Tag Archives: Chicago Triathlon 2010

Chicago 2010 Triathlon Bike Recap, Part 4 of 7

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Post Triathlon Recap Part 3 of 7. I started writing up a recap of my event, and it kept growing and growing and growing. I decided to break it up. The purpose of the recap is give new people the thoughts and ideas they can use to help them prepare for their own future first endurance event!

Whoa, am I cruising. I think this is the fastest, I’ve ever ridden my bike. The swim was rougher than I thought, but this bike ride is fun. Yet, How come I’m not passing anybody? Whoa, there goes a cool bike and another and another.

The bike part of the Chicago Triathlon was super fun. Normally in my training, I’m average between 15mph and 16mph. Granted, I usually train over curvey somewhat hilly Forest Preserve Trails. I can’t go much faster with my bike or my tires will slip out, and I’ll fall and crack my helmet. Still, I did some road rides, and I only averaged 16mph. During the Chicago Triathlon, I averaged 17.5 mph. I was cruising. Yet, I was passed more than I passed.

It was a little demoralizing to know that I am going as fast as I have ever gone, and yet I’m getting passed more often than not. I really thought I’d be faster on the bike. Yet, I didn’t let that get me down. How often do you get to Ride on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago? Twice a year: once during the Chicago Triathlon, and once during bike the drive. (Am I missing another time?)

The lakefront in the northern part of the city is awe inspiring. Its super fun.

Some unexpected thoughts: Wow, those cars are loud. I knew to expect cars, but I was surprised at how loud it was. I guess that’s what I get for having 70% of my training in forests rather than roads.

Man, there were quite a few bicyclists with break downs, tire flats, etc. I guess it happens, and I’m glad it didn’t happen to me, as I have all the tools to change a flat, but I have never done it on a bicycle.

Whoa, Lake Shore Drive has lots of potholes and dangerous spots for bicyclists. There were quite a few times where if you had changed lanes, your tire would have gotten stuck. Of course, since the bike stops, the rider would have gotten through off the bike right into fast moving cars. It was much more dangerous than I expected, and I had to stay more alert.

The Lakeshore Drive in Chicago is hillier than expected. This wasn’t as big a surprise, because I had read that on a few different blogs. Also, because my training rides include quick changes in elevation regularly, the hills were not that bad. Seriously, Illinois is some flat lands.

Things I learned:

I need to look into training with some more bike gear: Cycling Shoes, Aero Bars, Clown Hats (oops that’s for my circus blog.) to get my speed up to the 20 to 22 mph range.

It may behoove a newbie to participate in the Bike the Drive event http://bikethedrive.org/ just to get some experience on the Lake Shore Drive.

Eating on the bike is not the easiest thing to do, but I recommend it. Its much easier to eat a snack on the bike than it is swimming and running.

I recommend staying hydrated during the bike. You probably won’t carry a water bottle running. On the bike, it’s a little easier. Just make sure your water bottle cages are tight as there were quite a few random water bottles that flew off due to the crazy pot-holes.

Practice your T2 transition before the event. What are you going to do when you get off the bike? How do you plan on transitioning to the run? What gear do you need? Will you need to change any clothes?

Also, I think I need to do more interval bike training to help speed up my event.

Finally, I think I have to remember, not to use up all my energy on the bike. I was going faster than I ever rode, and I still had a 6 mile run to do. Sometimes, its best to conserve the energy.

During the bike, twice I got that super Runner’s High. It doesn’t happen to much for me when I exercise. Its that supreme feeling of peace and happiness. It was about 1/3 of the way through the bike route. I just realized that, I was going to finish a triathlon. It was really happening. I had done the swim, I was cruising along on the bike, and I knew that even if I had to walk the 6 mile run, I was going to do it. At that moment, I broke in a big smile, and I had to choke back tears. It was a super feeling knowing that my hard work was paying off.

Then, I realized, wait a minute, Don’t count my chickens before they are hatched. I still have another 15 miles or so to go of biking, and the entire run.

I then started cruising even faster. I felt so good on the bike, and I was setting myself up for a great run. My T2 was super slower than the average, but I decided to switch shirts. I felt I’d be a little cooler in a different shirt, and the weather was just starting to get hot. After the swim and the bike, I was on pace for a sub 3 hour time which was my unofficial goal. My bike was 1:26:30 and the bike rank was 2795/3905.

