Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Capri Events
83F / 28C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 00m 15s
Overall Rank = 1202/3880
Age Group = M5-39
Age Group Rank = 169/396
Pre-race routine:

Get up a 3:30 and get to the miles of bike racks to find my wave and squeeze in to a spot. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Event warmup:

None- not really possible in this crowd
Swim
  • 29h 30m
  • 1640 yards
  • 1h 47m 54s / 100 yards
Comments:

Straight forward swim except for the 600 yard run on cracked concrete to T1. Slows you down and ruins the swim time. Felt unexpectedly good, caught swimmers in the 4 minute and 8 minute wave ahead of me. Stopped to take of wetsuit for the run to T1, no idea what the actual swim time was.
What would you do differently?:

This was my first tri. so I hung in the back during water treading with the 100 or so guys in my wave. Then I had to work through a bunch of slower guys to get into open water. Next time I'm going close to the front for the start.
Transition 1
  • 02m 18s
Comments:

I never practiced with shoes pre-clipped or jumping on bike so I sat down, put the shoe on at the rack, ran out, then mounted standing still. Slow, but safe.
What would you do differently?:

Practice the jumping on bike/ having shoes pre-clipped in. Also buy some tri-bike shoes with a single strap.

Bike
  • 1h 22m 47s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 18.01 mile/hr
Comments:

I knew it was going to be HOT HOT so I drank gallons of fluids but my swim wave went off before I could hit the porta-potty. By the time I got to the bike my bladder was screaming at me. Had to stop for a natural break on lap 1 but the relief was well worth the lost time. My 2nd lap was much faster more comfortable.

What would you do differently?:

Train more, this was my 1st race and it's been hard to find time to put in the riding hours laid out in the 20 Week Olympic Training program. Watching a guy on a MTB in tennis shoes drop me was just brutal. But dropping the guy with Aero wheels that cost more than my bike made up for it.
Transition 2
  • 02m 4s
Comments:

Room for improvement but for my 1st time, I don't care that much.
What would you do differently?:

Again, comes down to practice. I stayed safe, stopped, climbed off, took off my shoes and then ran in.
Run
  • 1h 03m 34s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 14s  min/mile
Comments:

Disaster! This has always been my strength. On fresh legs, I can do a 10k at 7:30 pace so I was hoping for an 8ish average after the bike. But the HEAT and Humidity got me, I cramped in both quads almost immediately and had to stop, sit down and stretch. It took every ounce of will power just to keep moving. Passed tons of people walking and suffered every step of the way.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure, maybe I went to hard on the bike but the temp and heat index were so high, it was crazy t be out there. Kona? -No thank you
Post race
Warm down:

Stumbled across the finish line to wet towels and cold fans, laid on the ground for a while. Stopping never felt so good.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Xtreme heat and humidity. I was well hydrated, almost over-hydrated and I still felt the heat stroke coming on.

Event comments:

After investing 8 months in training I would have liked better race weather conditions. If you don't enjoy heat and humidity, skip the Chicago Marathon and Triathlon. Still, all in all a good experience for my first time. I'll do more races, but this one, never again.




Last updated: 2010-05-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
29:30:00 | 1640 yards | 1h 47m 54s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/396
Overall: 419/3880
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra
Course: Straight forward except for the 600 yard run on cracked concrete to T1. Slows you down and ruins the swim time.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Shot
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Average Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:18
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Below average
Biking
01:22:47 | 24.85 miles | 18.01 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/396
Overall: 2362/3880
Performance: Below average
Wind: Some
Course: Undulating
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 02:04
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:03:34 | 06.21 miles | 10m 14s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/396
Overall: 1327/3880
Performance: Below average
Course: HOT HOT HOT, Insanely HOT and HUMID
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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] 3