Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

Time includes the 450 yard interval between swim finish and transition plus another 100 yards to my spot on the far end of my wave rack which was closer to the bike in/out.

I thought the swim went well for me. I train in the lake pretty often and I am used to the temperature and what not. Time was not quite what I wanted. I started a little slow to get my bearings and it was a slow start with 150 people in the wave and a fight for position for the first 1/3 of the swim. I was pulled under water by more than one fellow swimmer who attempted to crawl up my back. That is how it goes I suppose, but it slows you down. The great thing about this course is that navigation is so easy. You really don't have to worry at all whether you are swimming in the right direction.

Pretty good.

Strong head-wind on the northbound leg and strong tailwind on the southbound leg. Very bumpy track which caused me to slow up periodically. Very crowed on the road with a fair amount of unavoidable drafting. The condition of the road limited the room to maneuver. I almost got taken down by the huge seam in the road around northbound North Avenue. Time was decent, but I tried not to wear myself out.

Not much to say here. Time is basically the amount of time required to run from the far end of transition to the exit on the other side.

Decided not to take in any hydration or nutrients as I could feel some rumbling and I did not want to make it worse. Time was about five to seven minutes slower than what I would like and I obviously have to improve this area.

Eliminate/substitute certain parts of my pre-race nutrition. Something does not fully agree with my system.

Nothing


Some GI stress but not as bad as Pleasant Prarie two weeks ago.


My first Chicago Triathlon was completed safely and I enjoyed most of it. The sheer size makes it a little intimidating, but I tried to focus on doing my own race and not worrying about time and place.

Complaints:
(1) Lake Shore Drive is an abysmal bike course given its condition which is pretty much the same year to year.

(2) I was disappointed by the post-race party/picnic. I was trying to feed my young sons and they would give me only one hamburger. Family was not allowed to enter the picnic area. Quote: "The Chicago Triathlon Post Race Party takes place on Columbus Dr. just north of the finish line and runs from 8:30am until 3pm (see schedule below). Open to participants, friends, family and volunteers." The party consists of the picnic. But the picnic is not open to family. At a minimum, the web site is a little misleading and they could give me another burger. I made a big commitment in time and money to this race.

(3) They really need to consider opening transition the night before. It sucks having to be there so early when you start as late as I did in wave 46 at 9:16.

(4) Swim gear check needs to be a little better organized than it was.

(5) It would be nice if the race could be concentrated more. It is silly to have the transition, swim start and the finish line separated to such an extent. It just completes the hassle factor of this race.

Will I do it again? Probably.