Lynette's 2010 Chicago Triathlon Experience

Yesterday was The Big Day! Having put the bikes on the car and getting all of our gear together the night before, we rolled out of bed at 3am. After packing a breakfast, we were on the road by 3:30, and just sailed right into the city! We found a parking spot in the Millennium Park garage and joined the throng of triathletes as we all wheeled our bikes to transition. We arrived right after it opened at 4:15 (it closed at 5:45.)

Transition is set up by wave number - Matt was 49 and I was 52 (out of 54 waves), and we found our spots right away. I was the second person in my wave setting up! We were both right on the path, which made finding our way back to our bikes much easier than the it was for the people who were on the grass. They had to weave their way in between racks to find their area. I laid out my shoes, socks, gels, water belt, an extra water bottle, sunglasses, and visor on my towel. We walked to the Bike Out area a few times, then found the Run Out area.

After that, we made our way to meet Team in Training at the swim start. Everyone was camped out under a tree. We settled down and had a snack and some water and Gatorade and waited for the triathlon to start.

The first group up was the Triples. These people are crazy - they competed in the Super Sprint the day before, then were the first wave of the Sprint distance, and as soon as they finished the Sprint they would come back to the water to compete in the International distance. Total nutters, if you ask me.

They were off at 6am sharp! The people running the show really kept things on schedule - to the second, really! After that, the Sprint division was off. Several people from Sokol were competing, so we got to see Kandi and Howie for part of their swim. It was so hard to pick them out in the water!

Our friend Rishan from Team in Training was going at 8:56-ish and Jenn, my mentor from last year, had a start time of 9:16. After we wished them luck, we got ready for our own waves. Matt went first at 9:28. As he waited in the shoot, I was debating whether or not I should wear my wetsuit. Once the sun rose, the temperature shot up. I was already feeling overheated, so I had another full bottle of water. I asked the head coach if he thought I should still wear my wetsuit, and he said yes.

Next time, I'm not asking anyone's advice.

I got into the chute and started to pull on the top of my wetsuit. (You put the bottom half on before getting in, but not the top half. You wait in the chute about 20 minutes, and you'd roast like a ... well ... a pig! if the whole wetsuit was on.) As I was pulling my arms in, a girl behind me said, "here, let me help" and just started to yank on the back of the suit. My arms weren't even fully in the wetsuit. It was very awkward. Finally, we got it situated, and she tucked my zipper pull in.

Then, before we almost knew it, we were in the water! It was a tread water start (as opposed to a shore entry) and VERY crowded. As the airhorn went off, I pretty much stayed where I was and waited until I was in the very back. I then cautiously made my way forward using the breast or side stroke until I found a spot. The first few hundred yards were a mess - I had to keep "spotting the buoy" every two breaths just to keep from running into people. It was absolute bedlam. Finally, things started thinning out, and I was able to more or less pick a straight course. At that point, I started passing people like they were standing still.

The swim course started off going south, then we turned and went north, like an upside-down "J". It's a .9 mile swim. The leader of the next wave didn't catch up to me until I was almost back to the starting point.

I actually think I was getting seasick about halfway through. The water was getting more choppy - the lifeguard boat was going back and forth, and I started feeling pretty queasy. I got seasick swimming in from my last scuba dive, and I think that's what happened again - just too much bobbing up and down! Not only that, I knew at this point I should NOT have worn the wetsuit. I was getting pretty hot, and I did put a bit of water into my suit to cool me down. But, I managed to squelch the nausea and heated feeling and keep going.

At that point, I was facing the wall with every breath (I breathe on the left) and realized I could see the people in the crowd pretty well. I happened to catch a glimpse of Mom and Dad Gilbert on a breath and got so excited I stopped swimming for a second and waved at them. I was so happy because I never thought I'd be able to pick them out on the swim! Doug was with them, and all three walked with me all the way to the swim finish.

Then it was out of the water and running the 450 yards to transition. Except, I didn't run. I ran at the triathlon in Elk Grove Village and ended up being totally winded for the first part of the bike. Instead, I walked quickly. Meanwhile, I was trying to get my suit off. I couldn't find the zipper pull and realized the girl who "helped" me had tucked the whole thing under the velcro! I thought I was going to have to ask someone to help me - it took me almost the whole way back to get the zipper pull out of the velcro!

I crossed the chip strip (or whatever it's called - the mat that reads your chip to mark your time) I saw the clock and realized I'd done the swim in about 35 minutes, and was pretty happy with that. When I got back to transition, I took my time putting on my shoes. The last thing I wanted to do was waste energy on transition. I took a gel, swigged half a bottle of water, and slowly (didn't want to sprain an ankle!) walked the bike to the Bike Out.

The first portion of the bike race was up a ramp to Lake Shore Drive. We'd put our bikes in 2nd gear to make the climb easier. After that, it was smooth sailing. We had to go over several overpasses on LSD, but it wasn't too bad. We were in the inner two lanes of northbound LSD at that point.

