By the grace of Athena; by the wrath of Poseidon

By the grace of Athena:

This last weekend was the Chicago triathlon and I have to say, it didnt exactly go as planned.  I had a solid month of training since racing in Columbus in July and went into the week on a nice taper for Sunday.  The first thing that didnt go as planned was that I was given a last minute spot to the Hy-Vee triathlon in Des Moines!!!  Its this Sunday!  I literally found out 4 days before Chicago and 10 days before Hy-Vee.  Needless to say, I accepted.  Hy-Vee is the championship race of the 5150 series and every year only 30 men and 30 women are invited to race there.  The reason I couldnt decline the offer is that even if I get dead last 30th place, I will win $3,000.  Its definitely America's race.  Even if you lose, you still win.

But anyway, its going to be a stacked field including the best non-drafting pros as well as Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez and a couple other olympians.  I am literally going to get creamed, so 30th place might not be out of the question.  Anyway, more on that in next week's post...since it will be here very soon...

By the wrath of Poseidon:

Now for the lucky #13 part.  I packed up and headed out for Chicago Friday morning.  My home stay picked me up and it was the start of a fantastic weekend.  They lived on the 33rd floor of a high rise right in downtown.  Since my race wasnt until 11:30am on Sunday, I got some footage of the apartment that morning:



We had a great time Saturday previewing the course, riding on the lake shore path and swimming in Lake Michigan.  That afternoon I just relaxed in my room reading and eating cookies and enjoying the awesome view out my window.

Then the race.  Things definitely didnt exactly go as planned.  It was beautiful weather in the morning but by the time the pros were to start at 11:30 it had already started to rain.  Oh, did I mention my race number was #13.  (disclaimer, I am not superstitious).  By the time I was on the bike it was down pouring and the wind was blowing pretty hard!  On one of the 180 degree turns I lost control of my bike and went down hard on my left hip tearing a hole in my Chobani kit and bruising real badly.  It was raining so hard that I slid for a good 10ft on the wet pavement--I almost went into oncoming traffic!  A couple volunteers helped me back up and I got going again only to realize a mile later I had a flat tire.  Ive never had that happen in a race before, but I jumped off and used some "pit stop" to fill and seal the flat.  I did this twice more before the canister ran out and eventually had to ride on the rim all the way back to transition 2.  By then I had lost a good 15min and it was still downpouring.

I debated not running but then I thought, what the heck, I came all the way to Chicago, I might as well see the course, I bet its nice.  So, I started running and after about a mile I was tempoing pretty hard--I managed to have a decent run actually considering I was getting sympathy claps the whole time.

So, the race didnt turn out as planned but it was still awesome to see the whole Chobani Fit triathlon team there!  We got pictures with everyone (and Hunter Kemper, the race winner) and I think I ate like 8 cups of Chobani yogurt.  Yummy.



Oh, well it wasnt a total disaster I guess, I got to see Chicago and had a great time with my homestay (as usual, homestays are the best way to travel to races).  And go figure, my flight home was eventful as well.  As it turns out, the Bennetts as well as Cam Dye were on my flight!  I had never talked to Cameron so it was nice to officially meet him.

By the wings of Hermes:

Later when we were back to Denver we were all waiting for our bike boxes to come out.  Greg Bennett was complaining about how as he gets older he parks closer and closer to the terminal so he doesnt have to deal with walking that far (in his old age har har).  I pointed out that I still ride the bus to and from the airport...  After the three of them gave me a hard time for a bit, Greg agreed to take me home.

Talk about a way to finish the weekend--a ride home from the airport with Greg and Laura.  I must say, triathlon abilities aside, they are some of the nicest people I have ever met.  Both are just sweethearts!  It has been a real pleasure to get to know them at the pool the last two summers and I am glad to have finally had a chance to talk to them.  Sometimes Boulder offers real opportunities you dont find anywhere else.  #starstruck

Rudy