Lots of dark clouds this morning on the horizon.
Made me keep questioning if we would ever see the sun?

We saw the glow, some sunbeams, some reflections (and some skyline)… but never any real sun?!!!

And then at some point, the sun was behind the clouds and it opened up and kind of looked like an upside-down sunrise of some sort?! With sun rays shooting down instead of the typical “shooting up.”

While it was storming outside, I was being quite productive inside!
Trimmed, slipped & starting to dry.

Sensing a theme yet???… “Art In The Garden.”
Think visual puns. One of my all-time favorite things!!!

After yesterday’s Triathlon, it felt great to get back on the bike this morning to work out a few kinks… and know that the “training” is done and now I can ride again JUST FOR FUN!!!

It’s always a dark & early start on Triathlon morning. Everyone starts loading into the Transition Area around 4:30am. Finding a place to put your bike, shows, helmet, running clothes, shoes, water, and EVERYTHING else you’ll need for the next three events!!! You kind of set-up a little mini campsite with all of your gear. You and the 9,000 other people out there doing the same thing!!! Luckily, they separate & label the racks by Wave number. So they’re a “little” easier to find later. At 5:45am they kick everyone out of the Transition Area as the race begins at 6:00am with the Elite Pro athletes!!!… which is definitely not me!

With wetsuit and goggles in hand, we made our way down towards the Swim Start. Still a dark & cloudy morning… sadly, no sunrise! Just a lot of anxious athletes waiting to get started.

Unfortunately, you also need to pack away your stuff at Gear Check – so I had no phone for pictures. And my camera was back in the Transition Area with my running belt. So… the race itself is always picture-free. Just me swimming, biking, running & sweating!!!

The Swim portion of the race is about a mile and a half. We start in Monroe Harbor across from Buckingham Fountain. Your wave jumps in, and at the starting horn swims south to the Field Museum, turns around and then swims all the way north to the Chicago Yacht Club. Today the water was a bit choppy and there was a LOT more seaweed to swim through than previous years?! The second half of the swim got even choppier… with waves so big that you sometimes couldn’t even see the people swimming next to you. And trust me… it’s such an incredible feeling to finally see the floating orange pylon at the end that indicates you’ve made it to the end. Whew… and yes, I swallowed a LOT of lake water today!!!

Then you exit the lake and run a quarter mile to the Transition Area. You’re barefoot and still in your wetsuit “running” on some slippery carpet. In the Transition Area, we were greeted by mud, mud & more mud!!! It was s sloppy transition into my biking gear, grabbing my bike & helmet, then out the other end the Bike Start.

This year the bike route was different. We started the first half on Lake Shore Drive riding north up to Hollywood and back. Then we turned in towards the City and rode on mid-Wacker Drive & lower-Wacker Drive all the way down to McCormick Place and back. The first half seemed pretty normal on Lake Shore Drive – including the headwinds as we were headed south. Once on Wacker Drive, it was fun to be on the new route and riding somewhat underground through the “tunnels” of lower Wacker Drive. Very fun… and nice to have a different route for a change!!! There was however a bad bike accident in one of the tunnels down south by McCormick Place. It must have just happened before I got there as they were quickly trying to slow down all riders and divert the flow of traffic around the guys & bikes still laying on the road. Chris & Pam saw the same accident a little while later and they were on flatboards being placed in to ambulances. Hopefully they both came out of it okay with just some scraps, roadrash & stories to tell.

Then it’s back into the Transition Area again when you ditch your bike & bike gear, switching everything to running gear.  A bit more mud, another swig of water and it was time to start running south towards Museum Campus. By now the temps were going up and the humidity was getting a bit crazy. The run continued around & through Museum Campus down to 31st Street Beach and then back in to Grant Park for the Finish Line!!!

Did I mention the humidity?… and the SWEAT?!!!

So it was great to turn that final corner and see the Finish Line ahead. One last kick and your done!!! And my fourth Chicago Triathlon is once again history. All that was left was waiting for some friends, some more Gatorade, a little recovery “fun” and then a walk back to the Transition Area to reclaim all of our stuff.

Crossing the Finish Line shortly after me was my friend Chris… still looking pretty fresh & happy! And apparently thrilled to be done!!!

Next up was my college friend Pammy who was still in fine shape at the end. And she better be… she’s in training for her first Ironman race. Crazy Pam!!!

With the sun, heat & humidity, it was great to be greeted at the finish Line with some ice-soaked towels to cool off with. And always fun to get your Triathlon Finisher Medals!!!

Chris and a few of her training friends…

Pam and her husband Jeff who was also celebrating his birthday today!!!

After the Finish Line, there’s a lot of water, Gatorades, bananas, vendors, t-shirts and more. We found this wonderful tent that had some crazy sort of recovery system. It was free… so why not give it a try?!

So uyou sit in this reclining chair, put your legs completely in these zipped-on legs. And then the operator hooks you up to a compressor and control unit. The legs inflate, pulsate and pressurize all around your legs. Hitting all of the right points and it felt great!!! We did it for about 10 minutes… and it may have been the best 10 minutes ever?!

And then of course, “someone” had to make the joke about them inflating TOO much!!!

On our way back to the Transition Area, Chris and I stopped for one last photo-op in front of Buckingham Fountain. The day started out gray & cloudy, some sort of wind & clouds passed through while I was biking, and then the sun & humidity came out. All in all, I think it was a beautiful day for a swim, bike & run through the City!!!

So here’s what you’ve been waiting for… MY RESULTS.

SWIM – 1 mile – 49 minutes, 17 seconds… one minute faster than last year.
BIKE – 25 miles -one hour, 14 minutes, 26 seconds… 40 seconds longer than last year...
which I “blame” on the accident down in the Wacker Drive tunnels that slowed us all down!
RUN – 6.2 miles – one hour, 15 minutes, 11 seconds… 5-1/2 minutes faster than last year!!!

So my 2014 Chicago Triathlon “official” race time was 3:29:48.
Not quite my “personal best”, but still over 5 minutes faster than last year’s race. I’ll take that. And only 2 minutes longer than my “personal best” which was back in 2012. So there it is for another year… my fourth Chicago Triathlon!!!

And let me just say one last thing… I FEEL GREAT.
No soreness. No tender joints. I feel surprisingly great right now. Hungry, but good.
So either I’m in better shape than I though this year…
or that inflatable leg recovery system REALLY works?!!! … or could it be both???

Coming together… and coming soon to “Art In The Garden” next weekend…

Checked-in. Carbed-up. Tattoos on.
And ready for “three kinds of fun” tomorrow. Gotta sleep fast.
I’m in Wave #8 which starts at 6:38am.
Looks like I’ll be making an early splash. Yikes!!!

To see the final collaboration pieces I’ve been working on with Cory McCrory…
come to “Art In The Garden” on Saturday, August 30th & Sunday August 31st.

Looking for something fun & artsy this weekend?
Stop by the Bucktown Arts Festival and say hello to my friend Sarah Chapman.
She’s got the coolest jewelry there. I’m just sayin’…

So I got this “Comment” on my blog today…
Very sweet in a weird, kind of touching, kind of stalker-ish way.
I think it’s good… so “good” that I just had to share.

Hey, glad I found your website, I named my son Jackson because of a guy named Gary Jackson that I met in 1972. Hoped you were him. But of course you’re not. However I love your story. I also love art and bike riding. I’m working hard for corporates and you have inspired me to work harder for my loves. I’m from Louisville, Kentucky. Maybe I’ll be able to see your work there. Keep sending good vibes!