After four years of waiting to do the Chicago Triple Triathlon I was finally able to race! And it was every bit as fun and exhausting as promised.

Sometime about 5 or 6 years ago I stumbled on the website for the Chicago Triathlon. I was looking for tris that sounded fun or interesting. And the two things that stuck out the most about it were that the International/Olympic distance race has an entire underground section as part of the course; and the second thing was that they offered a triple-race challenge option.

The Triple Challenge: It’s simply “all three races in two days”. The first event is on Saturday morning, the Super Sprint. And on Sunday you race in both events that day, the International first, followed by the Sprint. It sounded awesome.

So why the delay in racing this event after learning about it? Well, at the time I first read about it, which was around summer 2015? I was already booked up with a busy following year in 2016. I had the ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ, Tahoe Ragnar Relay, and several other events. And then in the couple years following I simply could not justify the cost due to moving back and forth from SF to LA for work a couple times.

I was finally in a position to do the race in 2019. You see, in 2018 I would race my last full iron distance with my mom In Chattanooga before she retired from full tris. Then Chicago 2019 was going to be my “big race” (in terms of cost, not particularly distance). But while out on a training bike ride just two weeks before Chicago a flock of geese flew across my path while I was tucked in aero position doing about 24/25 mph. Despite trying to swerve last minute I was hit, knocked out briefly from the impact, and broke my collarbone when I hit the asphalt. The 2019 race year Chicago was forced to cut the swim – so while I didn’t like dealing with a broken collarbone, I’m glad I didn’t get all the way out there to have a triple-duathlon.

In 2020 and 2021 there were deferrals due to Covid, as you may have guessed.

But hey, 2022!
This was finally my year to race in Chicago!

I booked things like the hotel and flight as early as I could in 2022. I knew the most expensive part of this trip would be the travel. Entry wasn’t toooo terrible. Not compared to a full distance or my Escape race, anyway.

But hey, let’s add up costs while I write this out, see where I end up with everything in regards to spend, like I did in my Puerto Rico writeup!

Booking & Scheduling:

I had already looked up flights and hotel previously. So I had a general idea of where I wanted to stay. As far as flights, traveling with a Tri Bike and just traveling now in a post-covid world where the airlines are a mess, I didn’t want to have to connect flights and only looked at direct travel to Chicago.

I booked a room at the Congress Plaza Hotel. Arrival Wednesday, free day on Thursday (in case my bike was delayed), Race Check In Friday, Race Saturday, Double Race Sunday, Fly Home Monday.
Five Nights, Double Room.
Total Cost: $859

My flight was Southwest since they tend to work out to be cheaper with bike bag fees. And they’ve had far fewer stories in the news recently about cancellations like other airlines. I also upgraded my flight home boarding position for widow/exit row with no seat in front of you.
Southwest Ticket: $462
doesn’t include bag fees paid later, these were my fees paid in March at booking.

And my registration for the race itself in 2018 was $319
When I got injured I can to cancel and defer, so reregistering was another $171.87

Arrival in Chicago, getting Downtown:

Wednesday:

After getting your baggage at Baggage Claim, you take the elevator up to the next floor and walk to the train station. It’s about 15 minutes or so to walk there. And a ticket costs $3.

The easiest part of the day is the train ride to Downtown. And Google Maps on your phone makes it a breeze telling you which stop to get off, and then where to walk to get to your hotel.

Baggage Fee for my bike: $75, Starbucks at the airport: $16.82, Inflight wifi: $8, Train ticket: $3, Dinner/Shake Shack: $18.10
Total Wednesday Spend: $120.91

Thursday:

This was my free day. All my bags arrived safely so I didn’t had to deal with that. I was up early due some product launches at work that I had to help oversee that morning. And then I left the hotel to go back to the airport to meet my friend Naidymar who was flying in to spend the weekend at the race with me.
The afternoon was a mix of building my bike and wandering around being a bit of tourist. Buying drinks and snacks for the weekend ahead. And of course Grabbing some Chicago Deep Dish pizza for dinner. And that evening watching some of the thunderstorm that blew in literally right as we got back to the hotel.

Breakfast/Dunkin: $8.91, Train tickets: $9, Lunch/Potbelly: $14.71, Drinks/Snacks/Supplies: $35.52 , Milkshakes: $14.39, Dinner/Pizza: $58.56
Total Thursday Spend: $141.09

Friday:

Check In Day! I was looking forward to Race Check In, but also had a feeling it was going to be… vague. The biggest issue I’ve had with this event leading up to it is how poorly organized the website and information is.
I’m not sure if it’s a result of the sheer amount of people and size of the race (something like over 4,000 competitors). Or if it’s a byproduct of a post-covid world and “no need for in-person Athlete Briefings. Just watch this video about (some) of the info for the weekend” and as a Triple competitor you’re just left still confused about the whole process in general because there’s almost no time spent outlining it.

We got up that morning and found a coffee shop a few blocks away to grab a drink and bite: HERO Coffee Bar. It was great and both Naidymar and I talked about how we’ve both always seen the appeal of living in Downtown Chicago and walking to places and enjoying the food/shops.

Shortly after upon arriving at the Expo the line for Check In got really long really fast, and I’m glad we were there a bit early.

