Accenture Chicago Triathlon - Sprint - TriathlonSprint


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Capri Events, Inc
72F / 22C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 56m 21s
Overall Rank = 1090/1718
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 132/183
Pre-race routine:

A half plain toasted bagel at about 5am with a bit of Propel. It was nice not having to drive that far for the triathlon. I scored a great (free) parking spot in the city the night before so g/f and I just popped outta bed, got in our onesies, went over the checklist, and hit the road.
Event warmup:

Porta potty, little stretching, walked the length of the swim course on our way to getting in line with our waves.
Swim
  • 26m 56s
  • 820 yards
  • 03m 17s / 100 yards
Comments:

This just seemed like a longer swim that the Naperville Tri. I felt a lot more confident though being in the water. I was alternating between freestyle and breaststroke and passing people. There were however, A LOT of people in the water and many times I could not get past whoever was in front of me. I decided not to go out of my way to pass anyone, I felt it might be a waste of energy. Overall there were a lot more poor swimmers in my age group than at the Naperville tri. I kept up with my wave easily and did a fair amount of passing. I probably could have had a faster time had I actually had the endurance and training to pass individuals in the water. There were a lot of folks out there downright struggling to make it. This, oddly enough, made me feel better, as I didn't feel like I was struggling as they were. Although here, I have a much slower time than my previous tri, I did feel a lot more confident in the water.
What would you do differently?:

Um. Yeah. Like I said. I need to swim more.
Transition 1
  • 05m 27s
Comments:

My legs were sooo trashed after the swim. I was hard to get up to running capability after that. I placed a pair of flip flops along the run to the transition area. Found those which helped because I was able to run without hurting my feet. The distance from the swim out to the transition area was LONG. I walked initially just to get my feet under me, then began a fast trot.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. Just takes more experience/training I guess. The idea of placing flip-flops along the way, I think, was a good one.
Bike
  • 48m 29s
  • 13.67 miles
  • 16.92 mile/hr
Comments:

This bike course was tough, especially on this day. It was extremely windy, straight-on wind at a steady 15mph, sometimes worse. Plus dealing with many hills it was difficult to get a decent speed going. I was trying hard to make up on the downhills for any lost time climbing up hill. Overall I was pushing very hard thinking of how lame-o my time would be on the bike if I didn't. Overall trying to keep a steady pace and steady effort. Unfortunately, the "steady" bar I set was pretty high for myself.

My right knee began aching at about mile 6 of the bike, and continued to ache the rest of the day. At about mile 8, I noticed my aerobars and handlebars in general had shifted downward, pointing down, that is. I had never experienced this before. Maybe too much weight on them. So I pulled myself together, got in aero position once more and tugged upward on the entire piece pulling it back into a more appropriate position. I did this for the rest of the bike.
What would you do differently?:

I can hold a pretty good 20mph pace on any given day. I've really trained on the bike and put some time in, but... I do realize I need more varied training. More hills, more experience climbing, changing gears and surveying they course.
Transition 2
  • 04m 31s
Comments:

I sort of wanted to use the bathroom at this point, before the run. That usually makes me feel extra comfy for the run. I ran into 3 out of the 8 porta potties on my way outta the transition. Each of them wreaked and had no toilet paper. So on my way I went.

What would you do differently?:

Insist on using the bathroom. I ended up feeling less comfortable on the run than I'd have liked.
Run
  • 30m 57s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 09m 57s  min/mile
Comments:

My legs just were completely cashed from the bike. Like carrying dead weight.
What would you do differently?:

Hmmm.
More brick training from the bike to the run.
Post race
Warm down:

Water, Gatorade, finally hit the porta-potties, and waited for g/f to cross the finish line.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

An easier question to answer would be what didn't limit my ability to perform faster.

Event comments:

Very well organized race, more so than Naperville I think. I'm not willing to say this race was too hard for my abilities, because I don't think it was. I do enjoy the challenge. I think I did overcome many mental hurdles with this race. I attacked the swim very differently than previous. I feel if there were less swimmers I probably would have had a more decent time. The bike time is disappointing for me. That is really not how I usually ride. Same goes for the run. These times are significantly slower than my usual training times. But then again, stringing all these components together I guess... it's easy to loose speed to fatigue and soreness. I don't think I'll ever taper like I did for this one. I think started tapering too soon, mostly because I was working at night, that gave me a good excuse to not train. I do however appreciate that at this point I have a good base level fitness to push forward. I'm looking forward to completing sprints next year faster and with more confidence. I'd also like to do one international distance tri next year too. For this year however, this was my last tri, and I'm sad about that.

One thing I do want to mention is that nutrition felt spot-on. I felt comfortable out there, well hydrated, and not 'empty'. My theory of a GU in the beginning of the bike and one near the end, I think, worked very well. My inability to run faster was not limited by energy per se but by soreness and fatigue.




Last updated: 2006-05-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:56 | 820 yards | 03m 17s / 100yards
Age Group: 1180/183
Overall: 0/1718
Performance: Average
Suit: Orca Killa skin Tri suit. HOTTT.
Course: One straight line.
Start type: Dive Plus: Waves
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 05:27
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:48:29 | 13.67 miles | 16.92 mile/hr
Age Group: 814/183
Overall: 1718/1718
Performance: Average
Wind: Headwind
Course: STRONG headwinds of from 15 - 20 mph. Difficult to get up to speed nicely, plus I forgot how hilly Lake Shore Drive is. It's just upppp and downnnn.
Road: Rough Wet Cadence: 82
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:31
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:30:57 | 03.11 miles | 09m 57s  min/mile
Age Group: 1007/183
Overall: 1718/1718
Performance: Below average
Course: Nice scenic course around the Adler Planetarium and the Oceanarium. Wish I woulda ran faster...
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %1 lb
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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] 5