Spidermonkey of the Week - PJ Cavoto Jr

PJ .. and SuperGirl

Hey gang!  I have gotten to know so many of you over the course of the last year and it’s been tremendous.

Here’s my journey:
I joined the team right around the Elk Grove Criterium last year.  My friend and one of triathlon training partners, Paul Halupka, talked me into trying my 1st road race event.  I had already gone on several training rides with the Spidermonkeys and was just starting to get exposed to local road racing.  Hearing others talk about the upcoming races and realizing I can keep up with some of these guys started to build my confidence and I decided to give it a try.  Perhaps jumping the gun, but being very inspired from the group rides, I declared Spidermonkey Cycling as my team at my first race. Later that week an email was forwarded to me sent out by Dean asking who the hell is Peter Cavoto??  I quickly responded to Dean letting him know it was me, PJ.  He obviously informed me that I can’t randomly put that down unless I am an official member of the club and I may get myself and the team in trouble.  I am pretty sure the next group ride I put a check in Dean’s hand.  

PJ and Paul - Photo by Jen Groen

Besides following my passion of art, I have always relished in individual competitive sports.  I grew up a swimmer and dabbling in running for conditioning in between winter and summer seasons.  However, I always seemed to come back to the bike with great interest and enthusiasm.  This may have started as a small boy when I was notorious for taking things apart and putting them back together, convincing only myself that I improved it somehow.  Trust me; there were many times that my dad had to complete the reassembly (including my sister’s bikes) several times.  My graduating gift after high school was a brand new Giant (3x8) road racing machine.  My parents were certain that I would parley into the world of triathlons with my background in all three disciplines.  I choose the road of being an official party-er and within a year sold the machine for cash.  A few years later, mountain biking was starting to become all the rage and my love for engaging with nature got me into trail riding.  It was rough going with having to cut our own trail systems out in forest preserves of the northwest suburbs, where we would often get chased out by rangers.  And in those days, suspension forks were just starting to make an appearance (yeah, I’m that old).  The rigid mountain bikes I rode took a beating every time out and I found myself having to make repairs daily.  I finally started investing into new machines and my love for mtb’ing took off.

Just some Spidermonkeys at Galena post Crit, PJ gets 3rd! - Photo by Jen Groen

In ‘98, I moved to the city to complete my BA at DePaul and discovered that the easiest transit in the city was by bike.  My love for mtb’ing dwindled due to the difficulty of traveling to get to a trail system and I felt a little out of place riding around on the grass on the lakefront (no cyclocross scene yet).  I started taking old mtb frames and re-purposing them into commuters.  Up to that point, I considered road riding boring in comparison to mtb’ing.  As I grew to love the challenge of riding everywhere in the city, 365 days a year, my passion grew.  Not to mention the challenge and rush of fighting for a piece of the road with automobiles.  Over the last 14 years, I’ve had more car-bike contact in this city than I care to share.

In the early 2000’s, I was introduced to triathlons with the Chicago Tri being my 1st.  I was hooked.  I competed in more than a dozen tri’s through 5 years.  I did well at them … and was most proud of my overall win at Lake Delavan in 2007.  Injuries caught up to me and I had to take a year off.  I came back to the sport, but my enthusiasm was only sparked by a small contingent of training buddies.  If you have every competed in tri’s prior to belonging to a team, you know that it can be a little on the lonely side.  You don’t really engage much with other racers and tend to race and train on your own since your competition is the clock.  So as you all have figured out, having the support and companionship of the Spidermonkeys makes a world of difference regarding the fun factor.

Carpentersville CX! - Photo by Bill Draper

I have also been fairly involved in Chicago’s social cycling community for over 5 years.  This began with a ride group called Midnight Marauders.  I have co-chaired on the council for the last 3 years now.  If you have never heard of us, we consider that a good thing.  We try remaining somewhat of an anonymous underground group ride that explores the city, getting started after midnight and riding till dawn.  The group helped www.thechainlink.org get off the ground since we had over 100 members at that time.  We now have grown to 367 members and are still the largest monthly ride group listed on The Chainlink.  Our monthly ride participation can range anywhere from 10 to 200 riders any given month.  We do push the boundaries of Chicago law (being in the parks after close), but we ride respectfully and just want to enjoy the city under the stars.  Our club motto is we are a “drinking club with a biking problem”.  A similar group I roll with often, FBC – Full Moon Fiasco – also posted on the Chainlink.  Both are a lot of fun and usually involve a little liver abuse, but you can engage at your own tolerance (we do have many participants that don’t drink).  Come join, if you’re so inclined.

