Earlier this year, I had two key races on my schedule for July. However, one was postponed until 2025 and the other sold out before I could get a team together. As I was looking for other options, I came across this race in Glenview. Not only did it look like a great race, but it would also serve as a good “warm up” for Naperville the following weekend.
To make things work most smoothly for the pool swim, we were the last ones in. As we were waiting, the rain came — mostly a drizzle, but a constant drizzle that would make the bike more interesting.
After a solid swim, we headed to T1. Because of the rain and wet feet in general, T1 took a lot longer than normal. And T1 wasn’t the only place where weather came into effect.
I have been using double sided clips for about seven years. In all that time, I have never had so much trouble getting cleat in and getting them to stay in. I believe the issue was partly the clips being wet and partially the cleats being wet.
After several attempts, I was finally able to get them in, and we were off. Because of the wet streets, we kept it at a much slower pace. There was also one part of the open course where a motorist almost caused a real issue for us because of how they were driving. Scott was able to keep us safe throughout both the inclement weather and the traffic.
As we made it back to T2, the weather had changed. So for the run, we had a lot of humidity instead of rain. So after a reasonably normal T2, we headed out into the heat.
Before heading out, I had been told that there were only two hills. While that statement was accurate, they did not count the inclines. So there was a lot of up and down — both on the actual hills and on the incline. What helped tremendously during the run were the ice station and full water bottles (instead of just cups).
While it was a challenging race, it was also a very FUN race. I was surprised to see how well supported it was by their sponsors. Usually, you’ll have a few giveaways post-race. Their raffles kept going, and going….
Thank you to Kathleen and the rest of the staff for their help. Thank you to Scott for all his help and guiding!