About 15 minutes later I spotted Matt coming southbound, and we waved at each other. I felt so happy! I was totally rocking this triathlon! By this point I'd seen a ton of people sitting on the side of the road with broken bikes. Some of the tires were just mangled. I was glad I didn't have one of those skinny bikes! The road was in terrible condition - potholes, huge cracks, not to mention cars only a few yards away! I made the turnaround easily and started heading back south. Matt and I saw each other again, and shortly after that, I noticed the sun.

The Sun.

I hate the sun.

By this point, it must have been about 11:15. The sun was directly overhead, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and most of LSD had no trees. Oh, there were a few scattered trees in the middle portion, but it just wasn't enough. And it was beating down on me. I could almost feel the energy draining out of my body. Because I don't do well in heat, and I especially don't do well in sun. I'm like a really tolerant vampire.

I did witness two accidents, one a very minor fender bender and the other a bit more damaging. Well, the first one I came upon right after it happened, so I guess I didn't "witness" it, but the second one happened right next to me! Southbound traffic was going incredibly slowly - I was going faster than the cars. I think the drivers were busy looking at the bikers, and I heard the car next to me (well, two lanes over) hit the car in front of it. I looked back, and half of the hood was smashed in. Yikes!

I passed under "our" bridge - the one we normally run over in the dead of winter - and someone on the bridge yelled, "Go Team in Training!" It definitely gave me a boost!

The bike course was two loops and about 26 miles. It was almost like the closed end of a safety pin because the turnaround for the loop was maybe a mile from the start and finish. I got to the turnaround and headed back north. Even though I'd done the distance faster than normal without working as hard as normal, I was getting tired. Very tired. I had originally started in 6th gear, and I had to knock it down to 5th.

The hills started getting really hard. And there were fewer and fewer people on the course, and they were all going slow. A girl from the Atlanta Triathlon Club or something passed me and then slammed on the brakes. You had to stay at least three bike lengths behind or pass within 15 seconds. I didn't have enough energy to go around her, and I couldn't physically go any slower, so that was annoying. I finally had to pass her, and then she passed me again almost immediately and slowed down again. Grr!!

By the time I got to the turnaround to go south again, I honestly didn't think I was going to make it. I had to pour water on my head and if the water had still been cold, my head would have steamed like a sauna. The water was so warm it absolutely turned my stomach!

I was getting lightheaded and slightly dizzy, but I knew there was no way I could stop. I couldn't drop out of another race. So I constantly monitored my health and started taking small sips of water instead of a big gulp every 10 minutes, which is my normal hydration method. By this time I was pedaling in either 4th or 3rd gear, and I was doing the hills in 2nd. I felt like a total wimp, but there was no other way to get through it.

At one point I saw someone getting loaded into an ambulance, and the race official with her yelled, "is this your last lap?" I nodded yes, and he said, "good!" Sheesh. There were still people behind me, I wasn't the last one. And I passed a few people walking their bikes in. I started thinking about all the cancer patients out there who will never swim, bike, or ride. At one point, I was getting lightheaded and worried that I might fall off the bike if I kept going much longer, and I thought to myself, "There are leukemia patients out there who would KILL for the opportunity to pass out and fall off a bike!" What an absurd thought, but in laughing at how ridiculous that was, I was able to pull myself out of my negative thoughts and keep going.

My fan on the bridge yelled some encouragement to me again, and I gotta say - it made a big difference!

I finally made it to where we'd turned around before. I was so relieved I wanted to cry! That last stretch seemed to take FOREVER ... but then I was around the hairpin turn and down the ramp.

I could barely walk my bike back to my rack. I don't know how long it took me - it felt like 10 minutes, but it probably wasn't that long. I almost couldn't get my bike back on the rack. I had to weave around people packing up - people from earlier waves who were trickling into transition to collect their gear and go home. And at that point, I really wanted to go home, too. I didn't think I had it in me. I was shaking. I was exhausted. I could feel my skin sizzling. My water was as hot as the air and gave no relief. I couldn't imagine how I could even walk 6.2 miles, let alone run.

But I couldn't stop. I couldn't fail in another race. I thought, "Come on, this is only 6 miles. I was feeling almost this bad at mile 8 in the marathon, and I was able to get in another 5 miles! You can walk this!" So I put on my water belt and stumbled to the Run Out chute. A kid gave me a cup of air-temperature water.

A few other people entered the run as I did, and they were running. Boy, I could NOT run. I learned at the other tri that I needed to walk a bit, stretch out the calves, and then I'd be able to run. I figured I'd start running when I reached the TNT tent.

When I got to the TNT tent, the half dozen or so people still there cheered for me, and I flashed them a wan smile. I started running then. Well, "running" is not the word for what I was doing, but I was moving faster than I'd been. I decided to "run" for 60 steps, then walk for 60 steps. I think I managed that for about a half mile. I was at the Shedd at that point, and I saw my in-laws again. They shouted some encouragement, but to me at that point, it was just annoying. I was doing my best just to keep moving, for pete's sake! But, it was very nice to see them again! I was impressed that they held out so long. Mom shouted out that I should see Matt in a few minutes.

