First time Tri - Chicago

Yes, I am signed up for the Accenture Chicago triathlon.

Does anyone know where to train for OWS anytime in the near future, b/c I have no clue where to go in STL, and the Chicago tri has a half mile OWS.

I am not doing the Chicago but I am doing Lake St. Louis the weekend before. 

I know people who have done Chicago before and they said that the transistions can be a bit long due to the city layout.  Apparently last year it was like a quarter mile between the swim exit and the transistion area.

If you know anyone with property at Innsbrook, its a great place to get some open water swim experience.  Do you have a wetsuit?  It may or may not be legal depending on the temps in late august.  I used one for Nation's Tri in D.C. last year and loved it.

Thanks for the advice.  My husband has done Chicago the last three years (he isn't racing this year) so I have witnessed the tough transitions.  I actually just got the Vibram five finger shoes to practice running in since there is such a long (barefoot) run from the lake to the bike transition.  The lake is also very, very crowded and I'm a bit nervous! 

I swim at Shaw Park.  Are you sure you have to be a resident? I thought you could still get a pass, you just had to pay more??

My wife thought the same thing (about Shaw Park), but everything they advertise online says you have to be a resident or corporate resident.  I guess I can always just try it after work one day.  I know at the Center of Clayton you can pay $12 for a daily pass.  I swam there with Team In Training last year.  The competition pool is nice but the 50m (and outdoor) pool is much nicer though.  I was able to swim at Maplewood last year but my friend move to TX.

As far as swimming in a crowd goes, its something that is very hard to practice.  Last year I just tried to practice swimming close to the other folks I swam with and try to stay as relaxed as I could.  It translated fairly well to the race in DC.

If you want, you can meet up with my husband and me outside the Shaw Park pool.  We tend to go about 6 or 6:30 pm during the week.  I agree that outdoor swimming is a lot better. 


Edited by JenSTL 2009-06-22 2:53 PM

That would be great!  I'm considering the season pass ($150 for non-res) but I keep getting the run around about using the facility once before committing.  Wednesday is best for me but I could do another night too.  Thanks!

Ryan

Hi Jen and Ryan-

I'll be at Shaw Park tomorrow (Wednesday) evening about 5.30p is anyone is around...the pool is basically the only place to train hard in this heat!

--Emily.

I'll be going, too, if you want to go a little later (after 6).  Let me know tomorrow.  You can look for me, I'll be the really really slow girl : )

I'm fine with either time.  Look forward to meeting other triathletes in the area!

Ryan

Hi All, I'm a Newbe here and the Chicago SuperSprint will be my 1st Tri.
Don