The Road to Kona; Chicago Edition #5

I have to admit that this year’s Tour de France has captivated me. After we get up and take our dogs out, I turn on Versus to catch the live action. You can see all the top professional riders sail up the mountains with grace and speed. Who wasn’t amazed to see Alberto Contador climb the Pyrenees? I of course was rooting for Lance to follow Alberto, but those days will come in the Alps.

I often think of myself on those rides. Then you actually look at course profiles. The 112-mile Ironman leg seems like a warm up to most days on the Tour. Even the famous 12 mile climb to Hawi would be a nothing to the pro teams. Of course, I am not 120 lbs like Alberto or even the 160 lbs of Lance. As you can see from the photo, I am more like 5’9” and185lbs. Not exactly the body type of a climber. But I do have a love of riding at my speed and my abilities. The past few weeks we’ve been riding 3 to 3 1/2 hours on the weekends for my personal tour. While I might not fly up the hills, I make it up all the same. My overall goal for Kona is to finish, and getting through 112 miles on my bike will be a great accomplishment.

This past week I also started to focus on my swim with Break Through's Triathlon Swim Program. Mostly I have been swimming by myself at the West Loop Athletic Club, While they have a nice pool, there really is no substitute for group swims. I particularly value Ryan’s individual attention and small group sizes. Hopefully I can see a big improvement from my 1 hour 20 minute Ironman Arizona swim time…

Till next week - Go Lance!