This year's triathlon was in a very hot summer but the weather was at least better than past years. The days leading up to it were 100 heat index and required a lot of diligence to remain hydrated for the race.
I had decided to do the sprint this year because I had my daughter and her husband with me who I felt would not enjoy sitting around for 3+ hours waiting for me. The sprint would be faster and would take less out of me, plus it started later so I would not be getting up and making noise at 4 AM while they tried to sleep. So I was ready for the sprint and the later start time of 8:25AM.
Chicago Tri offers late check in for sprinters as well (6:30AM - 8:00 AM) so that meant I could take my time in the morning. I missed the big team photo with AIDS foundation TEAM to END AIDS group, sadly.
I racked my bike on Saturday (optional) at 2 PM after a short 1 hour ride down the lakeshore trail and back. Bad idea. It was extremely hot and I was just spent by the time I got my bike racked and back to the hotel. Was supposed to stop by the T2 tent for my kit but decided I needed to cool down more and would get it in the morning.
I got to the start tent about 7:00 AM after setting up my transition area. I was not going to use my wetsuit, opting instead for lava pants. Water temp 73F. I felt good about that decision. Picked up my kit top and it fit perfectly so I was very happy.
Swim start, wave 33, charity wave began at 8:25 right on time. I set out hoping to clock about a 16-18 min swim. I got out at 15:55! That was quite pleasing to have swum faster than expected, including the fact that I swam crosswise at one point and had to make a correction. Probably did an extra 100 out there. No panic attack, just sweet easy swim. YAY!
Run to T1 is .5 mile so it's hard after a swim to keep running on bare feet despite the carpet. It took me 8 mins to get there, switch to bike and get going. Not my best time but I wasn't going to worry about it.
Set out on the bike hoping to hold between 17 and 18 MPH on the ride. Managed to do that for much of it, sometimes getting to 22-23 MPH on flats and descents. A few of the uphills slowed me down but I kept pushing. During the ride a storm came up and the rain wasn't bad but the winds were pretty tough. Strong headwind which either switched or was just a mean cross wind both ways. It did cool things down for a moment on the ride but the humidity on the run was worse I thought. 57 mins for the 15 mile ride.
T2 is usually pretty fast for me (2-3 mins) but someone had racked their bike in my spot and I kept overlooking my stuff because there was a bike on top of it. I fooled around a bit trying to figure out what was going on and finally shoved the offending bike aside and got myself racked and changed. I had my stuff set up pretty well so once I got the bike in I was quick but this was not a fast T2.
Run started out has a problem. I had wrapped two toes because I had broken my toe from Tae Kwon Do that healed crooked means I run on top of the toe next to it and this creates blisters. The bandaid was rubbing the other toe though so I had to stop at the med tent and get another bandaid to reduce the pain. Then I was having hip pains and my left foot felt like I had a tennis ball under it as I tried to run. I did manage to run a bit but was doing more walking than I had wanted. I had no idea how fast I was going because I had forgotten my Garmin on the bike, didn't get it back on my wristband for the run. Oh well. Rather than go back for it and waste more time in T2 I said I'll just go by what my body tells me.
It was slow and hot but not as much as in past years. I was just having a lot of hip and foot pain so would have to stop and slow down until I could try again. Ended up with 47 min "run" which was much more of a walk. Sigh. I had hoped I could do better on the run, but I'm just not made for running I guess. It's always been my nemesis. Even as a kid I wasn't much of a runner.
So for the whole day, I turned in a 2:15. My best sprint was in 2013 I think at 1:52. This sprint is 3 miles longer bike ride so that adds about 12 mins extra to any best time. All told it wasn't a terrible time for me given that I was pretty slow on the run, I was proud of my swim and bike for the day.
It was great to catch up with many of my fellow triathletes in Chicago, visit the Van Gogh exhibit and spend quality time with my daughter and SIL. I was pretty tired when I got home. Mostly I think due to dehydration. Always takes me a while to recover.
It's a pretty cool race though. You see people all over the course. Tons of competitors all over because of the loops on the bike and run. Spectators can see their athlete on the swim as they walk along the wall of the marina. The finish is spectacular, lined with cheering crowds and about .1 mile long as you head in to the arch. Quite a fun experience to hear them all cheering as you finish your race.
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