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Harbor Lights Triathlon
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Harbor Lights Triathlon - TriathlonSprint
View Member's Race Log
 Swim
Comments: It was pretty choppy and when we got out to the furthest bouy there were some nice rolling waves which didn't help. I spent just about the entire swim with my head above water. It took a while for me to get over the initial freak out. I had some serious thoughts about throwing in the towel but gave myself a pep talk and just ground it out. By the end I was a little calmer but never really got into a rythm. The wetsuit definately helped with the bouyancy and speed. It was pretty tight though and it made me feel like my breathing was constricted. What would you do differently?: Practice open water with a wetsuit. It's the only way to get confidence in the choppy water.  Transition 1
Comments: It was a long way to the transition area from the beach. I ran part of it and then walked the last part. I spent a lot of time double checking to make sure I had stuff. One of the straps fell off of my camel pack, which I should have checked pre-race. I walked my bike out of the transition area which was a long ways. That didn't help my time at all. T1 was waayy to long. I really took my time. What would you do differently?: Have a better system for my stuff. Double check everything beforehand i.e. my camel pack.  Bike
Comments: I have a hybrid bike so I was getting passed pretty consistantly. Hoping to have a road bike soon so I can improve my pace. I felt great on the bike, especially after that swim. Had myself a little Gu at the end to get myself ready for the run. What would you do differently?: Get a better bike. My rear wheel isn't completely straight so it would rub the brake pads at times. Transition 2
Comments: I got back to transition and someone had parked thier bike right on my stuff. This bike was not there when we started, so I had a little obstacle course to deal with. Again I spent way too much time here. What would you do differently?: Hope nobody puts thier bike on my stuff. Have my gear better organized so I don't have to look for things.  Run
Comments: I felt good for the whole run. I rested for a few days before the race so my body was just thanking me on the bike and run segments for the attention. There was one hill in which most people were walking up but I put my head down and ran up that sucker. One girl past by me at the top of the hill and said "good job" but before I realized she was talking to me she was up ahead of me so I didn't get to thank her. I thought that was so nice. So if she happens to read this - Thanks, that was great. By the end of the run it was HOT! There were a few places where there was no breeze at all and I could just feel my skin cooking. I wish I would have had a little camel pack for the run. They had water stations at each mile but I felt like I needed more than that. If I was doing a 10K I could see the water issue becoming a problem. What would you do differently?: Maybe try to increase my speed a little. Other than that, I felt great. Post race
Warm down: When I crossed the finish line I kinda got bombarded by emotion. I really didn't expect it but a whole lot of stuff came flooding out. I think training for and completing this triathlon helped me in more ways than I realized. It has truly made me a happier person and given me such confidence and peace of mind. I really could have just broke down and cried but I tried to hold it in. My sister thought I was hyperventilating and maybe I was a little. I was just so unexpectadly overcome. Last year I was a smoker and was at the bars every weekend. This year I've quit smoking and turned my life around and have never felt better. This journey has truly been a life changing experience for me and I look forward to my next triathlon. What limited your ability to perform faster: inexperience. With more training and experience I'll be fine. Event comments: It's my first race so of course it's the best. The post race had great food catered in. The raffle and awards were very timely and I never felt I was waiting for anything. The volunteers were great, and thier enthusiasm was SO appreciated by this first timer. Last updated: 2005-06-26 12:00 AM
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 2005-07-25 2:35 PM |
Veteran  183   Buffalo Grove, IL |  Subject: Harbor Lights Triathlon |
| 2005-07-25 2:56 PM in reply to: #206690 |
| New user 4 | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon Great job for your first Tri. The transitions and familiarity with the event will come with experience. |
| 2005-07-25 3:18 PM in reply to: #206690 |
Elite Veteran 610 chicago area | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon Congratulations on your firt triathlon! You picked a doozy for your first. 100 degree heat and choppy Lake Michigan. If you can make it through this one, you can do about any race. Way to hang in there on the swim too. :-) |
| 2005-07-25 3:30 PM in reply to: #206690 |
Master 1478 Southwest Chicago 'burbs Bronze member | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon Great job on your first triathlon, Eric!!! Brenda's right -- you really picked a doozy for your first one! Faster transitions will come with practice ... everything else, you did awesome! Nice run split - that heat really made it hard to keep up a good pace out there. So, what's next on your agenda, now that you've conquered wind, extreme heat and a very choppy Lake Michigan?? And - really impressed with the lifestyle changes you made - it's not easy turning your life around 180 degrees and sticking with it! WTG! |