In close, I love bikes.  I build them, ride them hard, and often break them.  I consider them my band of horses and treat them as such.  So it has been tremendous to ‘gallop’ with such an enthusiastic, supportive group of riders.  I can’t say enough good stuff about how amazing this last year has been and how awesome it is to be part of the Spidermonkeys!  Thank you all for such a warm welcome into the group.  Let’s go ride!

Peter J Cavoto Jr

ABD Sunrise Park

Trent Williams and Katie Tomarelli cheering!
Photo by Kyle Kershasky

by Kelly Clarke
This past winter, in Kristen Meshberg's Pedaling With A Purpose class, we went around the class and said our goals for this season aloud. After all, if you're committing to these trainer classes twice a week through the frigid months, what is your purpose in doing so? My goals were:
- Do a track race
- Do a mountain bike race
- Get a top ten in a W4 CCC race

I didn't want to sound greedy, but I was honestly hoping for more than one top ten finish in the CCC series. But who knew if that would even be feasible. Last season I was trying to get top 50% of the field, and it never happened.  But this year I was taking training more seriously, meaning I was thinking about it at all. And I was also focusing less on ‘skills’ and more on just having good fitness to maintain speed and focus in races.

Mountain biking at Kettle with Anna Loosli

Well, with the track and mountain bike season over, I can say I failed at both those goals. (But I’ll do them next year!) The consolations being that I did do a Monday night track clinic to get my feet wet at the Northbrook Velodrome (it was a GREAT experience), and I did conquer the three ravines at Palos on one of the Women's Dirt Days, and I took my first trip to Kettle Moraine. The goal to get top ten in a CCC race came easy. In the first cup race, Jackson Park, I got 6th place! I decided to make it a goal to get a top ten in every CCC race this season.  This plan backfired at Dan Ryan, but no bother – top ten for each race was still a good focus to have.

Some time at the beginning of the season, Sarah Rice had said, “Why would you ever enter a race if you weren’t going to try and win it?” And this idea has been simmering with me since. I never enter a race expecting to win. I have my carrots that I want to beat and that’s been good enough to me, but how could I ever expect to win? These other women are just faster, better, more experienced…

Slowly I have been trying to change my thinking, and looking to my fellow female racers to watch the fire they have when racing which allows them to be successful. Kristen and Sarah have it down pat, but then even Stephanie, Kristi and Michelle in crits and road races, and my nemesis, Annette Stahelin, in cross. They have this drive that I sometimes lack to give extra effort at points in a race where everyone is hurting regardless, and they pick up extra spots or get positive results doing so. There’s a point in a race where I almost subconsciously decide to sit back and put forth that exact amount of effort, no more, because I want to finish the race or maybe I think that really is all I have to give. I’ve been trying to push those boundaries.

And it’s 100% mental.

So, back to my nemesis, Annette. She races for Half Acre, but more importantly, we were best friends growing up. We got into cross at the same time, and I don’t like it when she beats me in races. But she trained like hell this year and she has been consistently beating me. At Carpentersville, she was just a little bit ahead of me in the final lap. I decided to dig in and give everything I had to catch her. So what if I get gassed before the finish line and don’t succeed? I just needed to go harder than I thought I could and hang on for as long as I could, and see where I ended up. It worked. I was able to pass her and get that one last spot at the end of the race. I was elated. Not even so much that I beat my friend (whom I love dearly), but I definitely gave more than I thought I had to give at the end of this race, and succeeded. Now that I saw what that felt like, I made it my goal that in the next race, I would need to make these pushes earlier and more often. Stand up and sprint when you think you’re too tired. See a carrot? Don’t wait to recover before catching them, just go. It’s only a thirty minute race; there is no time to recover.

