This post is in anticipation of tomorrow’s Chicago Half Marathon.
Sunday August 24, 2008. Triathlon #2 — The Results.
Overall Rank: 376/2060
Class Rank: 18/52
Swim: 23:46 Rank: 1420
Trans 1: 2:35
Bike 41:42 Rank: 365 MPH: 19.7
Trans 2: 1:46
Run: 22:00 Rank: 99 Pace: 7:05
Sex Rank 294/1110
Final: 1:31:51
I did not break any World Records, but I am particularly pleased with this tri. Beautiful weather, a great city, and an intense athletic competition make for a good day in my book. The morning frustrated the hell out of me, but the day’s events went uphill from there. A lead in like that warrants more explanation. The morning started bright and early at 4:15 AM. Even though the transition was located about 10 minutes away from my residence, I had to set up this far in advance. I gathered the few things that I had laid out the night before. I had planned for an 8:09 AM start time. Based off a bulletin board at the Expo on Saturday, I thought that the start time for my wave, wave 14, was at that time. At about 4:45 in the morning, I found out otherwise. My wave actually began at 7:00 AM sharp, entering the water at 6:58. All of the sudden, my well laid out plan to set up and return after a short nap collapsed. I freaked out slightly at this point. Glancing around, I proceed to ask about 5 more people what time our wave went at. Time after time, I heard 7:00 o’clock. Definitively, I had screwed things up.
Alright, now some of my few readers may not be too surprised by these turn of events. But I rushed back to my apartment and got my tri shorts on, grabbed my swim cap and goggles, and then hit the road. I parked the car in the same parking ramp and speed walked back to the transition point. Before I continue, I should fill everyone in on why this would matter at all, besides being a little rushed. Well, Monica, Kim, and Shannon were all at the apartment and had decided to wake up early and come watch. This extra hour made them completely unprepared and gave me no allowance to wait for them. So, that threw a wrench in our plans. Furthermore, I had to call and wake my family up and warn them as well. Needless to say, this was a hectic experience that I would have rather avoided.
Chicago Tri Tip #1: They say show up to set up early…DO IT! I saw several people extremely frustrated and worried that they may not have been able to compete (beside myself). So just show up early and make sure you have everything.
I made it back to the transition, but the initial waves had begun and the security volunteers refused me entry. I begged for another way to get in. The only way was to take the lower path by the lake and get to the starting point. With 18 minutes to spare I started a slow jog for 3/4 mile back to the starting. The whole time I felt slightly disappointed with myself for having made this mistake. Finally, with about 4 minutes to spare I made it the starting line. A huge line of swimmers had already gathered for waves 12-15, as wave 11 entered the water. The next problem then confronted me: What to do with my sweatpants, t-shirt, and car keys? Since I could not yet find my family, I asked someone at a product booth if I could leave my stuff there (of course, promising not to hold him responsible), he very kindly allowed me to, so I stripped down to my tri shorts, hopped in line, and waited.
Chicago Tri Tip #2: Warm up before your race! I know you’ve been resting up all week after months of training, but go for a jog and stretch out. (Unlike myself who paid the price).
The jog to the start gave me a nice warm up, but I did not get the chance to properly stretch out. In general, I am not a huge fan of stretching, but it has grown on me over time. There are two possible starts for a triathlon lake swim: a beach start and a deep-water start. This year Chicago opted for the deep-water start. Therefore, with two minutes remaining before start time, my wave climbed down the stairs and started treading water in Lake Michigan. No need to worry, the water was a comfortable 79 degrees Fahrenheit. Honestly, the weather and the water could not have been any better. The early morning start promised to keep the weather fairly mild and the sun ensured athletes would stay warm. Then the horn, that I had heard for the three waves prior to me went off and this time it signaled me to start swimming.
The swim became worse as I went along and started off worse than I expected. I waited several second to let people get ahead of me because I realized that I could not swim competitively enough to avoid getting kicked in the face while others passed me. After a bit (not quite at the back), I proceeded to start the swim. I started off pushing the front crawl, but the lake swim began to frustrate me almost immediately. Not being able to see the bottom makes it extremely difficult to swim in a straight line. This frustration exasperated me early on and I shifted to the breast stroke until someone passed me at a pace I could get draft.
Chicago Tri Tip #3: Put your goggles under your swim cap. This tip will prevent your goggles from floating away in the event (read: when) your goggles get kicked.
In the last 100 meters, I began to celebrate because the swim was finally wrapping up. Then, I got knocked in the face and my goggles filled with water. Needless to say, the end of the swim posed an uncomfortable challenge. A half-mile swim does not sound like much, but to me it felt like a lot. Swimming along the shore of the harbor in Lake Michigan, felt like a never-ending swim.
Chicago Trip Tip #4The run to the transition from the lake is long. You can leave yourself a pair of flip flops or sandals, but if your feet are tough, don’t waste your time.
Being out of the water and on land felt amazing, but I immediately had to take off for the transition and get on my bike. On the run over, which was longer than the transition in my last tri, I saw my family sitting in the grass cheering me on. That was a nice feeling. With all of the participants in the tri, there are a lot of bikes. I ran past mine at first, but then doubled back and plopped down on the ground. First, I found my socks and put my cycling shoes on. Then, I slipped on my shirt with my number, got my helmet on, put on the sunglasses, and took off. You are not allowed to ride your bike out, so I grabbed onto the handlebars and ran my bike out of the transition.
Chicago Tri Tip #5: Have your bike in a low gear! The start of the race up Randolph onto Lake Shore is a pretty steep on ramp.
Now on my bike, I was feeling good and had the opportunity to grab my water bottle and begin hydrating. Biking on Lake Shore Drive was an interesting and largely fun experience. This tri really has a nice bike. The road is in decent shape (beware a few potholes that are well-marked). There are a few rolling hills, which allowed me to gain a little headway on some riders. It felt good to pass people during the bike after getting demolished in the swim. (Not that I was doing this competitively, but it still felt good). Each individual had their wave number marked on their calf, so I could see from what group of people I was passing. My lack of a bike computer meant that I had to glance down at my $7 kids wristwatch from Target that I bought for the LSAT to estimate my time. The bike went by fairly quickly and I found another rider going at a pace I felt challenged my comfort zone. In the end, I was quite proude of the 19.7 average MPH.
The bike then goes into the run. Of all events in the triathlon, I was most prepared for the run. For some reason, I have come to enjoy running the most (hence signing up for the Half Marathon). The run is also a very nice course. It goes along the lake front and wraps up past the museum campus and then turns around. Besides the scenery, the run is nice because they have water and gatorade ready for runners. During the run, I noticed people of all different physiques and speeds. Thankfully for my ego, I was able to take a strong pace and finish the 5k with a time of 22:00, that is a 7:05 minute/mile pace. That’s a pretty good 5k time for me with a swim and a bike.
All in all, this is an extremely fun event and I can’t wait for my next tri. Also, you get a cool medal at the end!
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