Chicago Triathlon

About 10 years ago, my whole family (Dad, Mom, Dustin, and I) loaded into our big truck and drove up to Chicago to race the Chicago Triathlon. It was a 17ish hour drive…with 4 bikes and lots of food and miscellaneous stuff jammed into the truck with the 4 of us…it was not one of the best ways to do a family trip. Fortunately, we got to Chicago safe and got ready to kick butt in the race. Sunday morning arrives and it’s a bit windy on Lake Michigan creating a bit of a choppy swim course in the harbor…to the McLarty family’s dismay the race director decides all age-group racers will only do half the swim course (the pros got to swim the full 1500 meters but we only swam 750 meters)!!!
Other than that, I don’t remember much of the race…I probably had fun and had a decent finish…but I left with a bad taste about the race. So this year…as a Professional triathlete…I decided to participate in the Chicago Triathlon again. Another key factor in that decision was the $500 for the first male & female pro to exit the water…how I can say no to easy money :)!?!
On Friday, August 26th, I woke up early and drove to the Denver Airport. (From the training center, we can get a shuttle to the Colorado Springs Airport…but my flight was cheaper out of Denver so I had to drive myself.) I flew from Denver to Chicago and was met at the airport by Elizabeth Brackett, my home stay for the weekend. We had been writing e-mails back-and-forth for a few weeks before the race so I was looking forward to meeting her. (Quick back-story: Elizabeth is a news reporter who has been doing triathlons for 13 years and she was also entered in the Chicago Tri this weekend…Elizabeth also has 3 grandkids!!)
We drove to her apartment (overlooking the lake, by-the-way) and I went to work on getting my bike out of the box and putting it back together. Then I got a tour of the Lake Shore Park and best places to swim in the lake. For dinner on Friday night we drove into the city to a friend’s house for a fun BBQ. After eating way too much great foods, I fell asleep like a rock!
Saturday morning started out with a fantastic swim in the lake…it was about 74 degrees…I can’t think of anyway better to wake up than a 30 minute swim in the clearest, fresh water ever! After breakfast we hopped on our bikes and rode on the Lake Shore bike path up to the race course and to the host hotel to pick up our race packets and check out the HUGE sports expo. I sampled all the sports bars and stuff that was on display…yummy expo! Elizabeth then gave me a quick bike tour of downtown Chicago and we grabbed lunch at a café before biking back home. At 6:30pm, back at the host hotel, I had to attend the pre-race meeting for pros…nothing that I didn’t already know but always good to attend for last minute details! Dinner was at an amazing Italian restaurant with Elizabeth, her husband Peter, and I…lucky lasagna was my pre-race meal!
At 4am the next morning I could hear Peter and Elizabeth leaving for the race site because her race started at 8:24am and the transition area closed at 6am!! Another benefit of being a pro…my race started at 11am and my transition area didn’t OPEN until 9am! I drug myself awake at 8am, ate, got dressed, and rode my bike 6 miles up the path to the race. Part of the run course was on the lake shore path so I got to cheer on some of the early competitors as they finished up their run. After dodging spectators and racers and traffic, I made it in one piece to the transition area and started my pre-race routine.
About this time…MY MOM ARRIVED!! About 2 weeks before Chicago, she called me to say that she bought a cheap ticket up to Chicago on race morning and back home at 6pm after the race! I was so excited to have a cheering section and to have my mom be able to watch me race! She and I walked down to the swim start together…but then I was on my own…it was race time! The water was not cold enough to allow wetsuits (that’s a good thing!) and I had a nice fast swim. I caught some of the pro men who started 3 minutes ahead but I was way in front of the rest of the women (I think by about 1 minute). Fast run to the transition, fast transition, and then I started hammering on the bike…it was NOT draft-legal so I had aerobars and it was a bit windy on the bike course. I felt GREAT, my legs were just spinning away and I only got passed by Barb and Becky (the two best Americans right now) and then right at the end of the bike Samantha McGlone (the best Canadian) went by me!! Of course I still had the WHOLE run still to go…but I was in 4th place and feeling good! And at mile 3 on the run I was still feeling good…but I had 3 more miles to go. My mom was on a rented bike and she was out on the course cheering for me…that was totally awesome because I was in 10th place and the prize money only goes to 10th! (I have been 11th in 3 races this year and I wasn’t going to let it happen again!) So I worked really hard for the last mile and got to the finish still in 10th place!!! It was totally awesome…and Elizabeth won her age group (by 45 minutes!!!)
After the race, we all grabbed some chow…hung around for the awards…gathered stuff from the transition area and then I biked back to the house. I had to say bye-bye to mom because she went for a swim in the lake and then had to catch the train back to the airport for her flight. I did a speedy packing of my bike, showered, and got a ride from Peter to the airport. Thanks a million to my homestay family…I can’t wait to see you next year in Chicago!!