Life Time Chicago Tri Race Report | Add this race to your Bucket List!

Getting ready to enter the water in Wave #46 with
Female and Male 25-29 age groupers at the 2011
Life Time Chicago Tri!

The 2011 version of the Life Time Chicago Triathlon is in the record books.  I had the opportunity to race it this year, the first time since 1994, and wanted to share my experiences and thoughts in this race report.

About 8500 people competed in the event, including an Olympic distance race (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run), a sprint distance (.5 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 5K run) and even a kids tri.  Taking place in downtown Chicago along Lakeshore Drive, the venue is amazing as you race with Lake Michigan on one side and the cityscape on the other.  Athletes from around the world come to experience the world class event as well as the world class city.

The Olympic Distance is part of the Life Time Triathlon Series, the Race to the Toyota Cup, and is stop number five in the 7-series race. It attracts the very best professional and amateur athletes in the sport as they compete for money and prestige.  The largest in the series with 8500+ athletes, it’s also one of the largest triathlons in the world. (www.chicagotriathlon.com)

One of the many highlights of the weekend is the expo, which takes place on Friday and Saturday at the Chicago Hilton.  One of the largest consumer tri-expos anywhere, it’s a great opportunity to get great deals on tri-related gear and to speak with manufacturers reps and other industry insiders. 

I decided to race Chicago as a tune up for Kona.  Due to some personal issues and nagging, minor injuries, I hadn’t been able to race as often as I would have liked this summer, so this was my last chance to get rid of some “race rust”  before toeing the line in Kona in early October.  I was excited to race again and test the legs in competition.

About a week before the race, I got an email from Life Time Fitness’ PR department ace, KJ, that they wanted me to do a live interview for the local Chicago ABC affiliate at 8:50 am on race morning at the swim start.  This meant that I’d have to be bumped from the elite division start at 7:20 am to wave 46, combining 25-29 yr old men and women, at 9:20 am.  I knew the course would be very crowded at that time and race conditions would change, but duty called and I had to put my own personal race goals to the side in support of my employer.  After all, Life Time Fitness has 9 health clubs in the Chicago market and owns the race series… I was more than happy to contribute in any way I could and do my part.

All bikes needed to be racked before the Sprint race started at 6 am, and that meant you had to have your bike set up and vacate the transition area by 5:45 am.  8500+ bikes in one transition area is an amazing sight to see!  After racking my Kestrel 4000, I went back to my hotel room to relax a bit before my interview was to take place at 8:50 am.

The weather conditions on race morning proved to be challenging. While the temperatures were great (mid-70’s) with clear sunny skies, the waters were very rough due to high winds, which also affected the bike leg.  After my 3 minutes of fame on ABC Chicago, I quickly slipped into my TYR wetsuit and stood in the corral with my wave, wave 46/ Men and Women AGE 25-29.  One of the women looked at me, probably wondering to herself, “What’s this old dude doing here?”, and said to me, “Don’t be rough with us girls.”.  I smiled and then responded politely, asking her not to be rough with me.

Lake Michigan was like a washing machine as waves went off like clockwork every 4 minutes.  At the gun for my wave, I went out pretty hard to try and establish position quickly. The swim takes you along the sea wall, so your spectators can walk by you as you make your way along the course. I could see Jen and Stacy Keifer of Keifer Swim Wear, female overall winner of the sprint race, cheering me on. 

Being in wave 46 was a bit of a challenge for me, as I anticipated it would be.  Even in the swim , by far my weakest leg, I had to swim over, under and through (two head on collisions) seemingly dozens of slower swimmers from the waves in front of me.  It was brutal and I’m sure that, along with the current and choppy waters, did nothing to speed up my swim time.  In any case, it is what it is and I exited the water to run the 450 yd. sprint to T1 where I quickly found my bike among the masses.

The 40K bike takes you on the inner lanes of Lake Shore Drive and is quite interesting.   Most of the road is newly paved, making for comfortable and fast riding, with only a few exceptions and rough areas with potholes.  Contrary to other USAT sanctioned events, here you ride to your left and pass on the right.  Many people on the course followed this rule loosely, and I found myself yelling “on your right”  literally hundreds of times, usually thanking people as they moved over and I rode by.  On a couple dangerous occasions, the rider must have thought I said “move right” and started to nudge me into Lake Shore Drive Traffic … scary.   And once, as I rode past an athlete and courteously cautioned her, "on your right", she yelled after me, “F-you, A-hole”!  I rode away from her as fast as I could!

Stiff cross winds, head winds and weaving in and out of other riders made for a challenging bike ride and I was happy to enter T2 unscathed in about 1 hour. I was also happy to have not witnessed any crashes by my fellow competitors.  I found my rack in the far reaches of the huge transition area and headed out on the 10K run.

It was starting to heat up a bit, but it was still comfortable, especially compared to Tucson weather.  I often wondered what it would have been like to start early in the day with the elite wave. In any case,  I felt strong on the run, but again found myself weaving in and out of other competitors through some of the narrow paths of the run course, encouraging some of the athletes who looked like they were having some difficulty.   I had my heart rate monitor on and was pleased with my effort as I was tagging a steady 5:50 / mile pace with a HR of 165-170.  I also took a moment or two to enjoy the incredible crowds and views of the water and the city… amazing!