Photo by Aaron Byrnes

I took that with me into the race at Sunrise Park. Push harder than you think you can, early and often. Around the first corner of the race I was in seventh place. I started picking people off until it was Ashley Korol and Tricia Renée Fleischer off the front (way off the front) then a train of me, Jen Groen, Nicole Falk, Annette and a few other girls. Three quarters through the first lap, Jen fell and dropped her chain, making it hard for the girls behind me to stick with me. I tried to get as much space in front of them as I could. I know from being on the other side of things, the larger the gap, the more daunting it is to bridge. And as we’ve established, this game is all mental. I could see Ashley and Tricia in front of me. Deep down, I didn’t think I had a chance in hell to catch them, but I told myself to focus on catching them, not on anything behind me. The race spread out and it was Ashley and Tricia, a gap, me, a gap, and then a group of women for most of the race. Towards the end, I could see Nicole Falk bridging the gap behind me. And the rest were not far behind. I knew they were better at the off-camber corners, but I could gain distance back in the strait-aways. I focused really hard on staying upright. When you’re going as hard as you can, it becomes easy to fall and make mistakes. I was able to hold on to third place through the end of the last lap. It was awesome. I was just telling Kristi before the race how all I wanted was a top 5. I had a few sixth place finishes, but couldn’t break into the top five. And now, I earned a spot on the podium. First time ever.

Photo by Colleen Clarke

So my strategy was successful, but I still have a lot to learn. I was lucky to not fall in this race, but you fall a lot in cross, and I think that makes it really difficult to come back and keep going really hard. I saw Grace fall at WCA’s Grafton race last year and come back to get fourth. It takes a lot of fight when you lose all those spots to get them back. Also, I didn’t have to pass anyone once I got really tired, and I think that takes a lot of mental strength. It’s really easy to follow someone’s wheel when you’re really tired in a race, but you should be trying to pass them. Make them work to pass you.

I tried to make that 30 minute race completely serious and focused, but the rest of the day – cheering on my teammates and racing in the ridiculous 4B race was a blast. I love having Stewart race with me in the 4s, and seeing Kim and Kristi in the 1/2/3 race. Hayes was there all day and brought beer and the tent. PJ is always super competitive and supportive. Aaron always races his heart out. Lucas Seibel killed it in the Single Speed and the 4s. Kyle raced twice and had a hand-up incident for which he is awesome. Trent did great in the 3s race. Monko was probably hungover, but you’d never know it with his doubling up in the 3s and 1/2/3s. We have a really awesome cross contingent this year, and the ABD Sunrise Park race was no exception!

Grace Races Cross In North Carolina

Go, Grace!

by Grace Chappell
Hey Monkeys!!  Ok, I know this isn’t a CCC report, but I wanted to share a little bit about the racing I’ve had the chance to enjoy out here in North Carolina...

Mountain backdrop

Last weekend I made the trip to Boone, in Western NC (yes it is named for Daniel Boone) with my new UNC teammates to make my collegiate cycling debut!  The season starts a little later here so I am only a few weeks into the cyclocross season, still reminding my legs what the heck to do out there.   The collegiate dynamic was different than what I am accustomed to; very small, laid back, and everyone there is on one of 5 or 6 teams.  The course was out in the middle of nowhere, located at the Boone fairgrounds with a mountain backdrop.  The course was pretty straightforward; lots of grassy 180s, some tough off-camber, a very steep grass run up, and for some reason we rode up and through a little stage.  I lined up with only four other Women As, mixed in with about 30 Men B.  45 minutes.  Clean start, and we were off!  I found myself positioned close behind the first 2 girls after one lap, but unfortunately for me, at this early point in the race I felt like my legs might explode (something to do with that awful run-up?).  I knew I had a long time to go, and tried not to let too much space get between my wheel and theirs’.  That goal came to a crashing halt when I rode straight through some course tape and had to circle back around to get back on course.  Lesson: good to focus on hammering, not good to focus so much you don’t pay attention to where you are going.  The rest of the race was pretty much by myself, and I finished in third.  No payouts in collegiate racing, but I got points for UNC.  Also: no beer.

