Naperville Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

This was my first tri but it was also a little scarey in the water for me, not b/c I'm not a good swimmer but it seemed WAY too crowded. I got pushed under a few times, I kept running into people. Then the rope broke and choas insued. I pushed into a wave of people all heading the wrong direction so part of my swim got cut short. it was unavoidable as the sea of people all got mixed up.

Even though I'm not a super fast swimmer I would go in well before the 9-11 group b/c it was way too slow and congested.

Tired after the mess in the pool. I had short run to my transition area but a long run to bike out. Took me a little longer to catch my breath and get shoes/socks on(I don't ride in clipless yet).

Relax, my breathing was too fast and I was getting flustered easily with being wet. Goto clipless pedals to avoid putting on socks and shoes

Did better on the bike than I anticipated. Once I got going I felt good. My time was faster than I had previously practiced. No real cramps or fatigue.

Not too much maybe a steadier pace throughout.

Once I got off the bike my jelly legs kicked in. I had practiced it but still some getting used to it. Had a long run to my area as I was right by the run out so I had to go all the way through transition to get to my area. I had problems getting my bike gloves off(more on that later)

Gear down more before getting off the bike to get my legs more accustomed to running.

I was spent at this point. I walked breifly about a 0.5 mile into it to help right the ship. Noticed my hands were swelling causing me some concern. Eventually steadied out but disappointed as running has always been my strong suit.

Better prepare with more brick workouts. Get used to hoping off a bike and running right away.

Well I had to go right into the medical tent as I mentioned before my hands were all swelled up and so was my lip. This what made T2 tough too as I couldn't get my gloves off. Not really sure what happened, neither did the doctors. I remember myhands getting tight even before the swim and tighter on the bike. I think I may have had an allergic reaction to a bite as my feet were covered in what looks like mosquito bites. So I wasn't really able to warm-down properly.


The swelling issue was a big concern while running b/c I could barely make a fist! Also being my first time I think I underestimated the nerves and fatigue and race day excitement so I need to train more and relax more.


The mess in the pool was a bit much for me as a first timer and then my weird medical thing limited me some. But overall I had a blast and will be doing more tri's next year and I will definetely be back in Naperville to better my time.