My Harbor Lights Race Report
Nick Preys 
 
First of all, after reading the comments about the Racine Half-IM, I can’t really complain too much about the heat at Harbor Lights. So I’ll try to say it only once - it was hot. I can only imagine what the Racine competitors went through.

I’m one of those triathletes who only does the Chicago race once a year (I’ve done both the Olympic and Sprint distances 8 or 9 times off and on since 1983). Not particularly enamored with swimming, biking or running, a triathlon in August has forced me to workout throughout the summer and stay in shape. As I’ve gotten older, the competition in my age group seems to have decreased (I certainly haven’t gotten faster) and my finish place has gotten better. Seeking to improve my cycling by riding with other serious bikers, I joined CTC a few months ago. With all the talk about other races on the message board, I got caught up in the excitement and decided to venture outside of Chicago for a change.

I drove up to Waukegan with Deanna, another new CTC member and arrived before 6:00 am. It was a mile bike ride from parking to the transition area and volunteers were starting to set up the race. I am used to the chaos of the Chicago triathlon at 5:00 am and was a little concerned that hardly anything was ready. But the organizers knew what they were doing and set-up everything quickly. We had our pick of spots for the bikes and then I had plenty of time to walk to the beach and then the bike and run entrances and exits.

here were white caps breaking on the beach but the water was shallow out to about 30 yards and the waves weren’t too bad after that. Orange balloons marked the course. After a beach start, one swam straight out into the lake for about 150 yards, then parallel to the beach for about 500 yards, then back to the beach. A short run led to a parking lot which served as the transition area.

At 7:45 am, there was a brief course talk and the first wave went in at 8:00 am. I would have preferred to start with my age group (40 - 44) in the fourth wave, but my late registration put me in the Overflow group (10th out of 11 waves). I put my wet suit on 10 minutes before the start and was shocked to feel how hot it was to the touch a few minutes later.

At 8:36 am, my wave started. I haven’t done a beach start in years and carefully strode out to mid-thigh level before swimming. The water felt great. I hadn’t done an open water swim nor swam in a wetsuit this year, but quickly fell into a good rhythm on the outside of the course. While I may have added a little distance this way, I had no problems with people in my way or trying to swim over me. With the choppiness, the small balloons, and the rough trapezoidal shape of the course, it was a little difficult see where to swim. But overall I felt great and regretted that it was over so quickly. My swim time of 11:32 was unusually fast (I was expecting something around 15 minutes). Perhaps the course was short.

I had my wetsuit down to my waist by the time I left the water and then worked the rest off on the beach. I have had a lot of problems getting my suit off my ankles in transition in the past and read somewhere that it is easier to remove while still wet. Removing it immediately after leaving the water seemed to go much faster, though I did have to sit down to do it.

The transition went quick and I started the bike portion. It was about two miles to the Amstutz Highway and then two laps on the highway. At a lower elevation than the surrounding roads and with natural and artificial barriers, there was no head or tailwind which was nice (compared to to some of the Accenture headwinds on LSD). The bike felt great and I pushed hard. The three club rides I did in the last month and a half seemed to have made a difference as I knocked five minutes off my Accenture time from last year and two minutes off my PR.

The euphoria was short-lived as I left the transition area and started running. I knew the rubberyness in my legs would go away, but I felt completely drained of energy. My calves were cramping and the sun was merciless. I tried to stretch my calves in midstride and forced a Gu shot down. For the first time in many years I wondered if I was going to have to walk part of this. I pulled the brim of my hat down low and bent my head so that I couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of me and chugged on. The first mile had to be the hardest first mile I have ever done. The next three were a little easier. And though it was slow, I only walked through the aid stations. With two knee surgeries and a few herniated discs, I only run every week or two and can’t really expect to waltz through the runs like I used to. I mustered what little energy I had left and pushed through the finish completely drained.

It was a great experience doing Harbor Lights and getting out of Chicago. With 688 finishers, it is completely different from the Taste-of-Chicago crowd atmosphere in Chicago. There was good food and a raffle at the finish, grass to sit on in the shade, and friendly people all around. I have to get out more.