Rainbow Brite

Day 2 was race #3 of the NCCX series, at the same location.  I was excited to get a second go at the course and see some folks I knew would coming in for the race.  There were all the makings of a good cross race: a big crowd, costumes both on and off the course, very chilly (appropriate for ‘cross season!) temperatures, beer, free food, dogs, kids, hipsters, and cowbells.  22 women in the 1/2/3 race, and the way it is set up here we go after the 45+ and before the 55+ men.  In my experience thus far, this means I race for about 50 minutes or more if they let the 45+ men finish a full 45 minutes.  So. Painful.  I felt much better for the first couple laps of this race than I had the day before, no leg muscle explosions, and I was in front of one of the girls who had beat me the day before.  Awesome!  Keep this up!  I could hear a UNC teammate yelling for me to “move up! move up!” and so I put my mind to try to do just that and managed to blow past a few women during laps 2 and 3 on the straight sections.  The run up was beginning to crush my spirit by the 3rd time up it, but fortunately there were lots of people yelling and heckling all along the hill which always brings a smile to my face.  They were telling me to run faster but all I wanted to do was lie down and take a nap.  I brought back my Rainbow Brite get-up, so that allowed for some personalized cheering (all the more reason to race in costume, people!).  Ok, 2 laps to go on the counter, but the women I had passed were beginning to catch back up.  Why aren’t they as tired as I am??  As I came through for the bell lap I got passed by two of them and it was all I could do at that point to keep them in sight for the final lap.  Through the stage, so many 180s, stupid run-up, and done.  I was tired!  Free tamales afterward and a nice mountain-y cooldown ride.

Photo by J A Murdock

It’s not the same without the Spidermonkey cheering crew or a 312 after my race, of course, but I’m making the most of it :)  Can’t wait to race in Woodstock with some of you this Sunday!!

Here is a highlights video from cyclingdirt if you just happen to like watching cyclocross videos:  I’m in there for a split second...
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/video/660318-2012-NCCX-3-Boone-Highlights-Part-2

Spidermonkey of the Week - Jan Van Nuffelen aka The Belgian

The Belgian!

My first 7 months in the US...
It all started at the end of December 2011... my company offered me a 2-year assignment in the US. It was a bit overwhelming, but I was willing to take the opportunity. I still remember that my biggest concern was the location: Chicago, Illinois … Google maps did not show any topography, all flat. Not ideal for a cyclist!

The Tour of Flanders Cyclosportive: Cobbled Madness

At the end of April I made the move and traveled to the US. No family, no friends and no girlfriend…and a totally different culture. The first thing I did that first weekend was went looking for a decent bike shop. I looked on the internet and found Get A Grip Cycles where I met Ken. He suggested joining a group ride with the Spidermonkeys…

Arrival @ my apartment...shipping bikes is always stressful

It took me two missed team rides before I even could join the ride. I live in the western suburbs (Elmhurst) and have to drive 35 minutes to get started. Not easy for a foreigner to find the meeting point. Luckily, the second time I had a look from the other side of the parking lot and found the meeting spot. In Belgium it’s pretty straight forward. If you want to join a team ride, you just show up at 8 AM in front of the local church. It doesn’t matter in which village or city you live, this is the general rule. If you missed the start, you just wait in the local bar…every cycling team is having some beers together after the ride.

Racing in Belgium

Topography! (Not Chicago)

Some bad things happened at the end of June. I just rode my first race in the WORS together with Jonny and Amy. The day after the race I went to Palos for a training ride after work. I already was a bit tired and before I even could react I went over the handlebars and hit a rock with my head. I felt a bit dizzy and decided to go to the hospital for a check-up. Better to play it safe in case something happened at night all alone in my apartment.

After some scans and some more tests, the doctor told me some shocking news. I had a tumor on my pituitary gland. I have never had this feeling before, but at that moment I really felt how your life can change in 1 second. 3 hours later I was back on the plane to Belgium. The following 6 weeks I got used to the medication and had a difficult time to accept the fact of living with uncertainty. I will never forget the support I got from each of you

The Japanese Spidermonkey told me: “Misfortune turns into fortune”… This keeps me going. Everything happens for a reason.  Focus on what you can control, and don’t waste energy on the things you cannot… I can say that I learned already quite a lot in my first 7 months in the US! I’ve been back in the US since September and will be monitored here. So far so good, medication and tests are improving. And the most important thing: I’m back on my bike!