As a side note: Today is the first day of the Chicago Triathlon 2011 registration. I still haven’t fully committed to doing it yet. So, I haven’t registered.

Tune in next time to see how my Run went.

Part 1:  Expo Day
Part 2:  Transition Set-up
Part 3:  The Swim
Part 4:  The Bike
Part 5:  The Run, if you must call it that.
Part 6:  Post Race.  Will I do a triathlon again?
Part 7:  Race Day Gear Thoughts

Chicago Triathlon Swim, Part 3 of 7 2010 Recap

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Post Triathlon Recap Part 3 of 7. I started writing up a recap of my event, and it kept growing and growing and growing. I decided to break it up. The purpose of the recap is give new people the thoughts and ideas they can use to help them prepare for their own future first endurance event!

Scott Ready for the Swim

About an hour before my race time, I walked back to the swim start. I watched a heat or two, and just mentally went through the whole race. Mind you, the time is around

7:00am ish. I knew from my practice, that it would take me about 30 minutes to put on my wetsuit. Those things are a pain the neck to put on. They’re so tight and new ones especially haven’t been stretched out. Wetsuits are suprisingly very fragile and can easily rip. As I was putting on my wetsuit, I started to sweat like crazy. The weather wasn’t too warm yet, but it was warm enough to be in shorts and a shirt and be comfortable. My brother came out to see me, and he helped zip the wetsuit up. By the time I got my suit on, my heat for the race was already in the chute and close to being next. I had to cut through a couple of heats, to get to my group, the white caps. At this point, I’m a little nervous, but confident. I feel like I’m a good swimmer, and I put in more than adequate time swimming in the pool.

My brother was standing there with me on the other side of the fence, so I was able to chat with him. I asked him if my ears were supposed to be in or out of the swim cap. I had never wore a swim cap before, so I didn’t know. He said it didn’t matter, but for me it was more comfortable to have the ears in the cap. My wife and kids showed up just as I was the next heat to jump in the lake. That was super fun. My daughter, Miss M, calls me super Daddy when I wear my wetsuit. I felt proud to be demonstrating an active lifestyle to my young kids. That as you age, you can still have fun and be active. My parents did that with me by participating in sports leagues and hiking. I’m glad I learned that lessson, and I am passing that on to my kids.

Chicago Triathlon Swim Chute

Now, I have never did get a chance to swim in my wetsuit. I also did not get a chance to swim in Lake Michigan. I had no idea what to expect. I expected super cold water. When it was our turn to jump in the lake for our swim start, I was surprised at how warm the water felt. It was officially 72 degrees at the start, but with the wetsuit on, I was totally warm. Almost too warm.

Bang, My First Triathlon Starts

At the Chicago Triathlon, you tread water for a couple of minutes before the start of the race. Now, I think I am a strong swimmer. From my timed pool practice, I felt I’d be a little better than average in the lake. So, I tried to position myself near the middle back of the pack. There were a lot dudes in my heat. The gun goes off, and we start swimming. There is really no where to go at the beginning. The people in front of you are not going, because the people in front of them are not moving. Its a really slow start.

I felt totally unprepared. Swimming with a swim cap was totally foreign. I felt like I couldn’t hear. I totally recommend that you swim with a swim cap at least part of the time before your next race just so you can get used to it. As I was swimming in the beginning, I tried to swim with the cap covering my ears, then i stopped and then tried it with cap just above my ears. I felt more comfortable with it over my ears, but all of that was challenging to do while swimming.

Swimming in the Dark

Its not dark. In fact, the sun is up and it is pretty bright outside, but the lake water although it is clear, doesn’t have the white bottom of the pool. So, as your swimming its really quite dark. Visibility was really low for me. I could not see where I was going at all. I tried to pick my head up to sight, but It was so difficult.

So, the awkwardness of swimming in the wetsuit for the first time, the darkness of the water all have me spooked. In fact, I almost panicked. Seriously, my heart was beating so fast. I just could not get used to swimming and bumping into people. Everytime I tried to swim, I would bump someone. I didn̵