Lake Zurich Olympic Triathlon 2016 Race Report

This past weekend was the ET Lake Zurich Triathlon in Lake Zurich, Illinois. This was my first attempt at the Olympic distance, and I've created a report with some stats to evaluate my race. The PDF is available here. It includes all the tables and graphs below plus some additional maps, plots, and stats.

As with the Twin Lakes race, if anyone else who did the Lake Zurich race (Sprint or Olympic) wants a similar report with their own data, just email me at camontgom[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll generate it and send it to you.

My Results

Official Results: http://edge.raceresults360.com/rr360/race/eFqyb/#/results::1468360337059

Performance by Race Segment

Swim

The 1500m swim course was a counter-clockwise triangle. I thought I paced the swim well considering it was my first time racing this distance.  I did veer off in the wrong direction a couple times, so I know my open water sighting and navigation still need some work.  I think I could improve the swim by a minute or more with some better open water skills.

Bike

The bike course was a two loop course which was mostly closed to other traffic. I thought it was relatively flat and fast.

As the bar charts above show, the bike is a big weakness for me. I think the bike leg of this race went ok given my current cycling fitness, but this is an area I need to work on for next year. If I can get my bike up to the level of my swim and run, it will significantly improve my overall finish.

Run

The 10k run was two loops around Lake Zurich, and the temperature was hot and humid!  I was hoping to maintain a sub 7 min mile pace, but couldn't quite do it. I ended up walking through the last couple water stops, so I could get more water down and keep myself hydrated. All things considered, I'm happy with my run performance.

Transitions

I got a bit disoriented coming into T2, and I wasn't initially able to find my stuff. I need to make better note of my exact location in the future, and maybe get a more colorful bag or mat.

Play by Play Graphs

These plots show how my standing evolved throughout the race.  I've also included the standing of the overall winner and the winner of my age group.  The first plot shows the time gap and the second plot shows the position gap.  

Obviously, I dropped lost a in terms of both time and position during the bike leg, but I was able to make up a bit of ground on the run.

Summary

The Lake Zurich Triathlon was a great race, and I think I learned a lot about what I need to focus on to come back faster next year.