Lumbering in Chicago

So the run in my Chicago triathlon was not so pretty. First of all, running after biking is really hard. Running after biking , after swimming is super hard. Finally, running after biking after swimming after hosting a three hour lunch for your friends at Spiaggia on Michigan Avenue when you are a big , fat pig to begin with is just epically crazy.
Because my wave started late in the day, it was almost afternoon by the time my run started. Did I mention that I was very slow? Did I also mention that this run is down by the Field Museum, on concrete and without shade.
A total gut it out performance. A couple of interesting things happened.

1)My coach, the great Bob Duncan of www.wheeliefun.com was out of the back stretch to cheer me on.
2)My friend J. Michael Smith passed me on his way back
3)A guy collapsed due to apparent hyperthermia
4)Buddy and Renea, Buddy having recently completed the Tahoe Century ride, were out there to cheer me on.
5)I actually gained a little strength right before the finish line.
6)Right near the end I was passed by the pros including Karen Smyers
7)My wife seemed genuinely upbeat for the first time in a year.

So I completed the race. There are very few things you can do, come in twentieth from last and still consider it a victory.

That was the story of how I started to do triathlon, dropped out, started again, watched my wife have a bone marrow transplant, finished a triathlon and now see my wife in remission every day.