Millennium Park Tri - TriathlonSprint

My swim was just about as good as it gets for me. I basically have one speed. I navigated much better than my last event however, so I was pretty happy about that. My goal as usual was to not give up too much time to everyone else.

Nothing. It was a normal-ish swim for me. I guess I could have gotten swimming lessons at some point so I don't give up quite so much time to everyone else.

I ran past a few people leading into the transition and on my way to my bike. I was sucking pretty good air, but I didn't feel out of control. I got my cap, goggles, and ear plugs off easily and timely. My wetsuit came off nicely, and my socks went on well...sort of...I noticed right away that my right sock was on upside down (the heal was on the top of my foot). I could have left in and went with it, but I thought a few seconds now may save me a lot of grief and discomfort later. So, I took off my sock, but when I did I accidentally turned it inside out. Now I had the joy of taking the time to turn it outside in. I finally got my sock on and headed out. It only took a few seconds, but it seemed like a day and a half.

Pay closer attention when putting on my socks because putting socks on correctly is important and easy to do correctly...or incorrectly if you don't pay attention to this detail.

I caught a lot of people who I "gave a headstart" to on the swim and I had the kind of bike split I thought I was capable of producing.
I did make one stupid choice, but I managed to get away with it. While we were riding, a very lagre gravel truck pulled out on the road ahead of me. I caught up to it because it had slowed down for the riders on the course. I had at least two choices. One...slow down and stay behind it for...who knows how long while those who I passed earlier caught up to me and those in front of me pulled away. That would have been safe and wise. The other option I saw in the heat of the moment was to pass on the right on the two foot (or less) space between the truck and the dirt shoulder. This would be reckless, dangerous, and irresponsible. However, it would allow me to not get caught by my chasers and for me to pass more competitors.
Rational thought during a race often goes out the window and once again it did. I got out of my saddle and starting sprinting like and idiot alongside this moster of many tones of metal traveling at 20-something miles an hour up a small curving hill. When I reached the rear tire of the truck, I swerved a little and almost hit the dirt shoulder, which likely would have sent me sprawling eithr in the ditch or on the road, or both. However, I recovered and kept going. This should have been an indicator that this particular tactic was just a REALLY BAD IDEA. But NOOOO, I just kept hammering. As I got just past the truck's front tire, the driver blasted his horn. The sound went "ERRRRNNNT" but it said, "You f****** idiot! Are you TRYING to kill yourself!" The horn was right of course. It was a stupid thing to do. I finally got past the truck, around my next competitior, and I hit a downhill section that catepulted me into another gear and I passed a few more people.
There was a long section along the Grand River heading south that consisted of smooth pavement and a primarily flat grade. It was go time and I picked off a few more people.
The last section of hills allowed me to catch two more before heading back into transition where the spectators lined the park's driveway. They were cheering and I was taking all in to get charged up for the remaining 5k run I still had to cover.

I would like to think that I wouldn't pass that truck given the same set of circumstances. I don't know when or if the truck turned off. Who knows how long I would have been stuck behind it singing "I Can't Drive 55" in my head. "One foot the gas, and one the brake...".

This was a much smoother transition. More like what I am capable of doing.

Nothing.

I felt strong and confident the whole time. I think it helped that I did some recon on the course with my bike a few days earlier. I passed about three people throughout the run.

Hmmm. If I had known my average was going to be 6:01 per mile, I might have put in a little extra toward the end to have my average under 6-minutes, but that's just greedy.

I held my knees, took my timing strap off, sucked air like a Hoover, staggared over to get something to drink, then finally walked over to my biggest fans.


I believe I had a solid race and performed to the best of my abilities on the day. The only apparent limitter I can think of is the sock mishap.


The Millennium triathlon is a well organized, fast race, with a reasonably deep field. It's good for beginners (short and tame course) and for experienced athletes (short, fast, and competitive). There was one problem during the kids race where a large portion of the younger age group missed their turn-around. It was well marked with cones and arrows, but there wasn't a person standing there. It was a matter of miscommunication and the race director felt horrible. He offered comp entries to all that missed the turn around, which he did not have to do.
This is a solid race and worth doing.