Every weekend I look forward to riding together with a great group of people. When you are riding you don’t need to think of anything and everything seems to be so simple. After each ride I feel good and realize that I’m really fortunate to be a Spidermonkey….the only Belgian Spidermonkey!

Sincerely,
Jan Van Nuffelen

Carpentersville

by Kyle Kershasky

This last weekend was an epic cyclocross montage. There were races on Saturday, Sunday AND my wife was out of town. Thus my house was covered in mess and mud the entire weekend.

Saturday’s Psycho Cross was my first cross race ever with mud and slop. I played it cautious which equals slow and my handling skills were very rookie. I signed up for the 4A on both days and I opted to never do 4B because I had this impression of chaos and everyone is just pissin’ drunk while they’re racing. Not completely true, but a previous 4B hot dog handup wipeout experience didn’t exactly dismiss the idea either. After my lackluster finish on Saturday and seeing PJ and Lucas crush it and podium in the 4B, I warmed up to the idea. Besides, if you squint hard enough, you don’t even notice the 4B racers that are riding with slicks or running shoes.

When I arrived in Carpentersville, I threw my money at the registration girl like a blue chip on the craps table. In my best Vegas Spidermonkey spring training voice, I told her I got some hot dice and to sign me up for the 4B race before I crap out. It’s on.

My plan was to walk around with my SLR camera and get some good photos of Peter, Mark and Ken in the Cat 3 race. I was especially excited to shoot at the cornfield they had last year. Apparently racers went through a corn maze and came chuckin’ out the other side like a scene from Children of the Corn -- only on bikes and scary in a sick kind of way. To my dismay, the cornfield was CHOPPED DOWN! Instead there was what I can only describe as a long stretch of black sloppy manure dirt mounds. Seriously?!?! I was sure there was no way my bike would function after trudging through. How would I make it out of there once much less on races back to back? I saw Ken and then other 1/2/3 racers get through it, so confidence was building.

Ken getting through the mud hills

I should regress to earlier in the morning, 20 minutes before I headed out the door I brushed up on my mud handling skills. I haven’t made it to many cross practices, so my skill level comes from my dreams and on what hand ups NOT to take. I did a quick google search on “how to cyclocross in mud.” I was hoping for an awesome J POW video, but all I got was some schmuck biking in the woods. Yes, the woods. Great, I’m screwed. I headed out the door.  About the only thing I had going was my three-day beard, my black skull and cross bones socks underneath my orange/black skull and cross bones socks. Yeah, today was destined to be a badass kind of day. 

So once I saw the 1/2/3 racers manage the mud slide, I walked over to the monkey tent with the usual crew, Hayes, Geoff, PJ, Lucas, Peter, Mark, PJ, Ken, Stewart and Kelly were either there or riding around nearby. It was an odd weather kind of day. Kind of like this girl I once dated… bright and sunny one minute and a gall darn frickin’ tornado the next. Seriously, there was a TORNADO WARNING and they stopped the 1/2/3 race in mid stride. And seriously there was a severe storm named after her. Anyway, there was a panic when they shut down the race and even told everyone to clear the park.  The fear instilled was like the IKEA commercial “Start the car, START THE CAR!!!!”  Three things went through my head. 

1. I could get home early and watch the Packer game. 

2. I could stick around to see if the storm passes and have a pretty good time in a small field.

3. That ditch has a little tunnel in it and I could hide out there when the tornado comes through. 

I opted for #2.  As did 152 other racers. 

