Accenture Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Capri Events
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 15m 26s
Overall Rank = 2875/4089
Age Group = Clydesdale
Age Group Rank = 25/33
Pre-race routine:

4:20 AM wake-up and shower. Water, light stretching and breakfast of Mix1 drink, 'Breakfast Cookie', fresh fruit and EFS electrolyte drink. Light stretching and then walked bike to transition area (a few blocks) at 5:00 AM. Arrived at transition area with about 40 minutes left and racks were jammed. Found space, set-up mat and went back out to await swim start (2 hour wait). Held off putting on wetsuit until 15 minutes before swim start. Sipped water and ate some granola before swim start. 1st tri without a gel before swim.
Event warmup:

Long walk to transition area from hotel and stretching before and after arrival at transition area.
Swim
  • 46m 42s
  • 1640 yards
  • 02m 51s / 100 yards
Comments:

1st Olympic distance swim! Very excited by the comfort level in the water. Rested on my back and doing elementary backstroke to keep moving. Started taking 20-30 strokes and then a 15-20 second break toward end of swim. Very excited to complete swim without feeling completely spent and still having solid legs after getting out of the water. Long trip to transition area from water exit seemed longer than described, but it was filled with spectators which was great.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, but definitely keep working on swim endurance. Started 6-swim a week program a couple of weeks before the tri to focus on swim improvement (per Triathlete mag). Unbelievable progress and improved endurance and comfort in the water. Will now work on speed and endurance. Very excited to get going again in the water.
Transition 1
  • 05m 43s
Comments:

Very excited after completing swim. Very concerned about distance and number of people going in. Just so excited about getting out of the water and feeling very good for bike leg.
What would you do differently?:

I would try to get over (i.e., contain) my excitement for completing the swim. I actually started to send a text message to my wife and friends to let them know I made it out of the water and felt great. Put phone down and got back to work. Not really sure how the swim and T1 times are measured. I had a different time for the actual swim portion on my watch, but the nearly 500 yard walk from the swim to transition counts in the swim time. I didn't feel like I spent 6 minutes in T1.
Bike
  • 1h 13m 19s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 20.34 mile/hr
Comments:

With the exception of the road conditions, a very fast and mostly flat course. No serious hills to speak of. Headwind going north on Lake Shore and a tailwind coming south. Really liked the course and can imagine that you could fly on the course with good conditions and with fewer people out there. Tough to always pass on the right, but really liked the ride overall. Losing water bottles stunk, but tried to re-hydrate on run. Kept positive 'hydration' thoughts in my head throughout ride to avoid desire to stop and pick up a random bottle on the course. :)
What would you do differently?:

I would pick a line and just stick to it on the course. No way to avoid the bumps and not sure what I could do to speed up. Time slowed down by break tapping on occasion, but nothing else I could do to avoid riders and course 'debris'. Would not change much, overall.
Transition 2
  • 04m 4s
Comments:

Felt good after bike ride, but needed to hydrate. Losing water bottles could have been worse, but for cooler morning conditions and steady wind. Got out of shoes and off bike easily. Couldn't get out of left shoe, so ran to T2 with one bare foot. :)
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 1h 05m 36s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 10m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

Felt good at the start. Took off slowly and enjoyed the transition into the run course. Very good spectator support and the out and back layout allowed me to see lots of people I had spoken to in transition or while waiing for the swim start.
What would you do differently?:

Go a little harder/faster at the beginning. Had done plenty of bricks, so no real concern for legs adjusting to run. Had some legs left at the end of the run and picked up the pace over last mile and a half. Lack of bike hydration had me concerned about cramping (never actually cramped), so took in fluids at a number of stations.
Post race
Warm down:

Cooled down with cold wet towels (provided by race) and stretching. Walked around a good bit to col down and ate at the site picnic. Pasta, fruit, and a burger. All followed by a quick jaunt to Wrigley for the Cubs vs. Nats. Great game and great race!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Loss of water bottles on the bike course and swimming as a newbie. Wanted to get one Olympic distance race under my belt. Will now work more on swimming and running speed while also improving my bike speed.

Event comments:

1st Oly-distance race! Can't begin to describe my excitement after completing swim portion. Will definitely do this race again (if not annually). Less than a year has passed since 1st sprint race and very happy with progress. Already looking forward to 2009 race season and continued swimming improvement. Great race and fabulous city!




Last updated: 2008-05-22 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:46:42 | 1640 yards | 02m 51s / 100yards
Age Group: 25/33
Overall: 3763/4089
Performance: Good
Suit: Yes
Course: Swim course started with about 400m swim south in Monroe Harbor and then a turnaround to the finish back past the start and north in the lake. Tight course, rather crowded but overall a very good swim course. Very good water conditions and a perfect temperature for a wetsuit swim.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:43
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:13:19 | 24.85 miles | 20.34 mile/hr
Age Group: 14/33
Overall: 985/4089
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: By far, the worst road surface I have ever ridden. Road surface could not have been in worse shape. Everything from large bumps to a rather conspicuous, sand-filled pothole. Lost BOTH water bottles about :30 into the ride on the first marked 'bump'. The city had a rough winter and they thought the roads might be re-paved before the event. Suffered some damage to bike from rough ride (I weigh 217 pounds after all). I think the damage may be serious enough to justify a new machine! Very happy about that. Still maintained very good speeds, despite very crowded course and tapping breaks on occasion to avoid people, holes, water bottles, CO2 canisters and everything else that wasn't nailed down on bikes before hitting the innumerable (and unavoidable) obstacles.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence: 81
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 04:04
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:05:36 | 06.21 miles | 10m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 24/33
Overall: 2989/4089
Performance: Average
Course: Very good run along lake front path. Very good scenery and great spectator support. Ran easily on first half of run and got more excited as I got closer and closer to the finish. Great course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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] 4