Again, in what seemed like a poor decision in planning, the actual room with the check in counters seemed far too small for the amount of people. Also the lines quickly got messy since there was no real organization or marking for where the lines needed to flow.

Fortunately the Triple Tri Athletes had their own Check In counter, and I was third person there.

I was given Bib #6. This will forever be the lowest racing number I ever receive. Single digits are pro-racers in the Iron events I’m used to. Haha!

Afterward we checked out the Expo, which was in the underground ballroom/convention room. I had already checked out the apparel online and wasn’t certain I would buy any. The bike kits weren’t terrible, but they were $200 per piece. Two.Hundred.Dollars. So if you bought a shirt and shorts, that’s $400. I’m sorry, but that’s a ripoff no matter what event you’re doing.

I bought a pullover, tank top, fridge magnet, sticker, and visor. And only spent around $170. Less than the cost of a single Chicago Tri cycling jersey.
The other thing I needed to find was Co2 for my bike. Orange County airport makes you throw them away and you can’t fly with them so I end up having to buy them at races each time. Fortunately there was a booth selling single canisters for $3.50 so I didn’t have to buy a multipack. Talk about an easy business at the expo, these likely cost $0.70 in bulk

After the expo we grabbed coffee at a nearby Peet’s, and later that night made our way out to Fulton Market for dinner.

Breakfast/Coffee shop: $15.46, Apparel:$170.79, co2: $3.50, Coffee/Peets: $18.56, Train: $6, Dinner/Ramen: $43.50
Total Friday Spend: $257.81

RACE WEEKEND

Saturday:

Super Sprint Race Day!

I’ll start with a brief Race Breakdown, then discuss the day itself:

The Super Sprint was, of course, a very short race. My swim tracking on my Garmin looks all over the place when I did in fact actually swim pretty straight lines.
In Red is the bike portion. it’s a three-loop course. Closed road and very fast… if you want it to be. My fastest leg was my first of three at 22mph.
The Run is a short 1.5mi out and back, about 1/3 on a dirt path. Lots of people cheering the whole way.

Official Chip Time. I finished 41st out of 125 Triple racers that day (despite what the chart above says).

The Race itself was fun. Super quick since I’ve never done a Tri this short. I had to dial back my speed/effort a bit because I knew I had two more races ahead the next day. So for example I jogged the run instead of doing something like pushing for a sub-7 mile time “just because i could”.

I was right at the start line for the race… probably 4 row back in the group as we ran out into the water

Swim Exit

The bike was fast and flat, three loop

the run was a short out and back. You see me trying to decide if I even need to run this quick and I almost immediately slow down – this was around a 7:15 pace when I started, then I slowed because why run that fast when I have to race tomorrow?

Figuring out the logistics for the Super Sprint was among the hardest parts of figuring out the weekend as a whole.
We were finally able to get clarity from one of the workers the afternoon before at the expo in regards to the race check in and start times. The Super Sprint was going to be at 10a. And check in could either be done early in the morning with the Kids Races check in, or right before the Super Sprint race. But the guide online does a terrible job outlining that.

We also had to take a train North to Foster Beach where the race was held. Getting there in the morning was straight forward. Get on the train and then walk (or ride if you’re solo. I wasn’t) a mile or so to the beach.

The Transition area was its own kind of mess.
When you entered there was zero explanation on what was going on. All of us were standing around trying to figure out the bike racking order. Turns out at the the kids racks were on the right, and Super Sprint racks on the left. But in the confusion of people putting their bikes everywhere, it was just messy.

I finally found my rack with the other Triples and started getting setup. But since these are not Iron events in the sense of “a lot of money to spend on small details” the racking spots weren’t numbered, which is totally fine but it meant there was no order to people rotating their bike racking order (bars in or bars out, every other). Again, not the end of the world but it made things a bit messy

The race itself was brief, the bike fast, and the run short – as I said above.

After the race, however, if you’re a Triple competitor, be prepared to wait. Because they’re not going to let anyone into Transition to get their bike until after every athlete has come in from the bike course and is out on the run course. With the last wave of the race starting long after your first-group-out start, this means you’re going to wait a while.

So socialize, chat with people, get some drinks and buy an ice cream from the cart vendor guy walking around. Then find a good spot to sit and cheer on the racers on the run course!

After we were allowed back to get our bikes it was a pretty quick process getting out. The Tri rack is all largely experienced racers. So we were all casually and quickly packing up and chatting.

Now getting back to the hotel you have two options as a cyclist: Ride your bike, or Ride the train.

Originally I was planning to do the this weekend solo, so I was fully planning to cycle back. But with Naidymar with me we walked to the train. The first train was absolutely packed with people and we couldn’t get on. During the 20 minute wait I said that if the next train was equally packed that I’d just ride my bike back to Downtown and she could take the train. Note: I talked to another Triple athlete the next day about this exact problem and he said that he’s done that, and it’s equally a mess due to road closures, construction, etc.

We made it on to the next train, but it slowly filled up and at one point I was crammed next to THREE other cyclists bringing their bikes down to the waterfront for bike drop-off for tomorrow’s race day.