After waiting about an hour, the tornado never happened and the 4A race was on. PJ and Lucas stuck around, and even Aaron made it to the race. The race was a lot of fun. The mud pit didn’t wrestle me to the ground as I imagined.  Although that Magnificent Mud Mile did suck up a lot of my time running/walking through it.  The cricks didn’t fill up with water like they did for the earlier races. I only wiped out once for the day vs. twice pre-schmuck “racing in mud” video. There were some nice straightaways and I was able to pass a few people. One spectator yelled out to his friend to “tri-pod” the corners to stay upright. I don’t know how pro that is, but the schmuck said the same thing for sand and it seemed to work. Three laps later, the race was over. I wasn’t completely caked in mud (yet) and we were ready to start the 4B.  

The 4B race was a trip. I started in the verrrrry last row and enjoyed flying past and weaving in and out of the commuters on the first lap. Lucas, who had a pretty good lead, finished second.  PJ was still around cheering us on, which was nice because even the hecklers were a bit weathered. For some reason I took a beer handup along the muddy banks of that mess. I don’t even like small sips of water much less a sip of beer at redline. Somehow Fred took six beer handups the day before. He’s so pro. By the end of the race, though, it was cold, raining and just butt white miserable. I did not bring a towel along, so my car became a mud fest. At least we didn’t get tossed by a tornado and I got to practice in the mud. Win, win.

You can't tell but I'm cold, wet & ready to get the heck out of Dodge

On the way home my brain was programmed to plot which lane to pick and when to pass cruising down I-90. There is something about cross racing that makes me feel like a kid riding around in the park. Back then the only thing I cared about was if I could get a curfew extension to stay out past the street lights turning on. And now I just say. “F*  the street lights.” I’ve got my skull and cross bones, blinkies and my wife had hot tea and ice cream waiting for me at home. If that doesn’t spell badass, then I leave you with this video from Jeremy Powers. http://youtu.be/UQ4Rw7YoWgI

Dan Ryan Woods

Trent running up a hill after a barrier.
Photo by the talented Bill Draper.

by Trent Williams
Last Sunday, Kristi Hanson, Kelly Clarke, Hayes Sanborn, Aaron Byrnes, Peter Monko , PJ Cavoto, Kyle Kershasky, Mark Zalewski, myself went down to the South Side at Dan Ryan Woods to see how they do CX there. We were all there to race, but Katie Isermann was packing heat with Twizzlers and Swedish fish.

I showed up around 8:30 to see Hayes with the tent already set up and pre-riding the course.  I put my gear down and pre-rode the course in jeans.    And as similar to last year, this year course did not disappoint.  There was a challenging climbs, including a single track section with tree roots, fast descents, power,  run-up to an off-camber mount, fast power sections, a bunny hop section (think stacked 2 x 4's), another couple power sections, and a recovery, turn-y section.  The first race for the Spidermonkey's was the Master's 30+.  PJ, Hayes, and myself line up - well at least PJ and Hayes lined up while I was fixing a pre-race flat and was able to line up in the last row just seconds before the whistle.   PJ and Hayes were able to finished in the top 30.  Great Job guys!  I had to pull out of the race due to (yet) another flat. 

Men's Cat 3

Since PJ wasn't in that race, he let me use his front wheel.  Along with Hayes, Mark, and Peter.  The whistle blew and we were off.  There was a nice crash 30 feet after the start line which slowed down all but the people in the front.  The first couple laps is always the hardest, especially with the single track climb.  By the second lap I was able to get into a rhythm.  Much better than the 30+ race, where I flatted, I was able to settle into a hard pace.  I never count laps because my brain can't do math while gasping for oxygen, but I think we did 6 laps.  Every one seemed to get harder than the next and especially on the climbs my legs reminded me.  Peter had a great first finish as his first cat 3's race.  Mark had a strong finish and Hayes fought though for a while but the pain from his bruised ribs was too much so didn't think it was too smart to continue.  It' always knowing racing with your friends and knowing they are suffering just as much as you.

Pete Monko in his first Cat 3 race.
Photo by Bill Draper.

Women's Cat 4

Kelly and Kristi lined up for the women's 4.  Even though it was 3 quick laps, those ladies made sure they got their cyclocross fun for the day...

Kristi had another awesome race and racked up another 10 ten finish (6th place actually) - and her last Cat 4 race before her fresh upgrade. 

