Accenture Chicago Triathlon - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic

My goggle strap looked like it melted somehow. Luckly I brought a second pair. Lake Michigan was fairly easy to swim in. I could actually see the bottom. Towards the end of the swim course, I could taste the gasoline in the water.

Some guy actually grabbed my legs about 2/3 of the way through the swim and threw them to his side. This pissed me off. I swam after him but could not catch him. A$$hole. I also saw a guy swimming with a snorkle. Is that legal?

I actually had a good swim. I enjoyed this portion of the tri more than I expect to....

Keep working on my swimming. This was a 1st time at this distance. I felt comfortable but not fast and I'm okay with this at this point in my evoluiton.

The transition is long. Real long. From the end of the swim to my bike was at least 1/4 mile.

Nothing.

I really enjoyed the ride. Lake Shore drive was awesome. There were a LOT of flat tires on the course. I felt bad for all the people standing on the median struggling with tire changes. There was one hugh pot hole, fortunately I missed it.

The signs for the second loop were just a little confusing but I figured it out. Some cyclists were doubting their position on the course though...they were afraid they mis-read something but in fact were right in repeating (doing a second lap) along Lake Shore.

The Javelin ran great. I cleaned it up and double-checked everything. No problem.

Found my rack easily. No problem.

Nothing.

I fell apart here. My back problems emerged at about 1/2 mile into the run. I felt like someone took a vice and was cranking it tighter with every step. I was in some real pain. I did keep running but it was ugly. Real ugly.

I need to and I'm gonna strengthen the back and lose some weight. Period. I usually run in the mid-7s.

I stood in front of some misters and fans. I saw TLILIS. Great to see Traves! He had a great race.

I ate a few banannas and drank a lot of water. Then drank a beer. Yum.


Bad back and extra pounds.


Wow! What an organized event! Chicago did this right. Very nice race. In fact, perfect. 8000 participants and it was better run and more organized than any of the downstate events.