Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

I’ve done some of my OWS practices in Lake Michigan and the water was much rougher for today’s race than any of my practice swims. I started near the front of my wave and there was a lot of bumping the first 150 yards or so. Then things opened up a little bit until I started running into groups from previous waves. Nothing out of the ordinary though. I was exhausted after the swim. I couldn’t breathe very well because of the cold I have and had to walk the 450 yards to transition to catch my breath.

Not be sick :)

No problems navigating the huge transition area or getting out of my wetsuit and ready for the bike. Only problem was I was moving a little slower than normal

Going north on Lake Shore Drive there was a super strong head wind and I was already exhausted from being sick and the swim. On the first quarter of the bike course I was worried I wasn’t going to make it. I had absolutely no energy and was fighting that head wind. I ended up taking most of the bike course pretty easy and taking sips of Gatorade. I did have some moments when the wind was at my back that I actually felt ok, but overall I was just felt fatigued and worn-out.

No issues with transition other than walking instead of running

At this point I was completely drained and ended up walking most of the way with a couple minutes of slow running here and there.

Biggest issue was being sick.


It's a big race so it is crowded, but it was well organized.