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.

Position myself in the middle of the wave, instead of the end.

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.

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.

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.

Get good sunglasses, so I could see better in tunnels.

My heart rate belt got loose and fell off. so I lost some time securing it before starting run.

Make sure before the race that my heart rate belt is tight and secure.

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.

Drink two bottles on the bike instead of one.

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.


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


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.