Danskin Women's Triathlon - Chicagoland (Pleasant Prairie, WI) - TriathlonSprint

The lake was great! The water was a perfect temperature, I thought, and the swim was okay, overall. The waves were big, so of course, there were people swimming all over each other for a while. The first 5-7 min I couldn't get my breathing right because I kept having to stop and find a spot to swim. For a while there, I was getting a little overwhelmed, but then found my pace and was totally fine the rest of the swim. I did think to myself, "Thank goodness this is not Olympic distance", though! hehe Came out of the water feeling strong and not tired at all :)

Need to seriously train with drills. My whole preparation was maybe 4 swims in the pool, only two were a mile long...

Train consistently to actually get a good time :)

Well, T1 time sucked, as you can clearly see. For one, I took my sweet time putting bike shoes on, but more importantly, it's hard to run with your biking shoes on.

Need to practice getting on the bike with shoes already on the bike.

I loved the rolling hills and didn't think they were bad. About mile 7-8 the headwind got pretty strong. Bursts of headwind before then, but mostly short, this one was not fun going up the hill.. Overall, really liked the course :)

Train train train.....

T2 was not so good, either. Coming into this race, I was not focusing on all the details that are coming to surface now, I was just going to enjoy the race. I didn't even time myself. I'm sure that the next race will be much better!

Plan for T2 happenings and practice the routine.

I liked running around the lake A LOT. I also liked seeing other people starting and finishing, and it was really awesome to see the finish line. A little shade would have been nice, but hey, it's all good.

The run was okay. I did mostly 4-1: 4 minutes of running, 1 min of walking. I injured my shin pretty badly a couple of months ago (bad swelling, MRI done and everything, dr suspected fractures), so I have been doing most of my running with lots of walking breaks. I believe you still get the endurance training, but at the same time, your leg muscles get a break. I got this idea from Jeff Galloway's Marathon training book...and like it a lot!

Well, training more and doing some speed work will help. I will also try some strength training, so hopefully, come next spring, I'll be much stronger, which will allow me to get faster without injuries.

Fruit and bagels were good! I was enjoying my endorphins and family company. My husband met me at the finish line, gave me a huge hug, and then we found my FIL with our baby. I hugged him and ended up feeding him once we shuffled through the crowds. I missed my little boy!! (which one of us has the separation anxiety? hehe) :) Really enjoying the post-race feeling, hanging out with my family for a bit and heading out, which, of course, took forever!... Didn't even think to get a massage...bummer!


Not enough training.


I gave this race a Yes for Organized, because the race itself was organized well....IMO. But the departure? Oh man! A LOOOOOOOONG walk with one hand on the bike, the other on the stroller to the mysterious ReUnite area, then being told that it's not there, walking all the way back, and then another 1+ mile... that was a bit of a planning fiasco, I would say!

Loved the whole experience, though, and can't wait to do another one!!!! I was considering an Olympic distance, but really think it might be too much for me right now. I may be better off to actually go through a training program for one and see where my weaknesses are...(there are many, I know).