Once I crossed the finish line, I was happy with my effort and quickly found Jen waiting for me.  We had a bite in the VIP area, said hello to the JANUS and other Life Time Fitness folks and enjoyed watching and cheering for other athletes finishing on a gorgeous yet challengin Chicago day.  My motor ran well that day, and despite not racing with the elite wave early in the morning, I was pleasantly surprised by finishing 6^th Elite (time adjusted), posting the fastest amateur bike split and 4th fastest run of the day.  Yipppeee, Mission accomplished…. Race Rust is gone!

I want to congratulate the many first timers out there for taking the plunge into the choppy Lake Michigan and finishing the race.  And hats off to the top pros in the race to the Toyota Cup who showed us how fast people can really go.  Well done!

The Life Time Chicago Triathlon is a race that every triathlete needs to put on their bucket list.  Racing in a major U.S. City is a great experience and really makes you appreciate the logistical challenges encountered by the race organizers.  For the experienced triathlete, it’s a great race to challenge yourself against top level competition and for newbies, it’s an awesome opportunity to enjoy a big city triathlon experience.  Put it on your calendar for 2012 and I'll see you there. (Register and get more info at www.chicagotriathlon.com)

Train Smart, 

Coach Troy

Coach Troy is the Head Triathlon Coach for Life Time Fitness. To learn more about Life Time, visit www.lifetimefitness.com. 

Don't Forget the Quality Work - Workout Ideas for your 70.3

IM 70.3 racing blends the need for both speed and endurance.  In many ways, an IM 70.3 training program will resemble that of an Olympic distance one, with the possible exception of longer “long days” and an extended aerobic endurance base period.  In any case, incorporating shorter and faster workouts each week for speed development is a key to IM 70.3 success. Here are a few speed workout ideas for you to try.

Swim Workout

1.2 Miles is pretty darn close to the 1.5K’s you’ll swim in an Olympic distance race.  For most age group athletes, consistent workouts in the 2000-3000 Meter range will suffice. Here’s a good one combining some tempo work for strength and sprints for power.

(All swims are freestyle unless described as ‘choice’, in which you can do whichever stroke you wish.)

Warm up

200 choice

4x50 build @ 1 min.

4 x50 drill (your choice of drill)

Main Set (repeat two times)

200 steady pull w/small hand paddles

4 x 100 steady tempo @ 10 sec. rest

4x50 fast swim @ 20 sec. rest

Cooldown

100 kick w/ board (no fins)

200 choice

Bike Workout

I’m a huge fan of doing quality bike workouts on the trainer. 45 minutes to 1 hour of focused quality work is more valuable than hours of “junk” road mileage, in many instances. Try this workout as your weekly quality session in order to improve your power output over 56 miles.

Warm up

5-10 minutes

3 x 30 sec. ‘hard’ @ 30 sec. rest

Main Set

5x4 min. tempo (choose a gearing to ride at 80 rpms at or near your threshold power and/or HR) @ 1 min. rest

5 x 15 sec. power sprints (heavy resistance and near maximal power) @ 1 min. rest

Cooldown 5-10 minutes

Run Workout

Treadmill training, like bike training on the fluid trainer, gives you the ability to maximize your workout time while also helping to avoid the pitfalls of pounding your body on the asphalt. 

Warm up

10 minutes of jogging pace at 2% grade, then do 4 x 30 sec. ‘striders’ (increase speed) @ 30 sec. rest

Main Set

8 x 90 sec. (3% grade and at 5K pace) @ 1 min. rest

Cooldown for 10 minutes of easy jogging

While these workouts described above are simple, they are very effective and will add the much needed speed development component required for successful IM 70.3 racing as you build your overall mileage.  Give it a try and good luck at your next race!

Train smart,

Coach Troy

Coach Troy Jacobson is the Official Coach of IRONMAN. In the mid- late 90’s, he won several well-known Half Ironman distance races including Eagleman, Vineman and Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon. Learn more at www.coachtroy.com or for his indoor cycling workout videos, visit www.spinervals.com

My Report: Spinervals Taping featuring Ray Lewis | EPIC!

Wow!  In my 15+ years of exercise video production, I’ve never had an experience like I did this past weekend with the video taping of two new Spinervals Team Sports Performance workouts with Ray Lewis. 

First, a little background.  Ray Lewis (his Official Website, THERL52Group.com) is a Super Bowl MVP and multi-time All Pro linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens who will undoubtedly go to the Hall of Fame as one of the best defensive players in the history of the NFL. Even as he nears the end of his career now in his mid-30’s, he’s still revered as one of the best in the league and is the leader and soul of the Raven’s football team.   Ray’s level of stardom and admiration in Baltimore and with football fans throughout the country is that of a rock star.

