$40 for parking? i'll pay it!!

I have to share some highlights of our Chicago triathlon. So Matt and I decided we would save some money and take the subway downtown rather than paying parking. It sounded like a good idea...not so much once we realized how much gear we actually had to carry (2 big duffel bags, 2 backpacks, 2 coolers, and 2 bikes). Boy did we have some passengers angry at us...especially when they missed their stop because we couldn't move our gear in time. Not only was it a challenge carrying all of this but we also had to get off the subway and get on the bus because of construction. Saturday their was a Cubs game going on so the bus went maybe 10 miles an hour....we easily could have rode our bikes faster. Or better yet....drove to our hotel like normally people would do. But we did save $40 in parking!

Another crazy part of our weekend was trying to meet up after our race. My race started at 8am and Matt started at 9. We decided we were going to meet at the finish. I figured out when he would likely be there so i planned accordingly (or at least thought i was). What we didn't take into account was that the finish was packed and packed with tons of spectators and participants. This was the worlds largest triathlon....nearly 15,000 participants...and our plan was to meet at the finish. Well....lets just say it is a good thing Matt isn't afraid to talk to strangers. Once he couldn't find me he left the finish worried that I may have gotten hurt and didn't finish. Once he saw that my bike was in transition and i likely finished he asked a stranger "can i use your cell phone? I've lost my wife." I had both cell phones with me (we had checked them both in the same bag...again not too smart). Once he reached me we then realized we had 20 minutes to get our bikes and race back to the hotel and check out before our late check out. I thought our race had already ended...i was wrong.... We made it back to the hotel...checked out and then really wished we had our Tahoe to jump into.... unfortunately we had another bus/subway ride to get to our parked car north of the city. Oh well...the weekend was fun. We did learn a few valuable lessons....pack light, never be without a cell phone, and pay for the dam parking!