Chicago Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Capri Events, Inc
74F / 23C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 30m 1s
Overall Rank = 1754/1879
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 175/190
Pre-race routine:

Stayed with a friend in Grant Park so waking up at 3AM and meeting our training group near transition was easy. Ate my usual half bagel w/ fried egg, a sip of coffee and a donut hole. Got a sweet spot on the rack in transition right by bike in/out, very easy to find. Walked my transition routes once to make sure I knew where I was, then headed down to swim start. My team (Team to End AIDS) had a sweet tent at swim start, but I only spent a few minutes chilling before hitting the porta potties and pulling on the wetsuit.
Event warmup:

Not much- 5 minute bike ride up to transition? No swim warm-ups which would've been helpful for me...
Swim
  • 39m 30s
  • 820 yards
  • 04m 49s / 100 yards
Comments:

I do not do well in wavy water. This swim was really bipolar- it started off with large chops, I mean I was bouncing all over the place, but then settled into small managable chop for the last 1/4 mile. I was struggling so much the first half, I was embarrassing myself (and it takes a lot for me to get embarrassed) and doing a lot of side stroke and belching up water I kept swallowing. I FINALLY got back into a grove with the crawl about halfway through the course where the water magically calmed down. I had very little interference from other people, probably because I stayed way out to the east side.

I should add that while my overall time was a LOT slower than I'd hopeed for, it did include the 1/4 mile hobble on asphalt back to T1, which probably took about 3-4 minutes.
What would you do differently?:

Get more comfortable in crazy water. Also get more comfortable bilateral breathing again because it may have helped with the wave in the face situation.
Transition 1
  • 07m 1s
Comments:

My "eff it" attitude started here. I stopped at the porta potties halfway up the hill to my rack (did I mention my rack was at the top of a hill?) Pulled off my wetsuit over there and then jogged to my bike. I put one sock on upside down and then actually stopped to fix it, I mean who does that in T1. Anyway, I was just taking my time to calm down after that swim.
What would you do differently?:

Not care about my socks? The porta potty visit is inevitable so I'm just going to live with that.
Bike
  • 59m 45s
  • 13.67 miles
  • 13.73 mile/hr
Comments:

I was really trying on the bike but the headwinds were clearly pretty bad (but I don't know just HOW bad, I don't have any computers on my bike). It was also a crowded course, lots of blockers and d-bags passing on both sides. I almost got sideswiped by a moron passing my on the left while I was passing someong on the right. RAGE. My left arm also went numb which was fun.
What would you do differently?:

We all know I'd like a road bike instead of my franken-MTB.
Transition 2
  • 02m 3s
Comments:

I will continue to rock the T2 as long as I don't have to change my shoes. Also my rack was right next to bike in/bike out so I didn't have to run across town with the damn thing.
Run
  • 41m 39s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 13m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

Beautiful run course, the wind that made the swim and bike difficult was nice here. Really appreciated the Team to End AIDS aid station where everyone went crazy when I ran through! I did get a side stitch but it wasn't bad enough to make me walk, just enough to keep me at a below-average "run" pace.
What would you do differently?:

Wish there were mile markers for M2 and M3. I like to start picking up the pace during the last mile and then sprinting at the end but I honestly had no idea where the finish line was until I saw it, and it was hard to make any gains at that point obviously.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed a banana and water and then crashed at the team tent. Waited in line for an absurd amount of time for a stretch from Athletico (at least I got to chat with a lot of interesting people.) Did some foam rolling too, of course. Also hit up the picnic for a hamburger and watermelon.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being a weak swimmer. This was my slowest race of the year, and even though only the swim was overwhelmingly bad, everything else was just slow enough to add up to a really embarrassing total time. I'm only being hard on myself because I know I CAN do better, even though I know I was trying the whole time. If that makes any sense.

Event comments:

Even though the size of this race had me nervous, I only really noticed it on the bike. It was really fun doing a BIG race for once, but I still might prefer the smaller ones.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2011-06-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:39:30 | 820 yards | 04m 49s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/190
Overall: 0/1879
Performance: Below average
Suit: Blue Seventy Reaction LJ
Course: Straight north along the wall in Monroe Harbor.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Bad Navigation: Average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 07:01
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:59:45 | 13.67 miles | 13.73 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/190
Overall: 0/1879
Performance: Below average
Wind: Strong
Course: Out and back on north Lake Shore Drive. Two inner lanes closed down just for the bikes. Beautiful ride with rolling hills (i.e. overpasses.)
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:03
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:41:39 | 03.11 miles | 13m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/190
Overall: 0/1879
Performance: Below average
Course: Out and back south through Gran Park/around Shedd Aquarium.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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] 4