Paul Asay

Saturday July 26 th was my 4 th in a series of Olympic distance triathlons this year.  While it was small in number, the race was no easier than any of the others.  After all, the swim, bike and run are basically the same with either 50 or 4000 other competitors on the course like I had in Chicago.  What’s more is most of the people I was racing with/against were my friends. Sherrie and I made the 30 minute drive to Mill Creek just outside Marshall, Illinois.  As soon as I got to the transition area and ran into Stan Strohm, Troy Charters, Tony Williams, Ron Gillen, Robert Montani , Daniel Alexander and several others I know well, it was going to be a family affair.  The swim started one at a time with a dive off the dock for a two loop 1500 meter swim.  The water was 77.3 degrees or just wetsuit legal so I figured the swim would be fairly easy.  I jumped in about 10 seconds after Troy, maybe 6 th or 7 th one to go.  I caught a couple...

Chicago is set to host the 2015 International Triathlon Union World Championship.  With that in mind this year everyone was invited to race the event and try out the course in advance.  ITU had the pro women race on Saturday afternoon which I got to watch.  Sunday morning the amateurs started at 6:00 A.M.  My wave, Men’s 55-59 started at 7:00 A.M.  I knew in advance the competition would be close to a national championship event so I didn't think too much about where I might finish. The swim, bike and run course are all pretty spectacular.  The swim started in Lake Michigan adjacent to the Buckingham Fountain along Grant Park.  Swim about ¼ mile north, then around a turn buoy and back south to the finish.  Water is very clear and a bit on the cold side at 65 degrees.  As scenery goes it was top notch.  Sail boats to the left, Chicago skyline to the right.  The last ½ mile I happened to notice someone walking along the park at t...