| 2005-07-25 5:41 PM in reply to: #206690 |
| Extreme Veteran 573 IL | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon Terrific first race, you should be proud! Right on about that girl who sang the Star Spangled Banner. I was wondering the same thing about whether or not it was recorded, she had an awesome voice. |
| 2005-07-25 5:46 PM in reply to: #206933 |
Master 1478 Southwest Chicago 'burbs Bronze member | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon dibujob - 2005-07-25 5:41 PM Right on about that girl who sang the Star Spangled Banner. I was wondering the same thing about whether or not it was recorded, she had an awesome voice. I was thinking exactly the same thing... decided that it was a recording -- could have sworn that I saw the guy with the mic holding it next to a boombox. But - I'm not 100% sure about that. |
| 2005-07-25 5:51 PM in reply to: #206938 |
| Extreme Veteran 573 IL | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon StartingToTri - 2005-07-25 5:46 PM dibujob - 2005-07-25 5:41 PM Right on about that girl who sang the Star Spangled Banner. I was wondering the same thing about whether or not it was recorded, she had an awesome voice. I was thinking exactly the same thing... decided that it was a recording -- could have sworn that I saw the guy with the mic holding it next to a boombox. But - I'm not 100% sure about that. I went off in the first wave so it was playing while we were stacked to enter the water and it got me all pumped up. Her voice gave me the chills it was so good. |
| 2005-07-25 5:56 PM in reply to: #206784 |
Veteran 183 Buffalo Grove, IL | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon Well the next tri I'm gonna do is the Lake Geneva Olympic. Know anything about it? Any recommendations for good ones in the area? Thanks everyone for the responses. This website rocks! |
| 2005-07-25 6:15 PM in reply to: #206953 |
Master 1478 Southwest Chicago 'burbs Bronze member | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon esmies - 2005-07-25 5:56 PMWell the next tri I'm gonna do is the Lake Geneva Olympic. Know anything about it? Any recommendations for good ones in the area? Thanks everyone for the responses. This website rocks! I think I remember saying that the run on Lake Geneva was pretty tough, but I've never done it myself, so I'm sure it's easy as cake.  As for others in the area... there is a sprint distance tri in Naperville on Aug 14th (www.napervilletri.com) which I'll probably be signing up for. Also - the week after - sprint and olympic distance in Pleasant Prairie... I did Danskin up at Pleasant Prairie and it's approximately the same course. The swim up there is pretty good (much nicer than Lake Michigan!). |
| 2005-07-25 7:56 PM in reply to: #206690 |
Veteran 258 Plainfield, IL | Subject: RE: Harbor Lights Triathlon Hey! Nice race, I'm so jealous to hear you felt good on the run. :P So now you are officially a triathlete, Laura mentioned some pretty good races coming up in August, might as well jump right in!!!!!! Congrats again on finishing this race, it sure was hot out there. And like Mayor Waukegan said "You are all First Place Finishers in my book!!!". How funny was that! |
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United States
90F / 32C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 572/688
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 80/86
I put the bike in the car the night before so I wouldn't have to deal with that in the morning. My sister came to stay with me so she could head up to the race with me the next morning. Had an egg on toast and some hot cereal for breakfast. Limited myself to 2 cups of coffee since I was going to be dealing with some extreme heat and wanted to stay hydrated. I pretty much had all my gear set to go so the morning went pretty smooth. I was antsy to get there so I could relax and get my stuff set up. This was my first triathlon so I didn't really know what to expect.
Got there and did the body marking thing and immediately had to wait in a long line for a port-o-potty. Fun way to start. I ran a little bit to calm my nerves and went back to my bike. I have a large bike so it wouldn't fit under the bar at the transition so I'm glad I bought a kick stand the other day. Got my stuff set up, pretty hap-hazardly, put my wetsuit on, which had to be fun to watch, and headed to the beach. I went in the water to warm up a little and holy crap did I freak out!!!!! It was very choppy and this was my first open water swim. Plus my first time swimming with a wetsuit. I had the immediate reaction of breathing hard almost to the point of hyperventilating. I;ve heard of people freaking out from others on this site but that threw me for a loop. I spent the rest of the time before the race trying to take deep breaths and calm myslef down. My sister was great too. She gave me a little pep talk, which helped. By the way, if anyone is reading this who was there, was the Star Bangled Banner a recording? If it was live, the woman that sang that kicked some major butt.