On August 24th I competed in the Accenture Chicago Triathlon for the fifth time. I opted for the sprint distance primarily because of my limited training hours this year (plus you do not have to wait around as long for your start – which is important in a race with 8,600+ competitors). This race was unique for me because it was the first time I have ever really traveled to do a triathlon, as well as the first time I used someone else’s bike. All in all, I had a good time and was pretty happy with my performance.
Coming into the race, I truly did not know what to expect. On the one hand I felt pretty good (but not great) about my fitness level and was very familiar with the course having done this race before and lived and trained in Chicago for years. On the other hand my swim training has been virtually non-existent this year, I was using a friend’s bike (albeit, a really nice one), and spent most of the race weekend running around and reconnecting with old friends. My alarm went off at 3:50 A.M. race morning and I took a quick shower, collected all of my gear, and rode to transition. At 5:30 A.M. I had my transition area set up, met up with a couple of friends who were doing their first triathlon (they both finished – congratulations!), and headed to the starting line.
The swim was fairly uneventful. I lined up behind the first row of swimmers, and aside from the usual melee in the initial hundred yards or so, I avoided major contact with other triathletes. The one change that I made to my swim was to dramatically cut down on the amount of sighting that I usually do. My stroke is already marginal at best to begin with, and I have come to realize that I slow myself down even more with excessive sighting. The swim course is a straight shot north in Lake Michigan, so sighting was even less of an issue than in most other races. I just focused on keeping my head down and taking nice relaxed strokes, which seemed to work as I exited the water in just under 16 minutes. Not great, but considering the fact that I only swam six times all year, I was happy with it.
After completing the quarter mile run to the transition area (by far my least favorite part of this race), I had a fairly quick transition and was on the bike. As I mentioned, I borrowed my friend Tony’s Kestrel triathlon bike (thanks again!) Although we are about the same height, I had to raise the seat 4-5” and pull the aerobars forward 2-3”, but all in all I felt like the bike fit me fairly well. I also did not have my normal Profile Design aero drink, but was pretty good about downing most of the bottle of Gatordade I brought with me. While there was a bit of blocking here and there, most of the people I saw on the bike course seemed to be riding relatively clean, and any miscues seemed to be the result of inexperience rather than blatant cheating.
Heading north on Lake Shore Drive there was a decent headwind, but nothing compared to the gale force winds I have encountered in some previous Chicago Triathlons. I focused on staying aero as much as possible, although I did downshift and get out of the saddle to attack the few short uphills. I was maintaining a steady pace in the 19-20 MPH range, and while my heart rate was very high (180+ BPMs), from a perceived exertion level perspective I felt fine. When I hit the turnaround I knew my pace would pick up considerably with the wind at my back, and was I ever right – I rode much of the way back to the transition area at 25+ MPH! During the last couple of miles I deliberately dialed my pace back a bit in order to save some gas for the run.
I performed my usual “leave the shoes clipped to the pedals” flying dismount as I approached the transition area. I placed my bike back on the rack, grabbed my running shoes (I left the racing flats and quick tie laces at home) and was off on the run. My legs definitely felt a bit heavy, which I attribute to not being as consistent with my brick (bike/run) workouts as in past years. I did get a huge boost from seeing my friends Chad, Kim, and Ray cheering me on, as well as plenty of other spectators along the run course. I laughed out loud when Chad yelled “Come on, Anthony – there are people in front of you wearing COTTON!” (inside joke — when it comes to running I am a total wicking material snob). I forgot to press the split button on my watch in order to track my mile times, but felt like I was running around 7:15-7:20 pace – slower than normal, but completely expected given my erratic training this year. I grabbed a bit of Gatorade at each water stop, which kept me more than adequately hydrated. As I neared the finish line a spectator told me to smile because the race was almost over. I turned towards her and pointed at my exaggerated grin just before I began my final sprint.
I crossed the finish line in 1:22:08 feeling pretty good about my performance, particularly given all of the other “life events” (e.g., having my better half move in, getting married, buying a new condo, moving, etc.) that happened this year. But most importantly, after not doing any triathlons in 2007 and having my first ever DNF in the only other race I attempted in 2008, I truly feel like a TRIATHLETE again! Well, I am done with racing this season – it is time to relax, hit the weights a bit more, and start planning how I can get better (aside from more swim training, obviously) in 2009! Thanks for reading!