Bike Drop off Saturday Afternoon:

Naidymar and I got off the train and walked back to the hotel. As we were leaving the subway there were other people with bikes standing around a bit confused on where to go. I knew where to go so I walked around them, and then carried my bike up the three flights of stairs because I didn’t want to wait for the escalator. Naidymar said one dude watched me blow past everyone and turned to his friend and said “THAT GUY KNOWS WHERE HE’S GOIN!”, haha!
We walked the three blocks to the hotel and there we split up; I cycled over to Transition for bike drop so I wouldn’t have to do it in the morning. Plus I wanted to make sure I had a decent rack spot – after all I’m racer Number Six! Ayyyy!

The Triple racks are actually up and over the hill, on the asphalt, right next to Bike Out. Saturday afternoon you could only drop your bike. So it was a quick trip. I spent more time taking photos than I did racking my bike.

You enter on the bottom left (South Entrance) to drop your bike. As a Triple racer, immediately turn left and walk up over the grassy hill to the road/cement. That’s where the Triple racks are.

I got back to the hotel, showered and changed, and we headed back to Fulton Market area and went to Au Cheval to meet up with Marilyn – a friend from the recent Starr-Lopez wedding just photographed. She lives in Chicago and at the wedding we said we’d try and meet up on my race trip. Now was a cheeseburger the best pre-race-day food I could have had? No, of course not. But it was still delicious. I’m sure at some level I paid for it the next day since normally I’d have a bit of chicken and tiny bit of pasta before a race.

That evening back at the hotel we kept it pretty chill. I organized my gear for the next day, and I sat and studied the schedule and directions trying to understand exactly how things would work for the Triple athletes. The “Swim Valet Bag” part was confusing to me. I brought the second pair of shoes required. It just didn’t make much sense with the material provided what exactly we were supposed to do.

But as a Triple Athlete you’re one of only around 175 racers (if all Triple spots fill up). So I’m not shocked that the directions were vague.

Train: $6, Ice Cream vendor: $10, Snacks/Dunkin: $8.01, Train: $6, Dinner: Marilyn treated <3
Total Saturday Spend: $30.01

Sunday:

Double Race Day! Olympic and Sprint

Let’s looks at the races and numbers first:

I’m only including part of the map for the Olympic since the ride and run take you further North and South.
Again my swim GPS looks like a total mess, and if it were to be believed, would mean I was crossing back and into oncoming swimmers… which of course is not the case. This sporadic tracking seems to just be how it looks on new devices at the moment with less “smoothing” the course than previous GPS watches.
One cool thing to notice is the underground pieces of the Bike (in red) where it “cuts across land” since you’re under Chicago.

My official Chip Time for the Olympic.
I finished 37th place in the Triple Challenge Division, out of 122 Triple finishers for the Olympic.

The Sprint

Again my swim looks all over the water, which definitely didn’t happen this time either.
My ride was fast, but not as quick as that morning. It was hotter out now and I didn’t have any water. And I paid for that during the ride.
My run was affected by cramped legs so I chose to walk about half of it.

My Official Chip Time. I finished up 49th out of the the Triple Challenge category for the Sprint out of 112 finishers for that final race.

Finishing the International alongside my other number brother, Antonio, Number 7!

—–

And how was the day itself?

AMAZING. The Chicago Triple Tri was every bit as fun and exhausting as promised.

Waking up in the morning I hadn’t quite slept as great as I could have. My Garmin Epix2 told me I was at a 66 Body Battery! Ha! “Yo John, you’re screwed homie..”. And I def felt a bit tired. But overall I was still looking forward to a great day.

I got up and took a quick shower to wake up. Got dressed in a still-damp didn’t-dry-enough-in-the-room tri suit, and sat and ate my oatmeal. I packed up my bag with everything and we headed out.

The walk toward the beach was quiet. It was about 4:50am and there didn’t look to be anyone out. We laughed about how it seemed too quiet for a race. But, a block or so later you turn a corner and it’s completely packed with people filing into transition

Started my Garmin a bit late after leaving the hotel. I wanted to record the whole walk, for distance measuring for this writeup

Gear drop at my bike was straight forward. it was dark and some people had headlamps like you see at Ironman events with people getting ready in complete darkness. But there are enough street lights that you don’t need one at the Triple racks.
The bike tech area is right next to the Bike Out about 50ft from the Triple racks. They had plenty of bike pumps that you could walk up and use. There was no wait, either. So don’t worry about bringing a bike pump in your luggage if you travel to this race.

They also had a couple people walking around asking if Triple racers “got their second bib”, which of course confused all of us. There was apparently a last minute decision to require all Triple Athletes to use a second bib if they were going to utilize the Swim Bag service and not return to their bike between races. This also required that you have a second pair of running shoes you leave at transition. I brought a second pair of shoes, but was already planning to walk back to my bike after the Olympic.

After prepping my bike and gear I stood there a minute and double checked everything. I chatted with the other racers who were prepping their bikes briefly and then left to start the walk toward the start line.

It’s a mile walk, so you def need to make sure that you have time.
And as we got closer to the start the announcers started talking about “Triple Athletes please enter the chute!”. So there was a small moment of “Oh man, i’m late!!”. When in reality I still had plenty of time to get ready. I had to put on my wetsuit, which was quick since it was a sleeveless. I handed all my stuff to Naidymar and got in line.