I grew up playing football since the age of 10 through my freshman year in college, so I’ve always loved the game and I follow it as much as time allows.  I’ll never forget when the Colts left Baltimore in Mayflower trucks for Indianapolis in the dead of night when I was a kid.  That was a sad day.  I think that if I had not discovered and fell in love with the sport of triathlon, I would have pursued a career as a football coach.

Starting the first workout with Ray at Under Armour.

The story goes that Ray has been using Spinervals workouts as part of his off-season conditioning program and was seeing the results he wanted.  So, when the unique opportunity presented itself to have one of greatest players of the game take part in a Spinervals video project, I wasn’t about to pass it up. As they say, when opportunity knocks, you'd better be prepared to answer the call.    After a few conference calls and meetings with Ray’s business partners and agent, Marc Rosen, we quickly set a date to shoot in July, prior to the start of training camp for NFL teams.  I am humbled by this because a star athlete like Ray can work with whomever he wants.  It's an honor to me that he chose Spinervals and further validates the benefits of intense indoor cycling workouts for all athletes.

The location chosen was the headquarters of performance apparel company, Under Armour (Official Website, http://www.underarmour.com/).  Another incredible Baltimore success story, Under Armour is one of Ray’s sponsors and features him in many of their iconic commercials, including the slogan, “Protect this HOUSE!” 

The casting of the athletes for the videos were handled by a long time friend and former pro-cyclist, Kristy, and her business partner, Greg, a former NFL player and U.S. Olympic Bobsledder.  They recruited some former professional athletes, including former NBA star Gheorghe Muresan and former Baltimore Oriole, Michael Young, in addition to local high school and collegiate team sport athletes (LaCrosse, Football, Basketball, etc.).  We even had a top Fitness Competitor and Raven Cheerleader in the videos to cover more athletic pursuits. And, of course, we had a few road cyclists and triathletes involved to stay true to our roots, competitive endurance sports training.

The day of shooting was flawless, as usual.  My production group included Mark Gambo and his crew at Jomar Productions, Torrence, Nancy and Heather. We have exercise video making down to a science … as I guess we should after 15 years and over 70 titles! J

I had not met Ray before the morning of the shoot.  He arrived with an entourage of people including his fiancé, personal assistant and personal chef/nutritionist.  He has an aura and a special presence about him that is apparent as soon as he enters a room.  People stared as their football hero got ready to mount his LOOK carbon bicycle attached to the green Kurt Kinetic Fluid Trainer as other athletes got on their own bikes or SPINNER NXT's. He graciously and very genuinely posed for pictures and signed autographs before and after the video tapings.

Coaching Ray through a tough set of intervals.

Ray started using Spinervals videos and added cycling to his legendarily intense training regimen about 1 year ago.  He is known as one of the hardest working athletes in the sport, training 6 hours a day, 6 days a week in preparation for the football season.  He likes Spinervals for the interval training, and saw how workouts like them can benefit team sport athletes, typically concerned more with short burst explosive power and speed than with endurance.  In a way, he’s a visionary, and looks beyond traditional training in the Strength and Conditioning field for team sport athletes. He believes that his hard training on the bike has helped his speed, power and stamina and that’s why he wanted to get together with me to let other Team Sport athletes know of his discovery.  Spinervals Team Sports Performance workouts will help take speed and strength athletes to new heights of success and Ray is creating this path.

Once on the bike, I was immediately impressed by his pure athleticism.  Here was a man of incredible speed, size (6’1”, 250 lbs) and strength and during the first set of high cadence leg speed drills, he was smooth and steady, spinning his legs at over 130 rpms.  “Awesome!”, I thought to myself… “he truly does “get it”.   You should have seen how the bike frame seemed to twist and bend at times when he performed high power intervals… frightening. 

The two workouts are about 50-60 min. in duration and feature a warm up,  a technique set, an anaerobic threshold set and a power/speed development set.  A gradual progression, intensity builds throughout the workout.  As anyone knows who does my workouts, I really get into it during the hard sets. I think that comes from my football background where emotions and intensity are so important, as opposed to patience and ‘holding back’, as in endurance sports.  In any event, during the hard sets when I was getting into it and talking about ‘heart’ and ‘focus’ and ‘paying the price to win’, Ray was getting into it too.  He’s a born motivator and we were playing off of each other’s emotions and intensity. His intensity, and that of the other athletes, was incredible and it gave me goosebumps with each hard set.  I felt like I was in the huddle with Ray getting ready to defend a  4^th and goal with one yard to go for a TD in the 4^th quarter.  My adrenaline was spiked so high during those sets, I can’t describe the feeling in words! I hope you can ‘feel it’ when you do the workouts.  Here's a sample video of his intensity on the field, 

Thanks goes out to my long time sponsors and partners, Life Time Fitness, SPINNING, Kurt Kinetic and FORD for their continuing support.  And thanks to Under Armour and GARMIN for their help in making this a reality.  Finally, thanks to the professional team at RL52, including Ray Lewis, Marc, Greg, Kristy and Laura... as well as the athletes who took part in the workouts. Awesome job!

Look for these new videos to be released in Fall 2011.

Train smart,

-       Coach Troy
p.s. for more pics from the video taping, please visit SPINERVALS on Facebook