Race Splits
Swim: 18:16 (includes quarter mile run to the transition area, top 23%)
T1: 1:49
Bike: 38:01 (21.6 MPH, top 4%)
T2: 1:33
Run: 22:28 (7:14 per mile, top 7%)
Overall: 1:22:08 (top 5% overall, top 8% in M35-39 age group)
Coming into the race, I truly did not know what to expect. On the one hand I felt pretty good (but not great) about my fitness level and was very familiar with the course having done this race before and lived and trained in Chicago for years. On the other hand my swim training has been virtually non-existent this year, I was using a friend’s bike (albeit, a really nice one), and spent most of the race weekend running around and reconnecting with old friends. My alarm went off at 3:50 A.M. race morning and I took a quick shower, collected all of my gear, and rode to transition. At 5:30 A.M. I had my transition area set up, met up with a couple of friends who were doing their first triathlon (they both finished – congratulations!), and headed to the starting line.
The swim was fairly uneventful. I lined up behind the first row of swimmers, and aside from the usual melee in the initial hundred yards or so, I avoided major contact with other triathletes. The one change that I made to my swim was to dramatically cut down on the amount of sighting that I usually do. My stroke is already marginal at best to begin with, and I have come to realize that I slow myself down even more with excessive sighting. The swim course is a straight shot north in Lake Michigan, so sighting was even less of an issue than in most other races. I just focused on keeping my head down and taking nice relaxed strokes, which seemed to work as I exited the water in just under 16 minutes. Not great, but considering the fact that I only swam six times all year, I was happy with it.
After completing the quarter mile run to the transition area (by far my least favorite part of this race), I had a fairly quick transition and was on the bike. As I mentioned, I borrowed my friend Tony’s Kestrel triathlon bike (thanks again!) Although we are about the same height, I had to raise the seat 4-5” and pull the aerobars forward 2-3”, but all in all I felt like the bike fit me fairly well. I also did not have my normal Profile Design aero drink, but was pretty good about downing most of the bottle of Gatordade I brought with me. While there was a bit of blocking here and there, most of the people I saw on the bike course seemed to be riding relatively clean, and any miscues seemed to be the result of inexperience rather than blatant cheating.
Heading north on Lake Shore Drive there was a decent headwind, but nothing compared to the gale force winds I have encountered in some previous Chicago Triathlons. I focused on staying aero as much as possible, although I did downshift and get out of the saddle to attack the few short uphills. I was maintaining a steady pace in the 19-20 MPH range, and while my heart rate was very high (180+ BPMs), from a perceived exertion level perspective I felt fine. When I hit the turnaround I knew my pace would pick up considerably with the wind at my back, and was I ever right – I rode much of the way back to the transition area at 25+ MPH! During the last couple of miles I deliberately dialed my pace back a bit in order to save some gas for the run.
I performed my usual “leave the shoes clipped to the pedals” flying dismount as I approached the transition area. I placed my bike back on the rack, grabbed my running shoes (I left the racing flats and quick tie laces at home) and was off on the run. My legs definitely felt a bit heavy, which I attribute to not being as consistent with my brick (bike/run) workouts as in past years. I did get a huge boost from seeing my friends Chad, Kim, and Ray cheering me on, as well as plenty of other spectators along the run course. I laughed out loud when Chad yelled “Come on, Anthony – there are people in front of you wearing COTTON!” (inside joke — when it comes to running I am a total wicking material snob). I forgot to press the split button on my watch in order to track my mile times, but felt like I was running around 7:15-7:20 pace – slower than normal, but completely expected given my erratic training this year. I grabbed a bit of Gatorade at each water stop, which kept me more than adequately hydrated. As I neared the finish line a spectator told me to smile because the race was almost over. I turned towards her and pointed at my exaggerated grin just before I began my final sprint.
I crossed the finish line in 1:22:08 feeling pretty good about my performance, particularly given all of the other “life events” (e.g., having my better half move in, getting married, buying a new condo, moving, etc.) that happened this year. But most importantly, after not doing any triathlons in 2007 and having my first ever DNF in the only other race I attempted in 2008, I truly feel like a TRIATHLETE again! Well, I am done with racing this season – it is time to relax, hit the weights a bit more, and start planning how I can get better (aside from more swim training, obviously) in 2009! Thanks for reading!
Race Splits
Swim: 18:16 (includes quarter mile run to the transition area, top 23%)
T1: 1:49
Bike: 38:01 (21.6 MPH, top 4%)
T2: 1:33
Run: 22:28 (7:14 per mile, top 7%)
Overall: 1:22:08 (top 5% overall, top 8% in M35-39 age group)