As the chute filled up I saw a few people from yesterday and said hello. And as Racer Number 6, I was right there at the front again. All of us in the single digit numbers were laughing and making jokes about “I don’t think I belong at the start line… but this is pretty cool either way!’

The top racers from the day before came up to the front where we were and asked about cutting the line. Of course man! You did a 30 minute super sprint yesterday? Go righttt ahead. You don’t need to be dodging us in the water.

It wasn’t long before the opening ceremonies started, they explained how things were going to start that day. And then the countdown to the race!

SWIM

It was a rolling start, which I’m used to from other Iron events, and I found to be quite smooth for the Water Start entry setup with the staircase. Every 10 seconds they had a new group walk down the stairs, jump in the water and start swimming. The Olympic goes South first, turns the last pyramid buoy and then heads North to the Swim Exit.

The swim was really pretty. i breath on my left, so while heading South I could see the sunrise, and heading North I could see all the people on the sidelines – and all the other athletes lining up in the chute. d the top of the stairs they have people unzipping your wetsuits. Then it’s a half mile or so jog to your bike

Naidymar got me right as I was running to Transition

TRANSITION

Transition is straightforward for the first group that morning. The entire path is carpeted – which is great. Not only do you not have to worry about rocks or broken cement, but you don’t have to worry about all the duck/goose crap of the waterfront either.

As a Triple athlete as soon as you cross under the arch for the Bike Paddock take a hard left and go straight up the grassy hill. that’s the fastest way to the Triple racks. Then you’ll be on the road and can jog down to your bike. I was on the very first rack, closest the Bike Out.
I took off my wetsuit, sat on it and said and put on my socks and shoes to bike. I couldn’t find my Swim Valet Bag, and wondered if it blew away in the wind. “Guess I’m coming back between races for sure, now..” I thought.

I got up, checked my bike, and started jogging down to the Bike Start.

After crossing under the arch you have to go about 30 more feet to the “Start Box”, it’s an area marked with red tape that you mount your bike in.

After mounting up, you pedal about 100 yards, and take a hard right up onto Lakeshore Drive.

BIKE

The Bike portion of this race is truly awesome.

Lakeshore drive is closed on one side for the race. And as a Triple racer, you’re riding it at sunrise with the road all to yourself. Really though, there were very few parts of the bike ride that I had anyone near me. It’s gorgeous. We had some wind blowing in so there was a bit of a tailwind at the start which made for a really fun, fast ride North rippin along Lakeshore.

Take time to look around, enjoy the views, and really enjoy that you’re riding a street you otherwise would never get to cycle.
There were several dozen people I was passing along the bike portion. While they may be fast in the water, I’m very fast on my bike and it was very easy to crank out a lot of power during the ride. It was somewhere in the 70s still at that point in the point in the morning, you’re feeling nice and cool since you got the breeze and a wet tri suit you’re wearing, haha. The elevation was basically flat with just rollers cuz it’s a highway, so I was powering through around 20mph most of the time. My power kept bouncing between 190-210w, which I knew would be too hard if I wanted energy for the day ahead.. so I tried to back it down a bit.

After the Lakeshore portion of the ride you take a hard U-Turn and head into the underground tunnels below Chicago.

And this is SUCH.A.COOL.PART. It’s just like Batman! is what I told a bunch of friends when I had to describe the course. You’re cycling down below Chicago – a few levels from what I was told – and race through those as you head South. You come out and cycle along some other access road through some industrial looking areas. The overpasses are lined with people who came out to cheer and support the racers. It was very cool to see so much support around the course from the city.

You get to head back through the tunnels one more time to return to Lake View Park and Transition

TRANSITION

Coming into transition again was fast since i was literally the first rack by the arch.

As I got ready for the run there were a few hellos and “That was so cool!” comments to the other Triples were there in transition with me. I sat and put my shoes on thinking “I should have tied this this morning so I wouldn’t have to do it now”, drank a bit of water, and then started my jog up over the hill to Run Out.

The Run Out is the same arch you came in from after the Swim. So head up the cement/road to cross the hill – skip going through the other bike racks full of other racers. Head left and and down the grass and then right and out the arch.

RUN

(I’m 99% certain this photo is from the Sprint later that day, but it’s a good shot of the skyline)

The 10k portion of the race heads back along the water, but initially is up and away from the waterfront since there are still racers down there coming in from the swim. And there will be racers there for the next 2 hours or so.

You jog along a dirt path for a while which is full of people cheering all the racers. Your bib doesn’t have a name on it, so people cheer your number as you go by.

I was trying to gauge to my energy level and what pace I wanted to run. I still had another Tri later that morning to do.

My plan was to stay somewhere in the 8’s… but that first mile I was in the 7s which would be a bit quick for me if I intended to have much energy for the Sprint later.

As the course turned you out toward the run path by the Field Museum it started to get much more narrow and much more crowded. By this point in the day you’re also racing alongside some of the other International/Sprint athletes.

But it wasn’t the fellow racers that made things annoying, it was all the Chicago people that were out on bicycles on the run path, during a racing event, and seemed mad that they couldn’t get their full speed workout in because an event was going on. Honestly it was pretty dangerous how people were acting. But that’s just life, right?

