Life Time Tri Chicago - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Life Time Fitness
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 25m 55s
Overall Rank = 70/2943
Age Group = M3034
Age Group Rank = 11/361
Pre-race routine:

Had everything ready to go the night before and woke up at 3:30am. Left the house around 4:10 since we remembered it took a while to park and wheel our bikes over to transition last year. Setup transition and then had time to get breakfast in because our waves all started around 8am. Had a Clif Bar and some coffee. Then just a little before the swim I took one GU.
Event warmup:

No real warmup. We kept walking around downtown looking for coffee and then I was back and forth between gear check and where we were sitting...had to be warmed up a little bit!
Swim
  • 26m 39s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 37s / 100 yards
Comments:

I had a great swim and partly because I was able to find someone to draft. After rounding the first buoy there was a fast lady in my wave and noticed she was swimming pretty straight so I stuck with her until we exited the water. I'm sure part of the swim time includes the nice long run from getting out of the water all the way to transition so gunned it!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing at all, this was one of my best swims so far and I couldn't be happier.
Transition 1
  • 02m 32s
Comments:

Such a big transition area it's hard to get in and out of there quickly. However, I'm sure I can make some improvement here. My wetsuit was hard to take off and I almost forgot to take off my swim cap and realized it when I tried putting on my bike helmet.
What would you do differently?:

I was really running to get to my spot that it was the only thing I was thinking of. Must pay more attention to detail.
Bike
  • 1h 10m 9s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 21.25 mile/hr
Comments:

Extremely happy with the bike, I really surprised myself on this one! This was the first time going by HR for an OLY and it made a big difference in my decision making. I wanted to keep my HR in mid-zone4 since I knew I can keep that up for quite a while. After getting out of transition, though, my HR was just above zone5 and the first thing there was after getting on the bike was a nice sized hill, for Chicago anyway! I didn't worry about it too much and decided to get up the hill and let my HR drop on the decent. There was some decent tail wind going north but not too much to launch me to 26mph+.

Lake Shore Drive rolls a little on it's overpasses so it's definitely not a flat course, at least not to me! I let my HR go up into high zone4 and sometimes hit zone5 on those rollers but pretty much kept it steady during the ride.

One thing that may have costed me a few seconds was that I took my feet out my my shoes way too early. I was on my second lap and passing up the turnaround I though transition would be just around the corner but I didn't remember from last year that it was a little further. No worries though, this was my best bike split and can't be happier!
What would you do differently?:

I should make it a habit of knowing the course a little better which would have helped this time in where I decide to get my feet out of my shoes.
Transition 2
  • 03m 36s
Comments:

Horrible! 42sec slower than last year. I had this great spot in transition last year and it was easy to get to in both T1 and T2. This year there wasn't room in my wave's racks so I had to rack my bike in another wave (sorry, no choice!!). After setting up in the morning I did a test run to it to remember where it was, but only from swim in, I didn't test it out from bike in.

I ended up getting lost for a little bit going to some further racks so that cost some time. Then when I got there I took my shoes out of a plastic bag (it was suppose to rain) and realized I never tied them! DOH! So I just sat down, put my socks on, then my shoes and tied them. Boo!! I can possibly be faster about 1:30-2:00min if my transitions were perfect.
What would you do differently?:

Again, just pay more attention to detail, I feel I have a good amount of time to gain by having better transitions.
Run
  • 42m 58s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 06m 55s  min/mile
Comments:

Just as on the bike I focused on keeping my HR in mid-zone4, which was hard to do at the pace I was running and knew I can hold. Ended up staying around high zone4 with some bouts in zone5. The whole last mile was in zone5 actually. I was really hurting after the 3rd mile but I kept pushing and keeping the pace. At mile 4 I quoted Lance Armstrong in my head, "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take it's place. However, if I quit it lasts forever."

I really like that quote because it's true. I only needed to go through a few more minutes of pain and then it's over and I can rest. I said it again to myself on mile 5 and picked up the pace a little. Hit mile 6 and opened the throttle as much as I can (it wasn't much though) and barreled toward the finish line.

I'm a runner, so it's my favorite part of a triathlon. I was glad to have not gotten passed during the run...not once. I guess I was lucky that the fast runners were ahead of me or in much later waves that they couldn't catch up haha.
What would you do differently?:

Not a thing, I gave the run everything I had and was glad to hit that finish line so that pain can be replaced by the joy of knowing I just hit a big PR!
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, drink lots of fluids and after my stomach settled I had some yogurt.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Transitions!

Event comments:

Not sure why there are some that don't like the Chicago Triathlon, it's a great race. Some also complain that it's too crowded but for two years in a row now I've gotten my best OLY times here. It's possible that I may do it again next year because I like it so much.






Last updated: 2012-04-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:39 | 1640 yards | 01m 37s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/361
Overall: 100/2943
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vortex Sleeveless
Course: Started in Monroe Harbor and headed 1/4mi south to a turnaround and then north for the remaining 3/4mi.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 68F / 20C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 02:32
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:10:09 | 24.85 miles | 21.25 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/361
Overall: 308/2943
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Nice 2 loop ride on Lake Shore Drive. Headed north out of transition up to about Foster Ave for the turnaround and then back south.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 92
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:36
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Bad
Running
00:42:58 | 06.21 miles | 06m 55s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/361
Overall: 42/2943
Performance: Good
Course: Headed south out of transition to about 18th St and back north to the finish.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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] 5