Lake Zurich Triathlon

This was another sporting event in which I was sponsored by the Bono Family Winery. I must tell you, not only is this great stuff to drink, but the staff at BFW is amazing. Thanks!! This is me before the beginning of the bike portion of the race. BFW introduced their new flavor "Chris's Cary Cherry" at the race. I have a sampler bottle in my hand. I plan on drinking it during the bike portion of the race. Just kidding.

Mother nature was unkind on race day at the Lake Zurich Triathlon. This event was already a bit disorganized to begin with, but the weather caused the real problem. Here we all are in our suits ready to swim across the lake. We ended up waiting 2 hours - no kidding. The weather would not cooperate. The course officials ended up cancelling the swim portion of the race. It now became a duathlon - bike/run.

The weather doesn't look that bad, but officials say they saw lightning in the area. This is the view across the lake. It was a real bummer not to swim.

Here I am during the race. It was raining at the beginning, but stopped. Since this was my first triathlon, I had no idea what to expect. Well, I learned that before the next race, it might be a good idea to actually ride the bike before the race. My buddy Ed's son graciously loaned me his Bianchi Tri bike for the race. I put it in my back seat and there it sat until race day. Oops. Anyway, I paid the price when not half way through, the chain popped off. Luckily, I was able to put it back with miminal delay. However, I had to keep the bike in the same gear the entire race. Oh well. Live and learn.

I had no idea it would be so strange riding a bike, then trying to run. I wanted to run, but it felt like I had cinder blocks duck taped to my thighs, or that I was running in a pool of jello. Weird. It took about 2 miles for me to get my stride.

Here I am again, just trucking along. I think I am feeling a little better at this time. By now, my feet were pretty squishy from being wet on both the bike ride and the run. I was cracking myself up everytime I took a step.

This is me toward the end looking pretty much like I am ready for this thing to be over. Oh, that BFW wine is never going to taste better than after this race. I think I was more tired at the end of this than the marathon. Maybe not.