Running in the blazing heat in Chicago

Chicago Triathlon

Another hot hot race day in Chicago, whew! This time I handled the heat much better than I did at the Memphis in May tri. I just had to start out with saying that. :) Chicago Triathlon was my first pro race-and let me tell you about it!! We went off at noon, which was very different compared to my usual early morning start times. The start at noon was nice because I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn, but it did mean racing in the brutal heat of 94 degrees! So I prepared as best as I could by drinking electrolytes early on in the morning and the day before too. However, it was still difficult for me to stay hydrated enough through the race as my water bottles that once were full of ice turnned into warm water by the time I was on the bike. eww. Anyway, the swim was a little crazy this time as I seemed to have gotten "tangled up" with a few other girls, which made it kind of hard to find my groove. I did my best to settle in once we spread out a bit, but for some reason this swim didn't feel too good. I was a little dissapointed with how it went, but now I know what to expect for next time. There were some really quick swimmers in the field! I didn't feel great coming out of the water, but was ready to see what I had for the bike. I felt decent, but could tell the wind was picking up on the way back. This made it tougher on the legs right before the run. I found myself really focusing on making sure I was following the stagger rule (you can't ever be directly behind and in the same "line" as the person in front of you) since this was new to me. After putting in a solid effort on the bike and passing 1-2 girls (but also got passed later on), I was anticipating the run. Of course the heat was on my mind! I made for a quick transition and set out on the run. I could tell it was going to be a battle with the heat, but I made sure to take in as much water as I could at each aid station...this still was not enough though. I pushed the run as best as I could and felt like I stayed pretty solid/consistent until the very last little stretch before the finish. It was at this point that I was feeling a bit...over-heated. I made it to the finish though and came in 9th place. I was happy with this as I knew the heat was a tough factor and because there was a tough field of women. My times were pretty far off my usual performace, but hey...new experience with many new variables to account for. I had fun and look forward to my next pro experience, which will be my first draft legal race in Tuscaloosa, AL for USAT nationals. Oh and I forgot to mention that I had my first drug testing experience after the race too. Fun fun! I have to thank all of my family and friends for coming to cheer at Chicago too...what a great support group. This helped make my first pro race great!