Chicago Triathlon, 8/24/08

Chris and I road tripped to Chicago last week. Left Thursday, stopped in Cleveland for a delicious dinner at Michael Symon's (does anyone watch Iron Chef America?) restaurant Lola's. On Friday, we stopped in Ann Arbor, MI (to visit campus, check out the new School of Public Health, and eat at the Prickly Pear and Zingerman's) and Kalamazoo, MI (for Bell's brewery) before reaching Chicago, our final destination.

Our reason for the road trip was to participate in the Chicago Triathlon (olympic distance: .9 mile swim, 24 mile bike ride, 10K (6.2 mile) run).

There were 8,000 participants, 54 waves, and a ton of spectators.

The swim was in Monroe Harbor, the bike course was two loops along Lake Shore Drive and the run course was towards the art museum. We survived and both Chris and I got our personal best times in an olympic distance tri.

Chris:
swim - 41 minutes
T1 - 6:06 minutes
bike - 1:25:06
T2 - 4:32 minutes
run - 1:07:04
Final time - 3:23:51

Binni:
swim - 42:43 minutes
T1 - 5:03 minutes
bike - 1 hour 26 minutes
T2 - 6 minutes
run - 58:23 minutes
Final time - 3:18:11

On the way back to the East, we drove through Indiana, Kentucky (pit stops at Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville for a Hot Brown and Buffalo Trace Distillery for a tasting) and West Virginia.

In Kenova, WV we ran across an old school pharmacy with a soda fountain. If you're ever out that way, it's a cool place to stop.

NYC Half-Marathon: Done

Well, I certainly wasn't fast, but I finished it. Standing in the rain at 6:00 am in Central Park before the race wasn't fun. I was soaked and depressed by start time. Luckily it cleared up. The course was great (a bit more hilly than I expected in Central Park, though), especially leaving the park to run down Broadway and through Times Square. The race was well organized and I took full advantage of the well-stocked gatorade/water/gel stops. Thought as I struggled across the finish: Do this for another 13.1 miles? Hell no!

First road ride

Last Saturday was our first official road ride of the training season. 26 miles in Poolesville. It was a hot and humid day, and thankfully the route was reverse of what we normally do so the hills were at a minimum.

After the ride we had a social/lunch so that the Seagull team could get to know the captains, coaches and other teammates. A good day for all.
This weekend, we're off to Chicago for a weekend of hanging out with friends, good eats, and runs along the Lake. And don't forget the fireworks. What's the 4th without fireworks?!

You Too Can Ride the Tour de France

One of the unique things about the Tour de France is that anyone with a bike and the guts can ride a stage of the Tour a few days before the pros do in an event called L’Étape du Tour. This year the stage is an insanely hard 105 mile mountain ride going over the Col du Tourmalet ("bad way to go" in local dialect). Rob Mackey is writing for the New York Times about his attempt to do it.

Stay Tuned!

• We're captains for Team in Training's National Capitol Team for the Seagull Century (much more on this soon)
• Binni just did the Zooma 1/2 Marathon
  
• Chris got in the lottery for the New York City 1/2 Marathon in July
• The VA Beach Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon
  
• The Largest Triathlon in the US
  
• Other Dumb Stuff

Test Your Awareness

Pretty amusing Cycling awareness ad from London.

Pike's Peek 10K and TNT News

Uggh, more rain on Sunday for the Pike's Peek 10K, which goes from the Shady Grove Metro to White Flint Metro Station. I finished in 59:37 and Binni in 52:01. But more importantly, they had GREAT food afterwards. Pork BBQ from some farm (I forget where), Potomac Pizza, and Dunkin' Donuts. Beats the hell out of a banana.

Chris, Binni and Sylvia before the race

In other news, Binni and I will both be captains for Team in Training's DC team for the Seagull Century this Fall. Look for more on that soon.