Overall the run was great. There was support literally at all parts of the course. Whether it was crowds along the course at the Museum, or a random family with their kids sitting in lawn chairs down at the end of the 10k cheering people on, it was great!

As you come in toward the finish there’s a pretty significant climb up to Columbus Drive. It was around here at that Antonio caught up to me. He was racer Number Seven, and we met the day prior because we were wearing the same race kit. Today he was in a slightly different one, but by the same designer – De Soto Sport.

As we ran in to the finish together I said “Hey you caught me!” and he laughed and said “Nooo, you waited for me, right?” haha! “Yeah, totally!”

We crossed the finish.

I had an official finish time of 2:42:54 … which is slightly different than my Garmin time of 2:42:09. For some reason when I got out of the water and hit my transition button my watch restarted. Fortunately Garmins will now “resume” workouts in situations like that. So I didn’t lose my whole swim. Just probably threw off my Transition time a bit.

At the finish they have ice cold water, AND ICE COLD TOWELS. Grab a towel, cool off. You won’t regret it. Your core will be way hotter than you realize.

I got my finisher medal, ate a banana, drank a gatorade, grabbed another water and met up with Naidymar. I had to go back to Transition again and get ready for race number three.

WALK BACK

The walk back is 1.25 miles approx. So be ready for that. I checked the time multiple times to make sure I was safe. It was 8:50am and my next race was in 1hr, at 9:50am.

Naidymar walked back to transition with me. We basically stuck to any road/direction that was “moving” so I avoided waiting at stoplights for crosswalks if I could still walk the correct direction and not-wait.

Back in transition I re-staged my running shoes, towel, socks, helmet, sunglasses, etc.
I only had about 1/4 bottle of water left but didn’t see any obvious Water Fill Stations around unfortunately.

I grabbed my wetsuit and sandals and headed back to out.

Be sure to walk clear around the sensors when entering/leaving Transition though since there are still races going on. You don’t want to screw up your chip timing. I actually was stopped by an official for not-crossing the sensor and pointed out I’m a Triple Athlete. She apologized and I said “No, Thank You! I’m glad you cared enough to make sure I wasn’t screwing up my race!”

The 20 min walk back is pretty easy. And I had plenty of time til the 9:50 Sprint start

SPRINT

Back at the Swim Start things were looking pretty empty. We were now the last group of the day rounding out the Triathlon. Triples are the group who start first, and then start last.

I got halfway into my wetsuit – which was already completely dry as it was hot out that morning – and wandered into the chute with a couple other Triples. There are water jugs and cups so I drank a bit since I was sure I was dehydrated even if I didn’t feel it quite yet.

This last event almost seemed bittersweet I thought as we lined up as a group for the final time that morning. Surrounded by the same faces I got to know – or at least came to recognize – those last couple days. We joked about how “just one more race” was ahead, and at this point we’re all good and just gotta finish. You’ll see that by the end of the weekend with the results that Triple group gets smaller as people drop out of the 2nd and 3rd events.

For this last swim we would be jumping in the water, turning left immediately, and swimming alongside the retaining wall straight down to Swim Exit.

I was part of the second group into the water. And as cold as it was – and a bit of a shock – it felt great after a hot run.

SWIM

My swim, however was rough. I could feel my shoulders screaming at me for some reason and I honestly don’t know why, other than likely being out of swim shape. I put down a terrible time. haha

But what worried me more was my legs started to cramp a bit halfway through the swim. I was legitimately concerned since I had the bike ride next, and cramped legs on my bike would be a major issue.

During the swim I could see Naidymar walking alongside and taking a few photos. I tried to wave, but of course you can’t tell a wave from a swim stroke, let’s be real.

This swim was also pretty busy with the last group of Sprint Athletes. There were a lot of non-swimmers, or rather not-strong-swimmers, I could see hanging on to the wall taking a break and it looked like one or two needed to get pulled from the water. That would be a hard way to end your Sprint race, but it’s admirable to see people still out there attempting it

TRANSITION

Exiting the water was the same drill as before.

During the jog to my bike I passed two people that both commented they were happy to just make it through the swim.

This point in the day, however, the path was much more crowded with people trying to “go out for a Sunday jog” in the middle of a race. Seriously though, race officials had to yell at people trying to run down the path toward the swim exit thinking that path was open to everyone.

BIKE

This bike course would only be the Lakeshore Drive portion – so one more ride along the lake.

As I got started I could still feel my legs slightly cramped, but once I started pedaling the cramping seemed to go away. I figured so long as I was weary of my body position, I could possibly avoid cramping on the bike and just deal with it on my run. It would be easier for me to make up some time on the bike rather than try and do so on the run.

Overall I put down a strong bike again. I backed off a little bit because of my legs, a bit cuz I was dehydrated and didn’t have water with me, and a bit just to enjoy the ride. So an 18.8mph average instead of my previous 21mph that morning. (Notice no water bottle in the photo, haha)

There were a lot more people out this time of day – all the Sprint athletes and people riding all sorts of bikes. But everyone looked to be having a great time out on the course

TRANSITION

Pulling back into Transition for the last time I felt fried. I could feel how dehydrated I was at this point and was made at myself for not figuring out water between races.

I put my shoes on, and my bib, and walked up the hill to the Run Out. I needed salt and knew there was nowhere I find anything like that. So Gatorade right outside the Run Out arch would have to work

RUN

This was only a 5k – a distance i’m capable of doing quite fast. But not with cramped legs.