The run route went south on the Lakefront Path until about a mile past McCormick Place, then turned back and came north again. So it was only a few minutes after I saw Mom, Dad and Doug that I met up with Matt, who was walking. I almost burst into tears - "I can't run!" I wailed. "Don't worry, I've walked most of it," he replied. As we parted, I realized that almost every single person behind him was walking, and he was in a rather large crowd.

At that point, I caught up to the girl who was walking in front of me. I can't remember what happened - one of us asked the other if we could walk together, and we started chatting. She said she was going to walk the whole thing because it was too hot, and I agreed. Heck, I couldn't even walk as fast as I normally walk!

A few minutes later, I saw Matt Carlozzi, a fellow Sokol. He was almost teetering as he walked along. We gave each other a high ten. Seeing him really lifted my spirits!

My new friend was named Brooke. We had a nice long chat, which was actually difficult because I really thought I was going to throw up. About halfway through, walkers heading north told us that the next water stop was out of water. By this time, EVERYONE was walking. We saw a handful of runners, but they were barely running and looked like they were about to fall over. We stopped at a drinking fountain to rinse off our faces.

When we got to the next table, yes, they were out of water. The table after that must have thought the race was over. They were just standing to the back chatting while a few runners stood in front of the table looking confused. I shouted, "hey! Water people! Where are you?" Someone responded, "um, right here." Well, you know, I don't care if we're at the end - we deserve to have someone standing there holding out water for us. We shouldn't have to get our own! So I took a jug and poured almost the whole thing over my head.

The turnaround was right by a beach, and I have to say, I almost just went and jumped in the water!

The way back started getting really crowded with joggers, bikers, and roller bladers. It was kind of sad. We saw fewer and fewer people, and then none at all.

And then the pros came. And went. Like lightning! And then they passed us again going north. Sigh.

Brooke decided we should start running when we got to the Shedd. I told her to go for it, but I didn't think I could. I was still feeling pretty nauseous. We decided to run when we had about a quarter mile left.

And we did - we ran the final quarter mile! I don't think I actually ran more than a total of a half mile of that race! As we headed towards the finish line, I saw Matt Kocek from Sokol, who cheered me on. And then I heard Tom Pajer and saw him and Kandi screaming and clapping, so I ran over and gave them high fives - and I was practically in tears to see them there!

Brooke and I finished just as the first female pro finished (in 2 hours and 2 minutes). It was kind of funny that for the second race of my life, I finished as the winner finished! We both sighed a breath of relief, gave each other a high five, clapped each other on the back, said we couldn't have done it without the other, and wished each other a nice life.

It's true - I couldn't have done it without her. I would have tried to do a walk/run, and I would have ended up getting too sick.

I headed to the TNT tent, which, thank god, was right at the finish line. Matt wasn't there. He hadn't been at the finish line, either. No one knew where he was. I called him, in case he'd already been to gear check. I called my in-laws, who were waiting at the train station. I finally walked back towards the chute, and there he was. He missed me - he'd been walking around a tent as I'd finished (we knew this because he heard the female pro finish.)

We asked where gear check was, because they'd made an announcement at the start of the triathlon that they'd be moving it after 1, and it was already 2. No one was sure, but they thought it was at the swim start still. Well, we got there and it wasn't there, so we headed to transition. It wasn't at transition, either. Turns out it was back where we'd been - at the finish line! So we packed up our stuff and wheeled our bikes to the car. We put the bikes on the rack and shoved our wetsuits under the car, then walked back to the finish line.

Boy, was I whining. I felt so sick, I hadn't even sat down yet! It was maybe a half mile walk back. We finally got there, and Matt told me to sit down, that he'd go get the car and come back. I sat down, and a few minutes later, Matt was back - he'd forgotten the ticket. I decided at that point just to walk back with him.

We got back to the car, put our stuff in, and I sat down while Matt tied the bikes on. Almost immediately I felt better. Once the air was on and we were on our way home, I recovered very quickly. I called my mom and actually was able to carry on a coherent conversation with her!

We got home, showered, rested, and then took our top donors to Ballydoyle for dinner. It was fantastic!

I am glad I did this triathlon, but I'm never doing one again. Oh, I think I'll do some local sprint triathlons, but never International distance again. Unless it's in the dead of winter. I read in the Chicago Tribune that by the time I was out on the run, the temperature was 93 degrees. Yesterday tied for the hottest day of the year.

I'm glad I finished, even if only 118 people out of about 3800 had a slower time than me. I was 235 out of 250 in my division (females 30-34 - yes, they put you in your age group based on how old you are on 12/31/10.) I know if it had been even ten degrees cooler, or just a bit cloudy, I'd have done much better. But I don't care. I know it, I don't have to prove it. We met our fund raising goal, we finished the race, and that's all that matters.

Thank you to everyone for all of your support - we appreciate it more than you can know. The Team in Training Illinois Triathlon chapter raised over $200,000 this summer. We're funding research that is saving lives. Thank you.

Lynette's Results:

Time: 4:21:40
Swim: 39:42 (includes that 450-yard walk)
Bike: 1:49:20
Run: 1:42:10