Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Life Time Fitness
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 09m 14s
Overall Rank = 1406/2708
Age Group = 55-59
Age Group Rank = 58/98
Pre-race routine:

Keeping in mind the importance of nutrition and hydration, I ate protein rich dinner yesterday and drank plenty of water. Woke up at 2:20am and after small cup of coffee with small sandwich drove to Chicago. Transition opened at 4 am. Racked the bike, set up gear, and went to swim start point.
Event warmup:

Before putting on wetsuit, I jogged and stretched a little. There was no warmup in the water.
Swim
  • 41m 50s
  • 1500 meters
  • 02m 47s / 100 meters
Comments:

The water was choppy and loaded with bunch of floating weeds. This slowed me down as well as too many really slow swimmers ahead of me at the start. I did not expect the beginning of swim to be so crowded and many guys navigating badly, so I had to accept a collision course.
What would you do differently?:

Position myself in the middle of the wave, instead of the end.
Transition 1
  • 04m 3s
Comments:

The transition area is really big, so reaching your bike and racking it back takes some time. In addition, it was soaked with water after yesterday's storm and muddy.
What would you do differently?:

Not so much, but maybe it would be a good idea to take wetsuit off close to swim exit, put extra running shoes there, and give the gear to one of family members. It would improve both swimming and T1 time.
Bike
  • 1h 19m 12s
  • 40 kms
  • 30.30 km/hr
Comments:

Little volunteer's help to direct bikers. I did not feel safe there to speed up, however many competitors did. The rules of riding and passing were violated all the time with people riding in the middle of the road.
What would you do differently?:

Get good sunglasses, so I could see better in tunnels.
Transition 2
  • 03m 16s
Comments:

My heart rate belt got loose and fell off. so I lost some time securing it before starting run.
What would you do differently?:

Make sure before the race that my heart rate belt is tight and secure.
Run
  • 1h 00m 52s
  • 10 kms
  • 06m 05s  min/km
Comments:

I was getting some minor cramps in my lest foot despite getting enough energy gels on the bike and before run, but probably did not hydrate myself well in advance. So I was slower than expected and had to stop at add stations.
What would you do differently?:

Drink two bottles on the bike instead of one.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking back and forth along the triathlon course to cheer up my daughter who was doing sprint distance. Light stretching in the meantime. I probably walk extra 3 - 4 miles including final walk from finish line to transition for bike pick up.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Poor planning and executing hydration. too much time spent in transition.

Event comments:

This is a second time I have done international distance here. Although organizers did a very good job allowing Olympic distance racers to start in early waves, the new bike course disappointed me. I liked two loops on Lake Shore drive from last year. It was much safer and less confusing. Also the food served at the finish line was not good. If you like races with large number of people, this one is very well organized.




Last updated: 2014-06-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:41:50 | 1500 meters | 02m 47s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/98
Overall: 0/2708
Performance: Average
Suit: Yes
Course: Same course like last year in the harbor along lake shore. There is about 450 yards between swim exit and transition area. Running this path is included in swim time. You can easily deduct 2 - 3 min from your swim time to estimate the real result.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:03
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
01:19:12 | 40 kms | 30.30 km/hr
Age Group: 0/98
Overall: 0/2708
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: First part of the course along Lake Shore drive - same like last year. Mostly flat, fast. Second part of the course was newly introduced first time. I did not like it, because of tunnels with poor visibility, sharp turns and turns around.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:16
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:00:52 | 10 kms | 06m 05s  min/km
Age Group: 0/98
Overall: 0/2708
Performance: Average
Course: Same like last year on bike path along lake shore. Thanks to organizers, the run started earlier for international distance, so it was not necessary to deal with high temperature and humidity. The sprint guys were having much harder time due to hotter weather, but not as terrible as in August 2013 ( over 90F).
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %2.3
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4