I jogged most of the first mile trying to determine if I had the energy to power through the entire 5k while being really sore, or if I would be mad at myself for walking part of it.

Ultimately I decided to start walking around the 0.9 mile mark or so. And for the next mile and a half I did a mix of jogging and walking.

The last mile or so I jogged into the finish. My legs a mix of loosening up as I started to run, but feeling cramped at the same time.

I crossed the finish with an official time of 1:46:04 and a Garmin time of 1:46:09 (stopped it a bit late).

I was definitely tired. I headed over to drop my timing chip, then had to find Naidymar.

AFTER RACE

I got my medal – which are the same for both the Olympic and the Sprint. This is because Sunday is simply “The Chicago Triathlon”, so you get a medal regardless of the distance.

I grabbed a few bottles of water, a gatorade, and some potato chips – i actually dislike potato chips, but I really wanted the salt.
Heading over to the athlete food tent, they were unfortunately out of pretty much everything. But be realistic, there are THOUSANDS, of people racing. They’re going to run out of food.

As you are leaving the Finish Line, the Triple Tri finisher tent is on the left. This is where you pick up your Finisher jacket. There are also some drinks , cookies, and chairs in there for the Triple Athletes to sit and rest. Everyone was chatting and making small talk. I hung out briefly, but not too long since Naidymar was there with me and we still had things ahead that afternoon. I had to go get my bike from Transition. and she had a plane to catch that evening.

Otherwise if I had been on this trip solo, I likely would have hung out to rest and chat with the other Triple racers

Bike pickup

Walking back to Transition is another 1.25 mile walk. I did this one alone and Naidymar headed back to the hotel to shower and pack before her flight.

Getting back to the racks there were already a lot of people who picked up their bikes. And there was a MASSIVELY LONG line to leave since everyone seemed to be using one exit point.

I went and sat down next to my bike realizing just how tired I was. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pack up my gear and walk back to the hotel, or cycle back. Ultimately I packed all my stuff up and walked.
And as you’re leaving there’s another exit point at the top of the hill, near the road the Triple racks are on, that had no wait. Unlike the lower exit gate that had a line of probably 50+ people.

The walk back to the hotel was just over a mile for me. It was hot. I was tired. And I nearly stopped at the ice cream vendor for ice cream and then realized I was carrying too much for that to be an easy snack to eat.

After returning to the hotel I soaked my legs in a cold bath, showered and cleaned up, and then Naidymar and I walked to the train station to take her back to the airport.

Later that evening after getting back to downtown i packed up my bike and luggage, went and ordered a pizza, and laid around my hotel room. I called my family to discuss the race day – as racers themselves I knew they’d be curious how it went.

Part of me really, really wanted to walk down to the water and enjoy my last evening by the fountain or waterfront. But the other part of me was simply exhausted, and wanted to stay inside where it was cooler and get to bed sooner rather than later.

TRAVEL HOME

Traveling home was straight forward, just like arriving. The next morning I walked down the train station and it was three whole dollars that getting to the airport cost me. It was muggy as hell though and I nearly did a deck change right there on the platform into shorts instead of the joggers I was wearing for my flight.

At the airport Check In was a breeze, with only my bike bag requiring a few extra steps like the $75 “sports equipment” fee and showing proof of actually paying it.

I’m TSA Pre, so typically the Security line is easy. However this day I was randomly selected to do the body scan machine. And then my bag was flagged to be searched. I remembered that I left my compressed co2 canister in there because I was going to see if they required me to throw it away and what the policy actually is. Turns out they flagged my backpack because of the gatorade bottle I had, and they threw that out. They didn’t care about my co2. Sadly the TSA worries more about water bottles… still.. to this day… in 2022!

I walked around the airport for probably 25 minutes after that trying to find breakfast. The Dunkin’ was closed, so my plan of a breakfast bagel-wich and Iced…something.. was thrown out the window. None of the coffee shops seemed to be open. So it took me a bit to find something that sounded good.

Since I paid the $40 upgrade on my ticket the day before for a better priority boarding I was able to snag the exit row seat with no one in front of me. Which meant I was able to stretch out with plenty of leg room. Completely worth the upgrade fee after the race weekend.

After getting home it took a while for my bags to come out – likely because of my bike bag. And after getting my car loaded up I just had my exit fee and then a drive home. I stopped at a coffee shop on the way back since I hadn’t had lunch but wasn’t terribly hungry.

Conclusion, Cost, and Thoughts

Do the Chicago Triple Tri

If you’re an athlete and fit enough to complete three races in two days. Do it. It’s a hell of an experience.
As I told a couple people I met over the race weekend “I started triathlon by doing an Ironman and completing ‘the hard distance’, and now I try and sign up for events that are unique or sound really cool…”
This is one of those really cool races.

Traveling to Chicago is very easy. Getting around Chicago is very easy. The fact that the city is so walkable makes this among the easiest events to just “show up and do”.

What did it cost you, John?

