No, I’m not a basketball fan, nor is it March. It’s fall in Chicago! And I got another chance to toe the line, twice! I heard about the North Shore Triathlon from a client, and registered. It’s a local sprint and super sprint triathlon located at Gilson Beach, 2 miles from our apartment. I have a soft spot for racing local, as you really can’t beat riding to the start and experiencing zero logistical challenges. The race was well run with plenty of volunteers, a safe and very wide open course, and with a fun experience to race twice!
Forget not doing any Tri specific training. I haven’t swam or ran since Alcatraz. I’d ridden Kermit once, in a rain soaked team time trial. But that big blue lake had been calling my name for a while. So I decided to jump in twice.
500 yard swim, 20k bike, 5k run. 20 minutes to reset. Then a wetsuit-less 250 yard swim, 10k bike, 1.7 mile run. Brunch.
The lake is freezing. The bike was flat and fast and the run was gorgeous. {yes and painful} My bike and run paces were {significantly} faster in the first and longer distance race. Not surprising, as I was trying to hold off the woman behind me, and I did! I ended up 2nd overall I the sprint and I was the only woman to do the double.
What a neat experience. After my first race I hobbled back to transition to reset my area and do a quick wardrobe change. Since I opted to not put on a wet wetsuit for the 2nd race, I put on a one piece tri suit that I could swim in without feeling like I was being thrown into the wash cycle. But man, that water was cold. Luckily it was just a quick dip into Lake Michigan. Hopped onto Kermit and my legs were not having it. Watched my average speed and power suffer and drop significantly from the first race. And the run? Yeah, not so pretty as my pace was not even close to those first 3 miles.
But it was fun! And Kyle was all over the course cheering for me and taking photos. I made him wake up “early” on his only day off. Then I put him to work, building a much needed addition to the bike rack.
It’s been pretty great, imersing myself into the Chicago racing scene. Everyone we’ve encountered here has been welcoming and friendly. I’m taking a break this weekend after racing for the last 6 weeks, and it comes at a perfect time as our friend Jeremy from San Diego decided to take a quick vacation out to visit us!
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