Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

Most violent swim start I've experienced yet! I'm not complaining, though, I thought it was fun. It was just a little choppy but I felt that was my environment since I used to be a lifeguard here in Chicago and swam in choppy water all the time.

Only thing I can do is train harder to swim faster!

Went kind of slow since I did get stuck in my wetsuit a bit. I did have a good run out of the swim exit to my bike, though, passed a bunch of people there.

Probably use some suit juice or something!

Well, this is Chicago and if you ride here you better expect that headwind almost any time you go north by the lake. It was a little tough going north but I felt pretty good. Going south was fun though as I was able to get up to almost 30mph at times. Also, many of you would say this was flat, but not me! I ride on the bike path that is just east of the Drive and that's flat. The Drive had a bunch of mini hills every street it went over, but I managed quite well and even passed people going up.

Can't say I could do anything different. Cycling is my weak spot but I felt I did pretty well here. As with swimming...MORE TIME IN THE SADDLE!

As I got off the bike I had the jelly legs, so running felt a little awkward. I decided to wear socks for this race since the week before I got a blister above/behind my heel while running sockless. I tried putting my socks on standing up but was stumbling so I decided to sit down and the second sock I put on upside down, so I wasted a little time there. After that I went in my bag and got some GU Chomps because I lost a gel while on the bike course. I opened it up took them out and got my hands all sticky lol! I walked out of transition and there was an aid station right there so at the beginning of my run I lost some time getting the stickiness of my hands.

First I have to pay attention putting on my sock and also I should bring extra nutrition that I don't have to touch with my hands!

Here is where the fun and the pain start for me! I started off with that horrible feeling coming off the bike but I held the pace I was looking for. Not sure when exactly I found my running legs but they came about. All I knew is I wanted to beat my run time from Minneapolis which was a 7:29 pace. It was quite motivating for me passing people left and right and the first time I got passed was a little before mile 3 I think. I kept an eye on my Garmin making sure my average pace stayed a good amount under my goal, probably hovering around 7:23-7:24 or so. Early in the run I felt my quads starting to cramp a little, but it was nothing to slow me down at that point. Come mile 4 my quads were pretty bad and still fought it and kept my pace. On the 6th mile is where I slowed down a little, not sure of my split because I pressed a button on my Garmin that I shouldn't have, but it was somewhere around 7:40. Coming from under the bridge just after the 6 mile mark I picked it up a little to finish strong ending with a 7:26 pace. I'm happy about the run especially since I pushed the bike harder than my last olympic but was still able to keep my pace.

From the cramps I'm thinking I either may not have been hydrated or just came on from pushing the bike. However, it didn't slow me down a whole lot and I feel I had left everything on that run course...not much I can do different.

Walking around looking for friends and family.


Might not have been properly hydrated, who knows.


I found the Chicago Tri to be a good race despite what people have said about it being over crowded. Ok, it was crowded and I was held up a few times on the bike and run but I have no idea how much that would have cost me, 1min? 2min? Either way, I had a great time and that's what matters most. And hey, got a PR out of it, too!