award. Took forever to get bikes out of transition. I do not know what the issue was. The race officials picked the hottest day of the year to make all the racers wait in the blistering sun to get their stuff. It eventually became anarchy as everyone jumped the fence to get their gear.

We went home for Portillo's, beers, and Wii tournament. Usually after a race, we grill, drink beers, and play yard games. It was just too hot today.


Training consistency and volume. Heat to an extent? The penalty cost me quite a few places (see below).


Placing without penalty:
1:21:10 (only a minute off of what I expected)
372/1735 overall
64/181 AG

Fun local race. I think it is well run. A lot of local support. Great crowd in town along the end of the bike loop and run. It would be a better race if they limited it to 1200-1500 racers instead of 2000. Finally, I don't know what the deal was with getting gear out of transition. I don't know if I will do this race again next year. I will have to see if it fits into my schedule. It was fun, and it is local. I love sleeping in my own bed, and I enjoy having my wife, kids, and all my friends around on race day.