Kelly - right at the end Kelly was able to to fight and fight hard for one last spot to finish.  So impressive to see her eek one more spot right at the end. 

And throughout the day, we had Katie Isermann handing up her Twizzlers and Swedish Fish in all but easiest places.  

Men's Cat 4

PJ, Aaron, Kyle lined up for the the men's 4A race.  3 laps of fun. Kyle decided to focus on racing rather than eating hotdogs.  Luckily for him, it paid off, no broken rim this time.  And PJ and Aaron fought hard for their 7 and 14th place finish respectively.  All of them managed to clear the bunny hop section unscathed.  Through out the day it was the place to spectate, but 4's race, this was especially the case.

Nice job everyone.  Thanks to everyone who raced and cheered.

Katie handing up candy to Hayes
Photo by Bill Draper

The Chicago Triathlon

by Trent Williams
This race report is the culmination of more than 4 years of planning, dedication, trying, passion, getting it wrong, frustration, more trying, getting it wrong again, setback, and trying to finally get it right.  A month after I completed my second year of triathlon and racing with a finish time 25 minutes faster than my first triathlon ever, I set a high goal for myself, that goal, was finishing the Chicago Triathlon under 2 hours, 30 minutes.  Just ANY triathlon wouldn't do.  It had to be the Chicago Tri, because I knew there were even more challenges than just having a good race.  The heat and the other racers are out of your control.  It had to be the 'same' as my first year where I finished, barely, with a time of 3 hours 12 minutes.  I was miserable the whole way through.  From not having a wetsuit in 63 degree water, to having a pounding headache on the bike and puking not once, not twice, but three times on the run.  Although it was a miserable, the entire race through,  I knew I had accomplished something significant, and not only that, I was hooked.  I loved it - I don't know why, especially becuase I had a terrible time, but the challenge and reward from completing something so difficult was second to none.  So, after my second attempt at the Chicago Triathlon, I was dreaming and going over the race in my head, I thought a sub 2:30 was attainable, but I didn't realize it would take 4 more years to attain.  You see, it was my goal for the following year, but you know what? I didn't do it.  I got close, 2:34:54.  The year after, even worse.  And last year, I didn't race because I was injured and couldn't run.

Which bring me to Aug 26, 2012.  

I woke up at 3:45 to get to transition area as it opened.  And since the start was 3 miles from my house, I rode my triathlon bike, with all my gear, down Milwaukee Ave.  And as I saw plenty of people who were still enjoying their Saturday evening I was headed to Monroe Harbor to set up my transition area.  I had a mission.  I won't bore you with all the training details, that I could go into excruciating detail about, but suffice it to say, that I was a man on a mission.  I get there before transition area opened and had to wait in line for 10 minutes.  As they opened the area, it was like shoppers waiting in line  to finally get into the store.  People, it seemed, were running around everywhere.  I found my wave rack and put my bike in position.  

After everything was set up, I was leaving transition when I ran into my friend Eric (Landahl) and we chatted about the paths we would take to get to our bike after the swim.  We walked back to his bike to double check that no other triathlete squeezed and created a space in between him and his neighbors' bikes.  And then did the same for mine also checking that I was in the correct gear to start riding in.  And that's when I noticed something wasn't right.  I said "oh my god, I can't believe I just did that".  Eric thought I was talking about my gear selection, and he said "looks fine to me."  "No, look, my shoes are on the wrong pedal.  Glad I double checked.  That would have made for a painful bike.  After I switched my shoes, and everything was right in the world we walked out of transition. to wait.  I had over two hours to kill, so I did what I always do, sit on the steps just East of Buckingham Fountain to relax until my race, watching the sun rise.  There's nothing quite like watching the sunrise, not thinking about anything important.  "This is the only thing that matters in my world for the next 4 hours."

