I DID IT!!! I DID IT!!!! Sunday was the Accenture Chicago Triathlon that I trained for this summer. Didn't think I was going to be able to do this, but, I DID!! And, it was AWESOME!!! I am so hooked! So, here's how it went.....
I woke up bright and early, after not sleeping at all Saturday night, at 3:15 am. Got dressed, had some coffee (yes, I drink coffee before my races. It wakes me up and makes me feel warm and fuzzy), grabbed my gear that I had so diligently packed the night before, and hopped in the car. Joe was wonderful to get up with me and not only drive me down, but my friend, Julie, too. We arrived downtown in record time, about 4:30 am. Traffic is a breeze at 4 in the morning! Joe dropped us off at Monroe and LSD, we shuffled off to transition, set up our gear, and all I could hear in my head was MJ going over my set up. Made some adjustments based on the advice she gave me at Naperville, then found Lori - who, thankfully, was in the same wave with me. We walked through transition to find our Swim In route, Bike Out/Bike In, then Run Out. All seems pretty simple from our transition location. Then, we grabbed Julie, and waited.....and waited....and waited!! We sat and ate breakfast, chatted, watched the Sprint go off, and finish, then finally at 8:00, we started getting on our wetsuits for our 8:49 am wave start. So, I should have taken a few more lessons in getting this thing on, because - man, it was so hard to do!!!! We lubed up with Suit Juice, helpful, but not entirely, and thankfully Joe was there because he had to help me! After finally suiting up, we were ready to go! YES!!!! I was so excited, not nervous like I was at Naperville. Best part of this - it was my first open water swim, in a wetsuit, nonetheless, and I felt great!!! Weird......
8:49, we are in the water, ready to go!!! Water temp for the day was 72, which to me was just perfect! It felt great! Air temp was in the 70's, so the day couldn't have been more perfect for this! The swim started, coed wave, but oddly, all the men were in the back? I was about 2 rows from the front, Lori was dead front - she was the smart one. I didn't feel that my swimming was as strong as those who would be in front of me, so I held back a little. Shouldn't have done that. my swimming is fine, as I learned once the wave spread out a little. I made it smoothly to the first buoy, and started heading to the Swim Out - which was quite a ways down! I got into a great rhythm, and just swam. The water, surprisingly, was so calming - and quiet. I didn't realize how peaceful the swim can actually be. Joe ran along side the entire swim, and kept yelling to me, and I heard him every time I turned for air or to sight. It was great!! My biggest fan!! I finally reached the Swim Out, and made my first small mistake. I took off my goggles and swim cap before unzipping my wetsuit - totally rookie error. At least I know better for next time!!! Got into T1 splendidly, found my spot easily, and started to change out of my wetsuit, which was already down to my hips, changed to bike gear, and off!!!
The bike....was great when there wasn't a pothole in the road. LSD was in horrible condition. There were a ton of potholes, rough patches, and debris everywhere. Lots of flats on the course, lots of water bottles flying when people hit a hole, and a lot of people riding in the middle of the road - instead of the left - who were on bikes that my grandma could ride. That was a little frustrating. So, I used my voice, and yelled at them to get out of the way!!! Going north, the wind was a little cumbersome, but going south, with a tailwind, my average speed skyrocketed! It was so much fun!!! But, I had an incident that really screwed me up for the rest of the race. I went to do my first gel at the 1st turn around, hit a bump, and it went flying out of my hand. Now, I only had one more gel on my bike. With the condition of the road, and coming up on stuff so fast, I was almost afraid to take my hands off the handlebars, and my nutrition plan went out the window. I was so afraid that if I took my last gel too soon, that I would have nothing for the run. So, when I finished the bike, at at nice 19.4 average speed (good for me, especially since I was playing Frogger the whole ride), I changed my gear, and grabbed the gel off my bike as I started the 6.2 mile run.
I felt HORRIBLE on my run. As a matter of fact, this was usually my strongest event, was most definitely my worst. My stomach started cramping up so bad that I had to grab water at every water stop and walk. I would drink my water, then run to the next stop, grab water, and walk. I didn't realize it until it was over that I probably should have been taking the Gatorade to replenish the electrolytes that I didn't replace on my bike. I made it through the run, my slowest run in years, but I did finish, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment, just with a horrible stomach cramp!