In total, the Chicago Triple Triathlon cost me: $2,712.63
The week of the race, however, only cost me: $1,587.76

Prior to race week I had already paid for several things. My original entry was $319. I then had to defer due to injury in 2019, the deferral cost me $171.87 to re-register.
My hotel booking was reserved in January and required a $172 deposit.
My flights I booked in March, using a mix of Southwest points, purchased additional points, and booking it as two one-way tickets because of those points: $462 total

The race week itself was actually pretty affordable, as far as race-weeks go.
The biggest costs were: Remaining hotel fee of $687, Airport parking fee of $110, bike-bag baggage fees of $150 ($75 each way), the $170.79 I spent of souvenir apparel, the $29.98 I spent on photos after the race, and the $40 to upgrade my Southwest boarding position.
So food and trains that week only cost me: $539.95

Thoughts…

What I wish I knew as a Triple Triathlon Racer

So there was a lack of clear information for the Triple Triathlon Racers for this event.

And I get it. the Triple made up 128 racers out of 4,000+ that weekend. They only have 175 slots each year.
We were a fraction of a fraction of people at this event.

But what would I have liked to know?

Super Sprint Race
The Super Sprint race is at a completely different location, as outlined on the website.
Plan to the take the train in the morning. The Red Line, most likely, since you’re probably staying near the host hotel/race area.
Your race start time is later in the morning. The kids races are first. So you don’t have to get there at 5am to check your bike.
Get there around 9am. You race at 10am.
The Bike racking is a mess. You’re on the left (north) side of the racks. Expect no-one to know where to tell you to go.
Even though you will like finish your race extremely quick, you will not be able to get your bike until the last racer comes in from the bike and starts the run.
So plan on hanging out, enjoying the festival, and relaxing after your race. It’ll be a while until you can leave.
To get back to downtown you can take the train, but expect it to be absolutely packed. You can also probably cycle back, but I’m told that’s complicated, too. I took the train and was crammed in with my bike and other bikes and Saturday morning commuters.

Saturday afternoon Bike Drop
Do it. Save yourself the trouble. There are bike pumps the next morning, so feel free to keep your tires aired down a bit with the heat.
You only leave your bike. Nothing else.

Olympic
Arriving in the morning there are bike pumps near Bike Out, fill up then.
If you use the “Swim Valet” you need a second pair of shoes. You will also be given a second bib to pin to yourself for the Sprint with your number written on it. If it matters to you (and it did to me) to have your actual “nice” bib, and not the hand written one, in all races then just plan on walking back after the Olympic to drop your shoes and bib.
After you finish the race the walk back is just over a mile. You have time if you finish the Olympic under 3 hours.
The “Swim Valet” is a red bag you’re given with your stuff at the Expo. If you choose to use it, you put your wetsuit, goggles, cap in the red bag in Transition after the Swim and leave by your bike. These will be picked up by the staff and brought to the Swim start. After the Olympic you can get your swim valet bag, and leave your Run shoes and bib in it. Then you will pick this up at the end of the Sprint when collecting all your things.

Sprint
Nothing else you really need to know for this race.
It’s mostly the “Swim Valet” option that is confusing on the schedule/online information.

Photos:

Anddd here’s all my photos I snapped during the my trip.
I’ll make notes with captions those of you guys still reading along!

Wednesday:

Headed out for my flight!

I had bought an AirTag and threw it in my Scicon bag… but, there’s my bike, right there on the left waiting to be loaded on the plane!

Arrived in Chicago. Everything made it safe

On the train to downtown. One line. Easy trip.

It was hot and muggy when I arrived. Three block walk to the hotel

Checked in to the hotel

Went out to walk around that evening

It was warm out and I didn’t feel like just sitting in my hotel room

Dinner of Champions. Cuz a burger sounded awesome after traveling all day.

Thursday:

Up around 6am to start my day.
Partly because I needed to force myself into the time change, also because I had to work to do before heading to the airport to meet Naidymar

Muggy and damp morning

Back at the hotel it was time to build my bike

The great thing with these bags is that it’s really straight forward to pack and unpack. And the only adjustment I have to make are to my seat post and aero bars.

Done and ready to go!

That afternoon we walked around a bit to check out where the race was going to be

The Bike In/Bike Out was over to the left of this

Swim Exit area

Touristing it up!

The Hilton – the host hotel, and where the Expo would be the next day

Stopped at CVS for drinks and snacks. Mostly got stuff to drink and some oatmeal bowls for breakfast

So we got neighbors that afternoon who had EXTREMELY noisy kids. The door in the background is a shared-room door to link the two hotel rooms. And their kids were screaming non stop and sounded like they were in the room with us.
We requested a new room and the hotel changed us immediately.
While at the front desk requesting change, the family came down and their kids were still screaming the entire time while they were in the lobby and walking out of the building.

No more street view :'(

New room. With more room.
The great thing about this location it turned out was that it was “courtyard facing”, so it was MUCH quieter than the street view where people were revving engines and blasting music all night the night before. All around it turned out to be a much better spot. I would recommend the courtyard view if you stay here for a race and want peace and quiet.

Had to get Chicago style pizza for dinner while in town

Literally as soon as we got back to the hotel after dinner (4 or 5 block walk) it started absolutely pouring

Friday

But the next morning the weather was amazing

We walked down to a local coffee shop.
I always try and stop by a few small cafes or shops when I travel. i don’t actually drink coffee, but I get Iced Mochas, which I like, and they’re different everywhere.