Two hours came and went like a breeze.  I was ready to race.  The wetsuit was on and I was in line for my wave - ready to finally race.  I was in the last wave of the 30-34 year olds.  I had never been this ready before.  Especially for the swim.  So I got in front for the start and I was off.  In years past, I would start in back and try to survive the swim, but not this year.  In years past I wouldn't have been ready for the kicking and slapping that goes in a triathlon start, but not this year.  In years past I would notice all the nasty stuff at the bottom of the lake in Monroe Harbor, but, this year, I was racing and didn't notice.  I was swimming and racing towards the swim out.  I, at least, felt like, was out in front and by the time I got the the 1/3 turn around only a few people passed me.  The turn back North, was a blur.  Stroke, stroke, breathe. Stroke, stroke, breathe.  Passing people in waves before me, and not noticing anybody passing me.  I get out of the water, dizzy, missed my first foot placement on the stairs and had the volunteers get me up out of the water.  Once on dry land, I heard some people cheering telling me that I had a sub 30 min swim - sub goal one, complete.  Next take off wetsuit before I run to transition where I had space and wouldn't have to exert more energy than necessary.  I get to transition carrying my wetsuit.  Throw it on the ground, put on my sunglasses, then helmet, grab my bike and I'm off the bike out.

Running past the mount line, I leap on my bike and I'm pedaling on my shoes.  slip one foot in while I climbing the on ramp onto Lake Shore.  The next foot slides in just as I get onto LSD.  Big chain ring, head tucked, and hammering.  14 minutes some seconds later, I'm making the turn around back South.  Another 15 minutes go by and I'm heading back North for my second loop.  I don't know, but I really wish I had one of those clicker things, the ones that people use at concerts or at bars use to help them count people, so I could count the number of people I passed.  I would love to know how many time's i said "right side."  15 minutes later I heading South for the final stretch.  The wind was strong and it was a strange cross wind coming from the South West blowing up massive amounts of dust from the softball Fields at Lincoln Park.  I would find out later, that after 1 hour and 48 seconds of starting my 40k bike, I'm entering into transition for the run.

Rack bike, helmet off, running shoes on.  I head out on the run. at a 8:15 pace.  I wanted to build the run, start slower than my race pace and get faster as I get further along.  After my first mile I felt good, but my legs were tired but started to increase the pace anyway.  I got up to an 8:00 pace.  I was locked in for the next mile.  Hold this pace, 1 mile.  Mile 2 complete.  Mile 3 - "hold this pace and then start picking it up after you get through halfway through the run.  3rd mile done.  "Ok. now is the time. go faster, just a little"  My legs didn't have it.  8:00 felt fine,  anything faster didn't feel sustainable, I couldn't hang on longer at that faster pace.  I was going as fast as my legs would carry me.   "Hold on to this pace.  stay the course.  Dig in. and hold it." As I fought through the pain, I was keeping a steady pace.  I couldn't go any faster, I was red-lining.  I was at my limit - not wanting to implode.  I finally checked my watch at mile 5 1/2, not having any idea of my time at this point.  My Garmin read 2:12 minutes.  Yes, I'm doing it.  Do exactly the same thing.  The last thing you want is to start walking.  Give yourself a chance to succeed.  Keep this pace.  Don't speed up for fear of need to slow way down.  AND DON'T SLOW DOWN!"  I stayed the same pace.  I had a feeling I did well, but I didn't know.  I crossed the finish line with my arm raised in the air - feeling like I had just won the race.

My cousin and his girlfriend were at the finish line, having the athlete tracker app, they showed me what they were watching for the past 2 hours.... It read:

Trent Williams: 2:24:04  

30-34 age group: 10th place

Oh my god, I did it! Finally! I did it!  I couldn't speak, maybe because of the lack of oxygen, maybe because I didn't know what to way.  I was elated and delirious.  All I could do was smile because I just won the race - MY RACE.  My triathlons had always been a race against myself - and regardless the other athletes lining up at the same time, my triathlon races will always be a race of one.  A race where I can train and push myself to the max - where I don't need or want to compare myself to anyone else.  I'm always competing against myself.  I am so grateful for hard work, dedication, goal setting and the simple gifts of being able to swim, BIKE, and run.  So like I said before,  this was 4 more than 4 years in the making and couldn't have been happier with what I did.  I've learned sooo much in the process, but the biggest few things I've learned is that regardless of, what may seem like, monumental setbacks stick to whatever you're doing.  If you want it bad enough, willing to put in the work, willing not to give up, you will succeed.