So, I have done my first Olympic Distance Triathlon, and I learned a ton from this experience. The most important thing I will take from this race is that 1) I can do better on the swim 2) I need to put a better nutrition plan in place 3) I can't wait for next year!!!!!!
I woke up bright and early, after not sleeping at all Saturday night, at 3:15 am. Got dressed, had some coffee (yes, I drink coffee before my races. It wakes me up and makes me feel warm and fuzzy), grabbed my gear that I had so diligently packed the night before, and hopped in the car. Joe was wonderful to get up with me and not only drive me down, but my friend, Julie, too. We arrived downtown in record time, about 4:30 am. Traffic is a breeze at 4 in the morning! Joe dropped us off at Monroe and LSD, we shuffled off to transition, set up our gear, and all I could hear in my head was MJ going over my set up. Made some adjustments based on the advice she gave me at Naperville, then found Lori - who, thankfully, was in the same wave with me. We walked through transition to find our Swim In route, Bike Out/Bike In, then Run Out. All seems pretty simple from our transition location. Then, we grabbed Julie, and waited.....and waited....and waited!! We sat and ate breakfast, chatted, watched the Sprint go off, and finish, then finally at 8:00, we started getting on our wetsuits for our 8:49 am wave start. So, I should have taken a few more lessons in getting this thing on, because - man, it was so hard to do!!!! We lubed up with Suit Juice, helpful, but not entirely, and thankfully Joe was there because he had to help me! After finally suiting up, we were ready to go! YES!!!! I was so excited, not nervous like I was at Naperville. Best part of this - it was my first open water swim, in a wetsuit, nonetheless, and I felt great!!! Weird......
8:49, we are in the water, ready to go!!! Water temp for the day was 72, which to me was just perfect! It felt great! Air temp was in the 70's, so the day couldn't have been more perfect for this! The swim started, coed wave, but oddly, all the men were in the back? I was about 2 rows from the front, Lori was dead front - she was the smart one. I didn't feel that my swimming was as strong as those who would be in front of me, so I held back a little. Shouldn't have done that. my swimming is fine, as I learned once the wave spread out a little. I made it smoothly to the first buoy, and started heading to the Swim Out - which was quite a ways down! I got into a great rhythm, and just swam. The water, surprisingly, was so calming - and quiet. I didn't realize how peaceful the swim can actually be. Joe ran along side the entire swim, and kept yelling to me, and I heard him every time I turned for air or to sight. It was great!! My biggest fan!! I finally reached the Swim Out, and made my first small mistake. I took off my goggles and swim cap before unzipping my wetsuit - totally rookie error. At least I know better for next time!!! Got into T1 splendidly, found my spot easily, and started to change out of my wetsuit, which was already down to my hips, changed to bike gear, and off!!!
The bike....was great when there wasn't a pothole in the road. LSD was in horrible condition. There were a ton of potholes, rough patches, and debris everywhere. Lots of flats on the course, lots of water bottles flying when people hit a hole, and a lot of people riding in the middle of the road - instead of the left - who were on bikes that my grandma could ride. That was a little frustrating. So, I used my voice, and yelled at them to get out of the way!!! Going north, the wind was a little cumbersome, but going south, with a tailwind, my average speed skyrocketed! It was so much fun!!! But, I had an incident that really screwed me up for the rest of the race. I went to do my first gel at the 1st turn around, hit a bump, and it went flying out of my hand. Now, I only had one more gel on my bike. With the condition of the road, and coming up on stuff so fast, I was almost afraid to take my hands off the handlebars, and my nutrition plan went out the window. I was so afraid that if I took my last gel too soon, that I would have nothing for the run. So, when I finished the bike, at at nice 19.4 average speed (good for me, especially since I was playing Frogger the whole ride), I changed my gear, and grabbed the gel off my bike as I started the 6.2 mile run.
I felt HORRIBLE on my run. As a matter of fact, this was usually my strongest event, was most definitely my worst. My stomach started cramping up so bad that I had to grab water at every water stop and walk. I would drink my water, then run to the next stop, grab water, and walk. I didn't realize it until it was over that I probably should have been taking the Gatorade to replenish the electrolytes that I didn't replace on my bike. I made it through the run, my slowest run in years, but I did finish, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment, just with a horrible stomach cramp!
So, I have done my first Olympic Distance Triathlon, and I learned a ton from this experience. The most important thing I will take from this race is that 1) I can do better on the swim 2) I need to put a better nutrition plan in place 3) I can't wait for next year!!!!!!