Had to stop by the Bean

On our way to the Expo! Main Entrance is closed

We were 20 minutes early and the line was already getting long

The Triple Challenge has its own line. And I was Third

Starting to fill up fast. And there was no real order to the lines, so it quickly became a mess

Getting my bib. I was number 6!

Took a picture of the map for the Triple Challenge Swim Valet since I really didn’t understand how that process was meant to work…
I also ended up not even using the valet – but it’s awesome they offer it

You can verify your age early and get a wrist band so you don’t need to carry an ID that weekend at the race if you want your beer after finishing

Personally I’m not a fan of the digital/recorded Briefings that races now do. I feel like there is a lot of information that’s missed

Lowest race number I’ll ever race in!

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the design of the jerseys. But what made this a hard pass was the $200 price tag.
I would have loved to buy an event jersey. It’s one of those things you buy at races to commemorate it. But that’s just too pricey

We actually got a Yellow condition at one point due to the heat/humidity that weekend

Triple Athletes were the first and last racers for Sunday’s events

The Super Sprint’s tiny tiny course

Finally here to race!

Bought a handful of things to bring home from the event. And all this only cost $170 – which was way less than a single bike jersey

Ready for tomorrow

Started feeling really lazy that afternoon.. So I asked Naidymar if she brought running gear to go for a jog – of course she did!

Racks were up and ready for the weekend

I’m not a fan of crowded run paths, but the views were awesome.
This stretch was pretty tame, but other parts were pretty busy

Swim Out was half built

And Swim Start was getting built

Went for Ramen that night for dinner

Fun evening out, time to head back and race weekend to start!

Saturday

Alright, Garmin says I’m ready for the day. Super Sprint ahead

Numbers applied and ready to go

Always wear one of your badass event shirts to other events. Naidymar rocked her Disney Dopey Challenge tee. (running a 5k, 10k, Half, and Marathon across four days)

Subway time!

Red Line North to the race

It’s a short walk to the water. Probably six blocks?

Bike Check In was a mess

I was actually supposed to go LEFT, but no one was telling anyone anything. To right is the kids racks. But nothing made that clear

Finally found the Triple rack

Ready to go!

Walked around a bit since we still had about half an hour at least til start

First of three races, comin up

Done! 42 minutes!

Jon was one of my number brothers out there racing! Number 5. He’s done this event five other times and raced that day on a cruiser/low rider style bike

Reasonably quick times. All around the pace I figured I’d do

Now it’s time to wait. Triples were the first in the water, and likely the first to finish the race. But we had to wait for EVERYONE else to finish the bike portion before we were allowed back in Transition

So we bought ice cream and cheered for other racers!

The Divvy bike group looked like a lot of fun.
I would honestly consider doing this race again to do the Divvy Bike

Heading out for the day

The roads for the bike portion are recently paved, and completely closed for the race

Waiting for the train was a pain. The first one was completely packed

Back downtown and headed to bike drop
As soon as you enter the bike paddock, take a hard left up the grass and over the hill. That’s where you’ll find the Triple racks

That’s it for today. Just leaving your bike.

First rack out there

And right next to the Bike Out

All the other racks for the different groups

Finallyyy back at the hotel

My Swim Valet bag for tomorrow. This is what you put your wetsuit, goggles, and cap in if you plan to use Swim Valet. And just leave it at the bike rack and it will be picked up for you

Sunday

The worst part of racing is the early mornings

Breakfast of champions… waiting for my oatmeal to not look like soup…

And we’re off!

A quiet morning still

We were only three blocks away, but you’d think it wasn’t race day

There’ssss the people

Laying out my transition area.

Next to the Bike Out (left) there is Bike Tech area with plenty of bike pumps.
The pumps are just on the grass to the left of this group of people waiting on a mechanic for help. Anyone can go use the pumps any time

Sunrise starting and it was gorgeous

Walking to the Swim Start

Alright, nearly time to go!

Naidymar found me on the run course

First race done! Super sweaty mess as it was already quite humid out

Walked back to Transition to drop off my shoes and bib, and collect my swim gear

Racks were PACKED at this point

Top view of the Triple Racks on the left, and the Bike Out in the center

Brisk mile walk back to Swim Start. you can see the carpeted Swim Exit/Transition path on the left

I was so SO tired during this swim.

Done. And headed to the Triple Challenge tent to get my jacket!

There is a part of me that wanted to stay and enjoy more of the festivities. But I was also tired and wanted a shower. haha

Triple complete! Five years waiting to do this!

The mile walk back to get my bike

Clean up crews were already starting to break things down

I didn’t have a lot to pack up… but I still didn’t want to do it. lol

After cleaning up and getting changed we walked down to Potbelly for a sandwich

And then it was time to for Naidymar to fly back to Florida. I’ll see her again when we all race the next Disney Princess Weekend with all our friends in 2023

Ok so the train ride back to Downtown had no AC and the windows were all closed?!? And people were just sitting there like this is normal and totally fine??

Realizing I didn’t try on my jacket earlier. Thankfully it was the correct size

My medals from this race

This is the extra bib they gave me to wear for the Sprint. And honestly part of the reason I walked back to drop my actual bib off to wear in my last race instead of this