Chicago Triathlon, Take 2
Yes, I've been inspired to start updating this again. Or at least to start updating something.
A few weeks ago, I ran my second Chicago triathlon (the other being in 2006). It was also my only big race of the year. Probably 90-95% of my training this year had been running, so I was expecting to somehow make it through the swim and bike, and then ace the run. Well that was not how it went.
The morning started out poorly as, while riding to transition at 5:30 a.m., my front tire went flat about half a mile away. Knowing they'd be closing up in about 10 minutes, I ran the rest of the way and managed to make it inside in time. To my surprise, I even managed to change the flat before they kicked me out.
Now, thanks to my age group, I had 3.5 hours to kill. Luckily, that was plenty of time for the adrenaline rush of the flat to die off. I decided to cab it back home and get a couple more hours of sleep before the race.
Okay, race time. The swim went quite well, and I finished in 34:07, significantly faster than the last time around. Next up was the bike. There was a decent wind blowing out of the north, but it wasn't too bad. No real problems here either, although I was a bit cautious since I knew that without another tube, if Lake Shore Drive's potholes gave m another flat, my race would be over. My bike time was 1:29:56, roughly the same as the first time around.
Next came the run. Oh, the run. The run was brutal in its entirety. I have no real explanation for that, other than that perhaps my lack of preperation on the bike took more out of me than I thought. I finished the 10K in 1:10:48, a pathetic pace of 11:24.
Overall, my time was 3:24:17. Not great, but only 2 mnutes slower than the previous time I'd done Chicago. I was hoping to beat my old time, but considering how much less prepared I was this time around, I'll take it.
1.5K Swim: 00:34:07 (Rank: 2197)
T1: 00:05:24
40K Bike: 01:29:56 (Rank: 3241)
T2: 00:04:01
10K Run: 01:10:48 (11:24 pace) (Rank: 3380)
Total: 03:24:17
Overall rank: 3236 of 4103 (425 of 502 age group)
A few weeks ago, I ran my second Chicago triathlon (the other being in 2006). It was also my only big race of the year. Probably 90-95% of my training this year had been running, so I was expecting to somehow make it through the swim and bike, and then ace the run. Well that was not how it went.
The morning started out poorly as, while riding to transition at 5:30 a.m., my front tire went flat about half a mile away. Knowing they'd be closing up in about 10 minutes, I ran the rest of the way and managed to make it inside in time. To my surprise, I even managed to change the flat before they kicked me out.
Now, thanks to my age group, I had 3.5 hours to kill. Luckily, that was plenty of time for the adrenaline rush of the flat to die off. I decided to cab it back home and get a couple more hours of sleep before the race.
Okay, race time. The swim went quite well, and I finished in 34:07, significantly faster than the last time around. Next up was the bike. There was a decent wind blowing out of the north, but it wasn't too bad. No real problems here either, although I was a bit cautious since I knew that without another tube, if Lake Shore Drive's potholes gave m another flat, my race would be over. My bike time was 1:29:56, roughly the same as the first time around.
Next came the run. Oh, the run. The run was brutal in its entirety. I have no real explanation for that, other than that perhaps my lack of preperation on the bike took more out of me than I thought. I finished the 10K in 1:10:48, a pathetic pace of 11:24.
Overall, my time was 3:24:17. Not great, but only 2 mnutes slower than the previous time I'd done Chicago. I was hoping to beat my old time, but considering how much less prepared I was this time around, I'll take it.
1.5K Swim: 00:34:07 (Rank: 2197)
T1: 00:05:24
40K Bike: 01:29:56 (Rank: 3241)
T2: 00:04:01
10K Run: 01:10:48 (11:24 pace) (Rank: 3380)
Total: 03:24:17
Overall rank: 3236 of 4103 (425 of 502 age group)