Wauconda Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon

Due to unusually cold morning at this time of the year, I decided to wear a swimsuit. However, the water was not too cold. The swimsuit I used was not a triathlon like one. It might slow me down instead of keeping buoyancy, or the distance was a little longer than 1 mile, because I swam about 4 minutes longer than my usual time at open swim workouts. I got the worst time in my age group. I really don't know what it was. I felt comfortable the whole distance, but have collided couple times with faster swimmer passing me from behind. In addition my swim goggles got foggy despite using some saliva on them. I also think that it is not a good idea to let swim older guys in the first wave.

If deciding to wear a swimsuit, get a better one and practice more before the race.
Still a lot of work to do on my free style strokes, breathing, and body position in the water. Get a pair of good, anti-foggy swim goggles.

When I got to transition area, my gear was all messed up. A guy was sitting right next to my towel, putting his shoes on and having his stuff all around. I lost some time gathering my gear together. Taking off the wetsuit did not go smooth. I also spent too much time drying myself up with a towel and putting on long sleeve shirt. It was chilly after exiting from water.

Practice more transition with wetsuit and without. Let my body dry out at the bike.

Although I mapped out the course well, I rode the first loop too fast. Gear changes were not always timely executed, so I had not enough speed to efficiently climb up hills. It was a challenging experience there. I lost some steam in the end of the second loop. I really felt the pain in my legs attacking last hills again. Overall, great feeling.

Practice riding on hilly terrain and efficient, timely gear changes.

It was slow and somewhat painful to get off the bike. Running with bike helped me to relax muscles a little. There was a mess with gear again, but this time I found my stuff quicker, drink the rest of the water from my bike and took off. I was the fastest here in my age group.

Switch gears to easier ones earlier before transition. Get off the bike faster and run immediately to T2. Drink water while on the bike.

I am glad that I have mapped out run course before the race. Expecting hilly challenges, I decided to monitor my hart rate instead of pace of the run. As planned, I kept HR below 150 with consistent efforts. A colder weather helped a lot to complete the course. As some of the athletes were walking up to the hills, I was running. I am satisfied with the result.

Nothing. Perfect execution of my strategic plan.

Not much of it, just some walking and little stretching.


it was my first attempt on the olympic distance, so I was less concerned about the time and much focused on completing the race in a good shape (not completely exhausted). The overall strategy worked well. There is a lot to improve - especially on swim, then bike, and transitions.


My first olympic distance triathlon ever. I was a little anxious about the course, but the overall strategy of focusing on completion, racing with a steady hart rate instead of paying attention on time - went well. I would almost take 3rd place in my age group, if I could swim faster. I am happy with the overall result. Great, challenging experience. Well organized course, but not so much entertainment after the race. Now, I am getting ready for Chicago race in August with a lot more confidence:)