“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”    
    Oscar Wilde

I’m doing my best to gain a lot of mistakes (experience) in my 2nd year as a professional athlete.  My 1st year was a wash, for racing, due to an over ambitious attitude that tipped my life out of balance.  I did learn a tremendous amount about harmonizing my life and living in the moment from those hard lessons.  So this, has really been my first year racing as a pro triathlete and I still feel like a rookie learning the nuances of his sport.  This challenge is an opportunity to change and adapt and grow.  That is a fun thing to feel as a 32 year old athlete.  Maybe after 20 years of experience (putting me at 48 years young) I will make it look as effortless as Greg Bennett did in winning the Accenture Chicago Triathlon in 2007.

The Chicago Triathlon was a blast and I had a wonderful time staying with the Broads and the Jones, who were generous hosts for the weekend.  Thank You!

A pristine, clear blue sky welcomed racers and spectators to a magnificent day.  The previous days of rain had cooled Lake Michigan to a brisk 67 degrees so we had an unusual wetsuit legal swim.  I wore my super fast F2R wetsuit and was the first pro racer to make a plunge into the refreshing waters.  It was way to hot outside to be standing in your wetsuit.  The cool water was a welcome reprieve. 

We lined up and everyone started creeping forward.  Officials were yelling for us to get back but no one wanted to give up their position.  We were 10 meters past the starting line when someone started swimming.  I wasn’t going to wait around, so I ignored the official’s pleas to stop and joined the other swimmers.  You can’t give an inch to the talented swimmers in this kind of field or you will be left behind.  I wasn’t feeling very fast and was getting thrashed by the other swimmers.  I started working my way over to the group at 300 meters when everyone pulled up.  A boat had cut us off and stopped our progress.  An official was yelling at us that we had cheated and to get back to the starting line.  I could understand his angst, but did not feel like I had done anything wrong.  At many races, once someone goes, there is no stopping him.  I was doing my best to limit my losses. 

We swam back to the starting line for start number 2.  In under a minute we were again racing ahead, fighting for position in a froth of white water.  I was getting pummeled, literally almost fully out of water swimming over and around people.  For a few hundred meters I just needed to accept my position as it was just too crowded.  After the first buoy, the chaos calmed and I was secured in the 1st chase pack.  The rest of the swim was a breeze as I easily stayed on different feet and preserved energy. 

The string of swimmers ran the ½ mile to T1 with Greg Bennett leading the way.  I biked the first mile with my feet on top of my shoes in an effort to pass as many people as possible.  Then, once I had my shoes on, I hammered it and felt great.  I just love the smooth fast ride of SCOTT’s Plasma.  No one passed me until Dave Thompson powered over a small hill just before finishing the first loop.  I finished the next lap bridging a gap up to Stephen Hackett and then kept him in my sights the rest of the way.  I let up quite a bit the last couple miles in anticipation of closing with a strong run. 

I came into T2 in the top 10 and within seconds of 4th position.  Those guys ran away from me pretty quickly and I was left to run alone.  By mile 3 I had been passed by only 3 runners and did not see anyone coming at one of the out and backs.  I was too alone and I ran without a sense of urgency.  I also started fading and feeling hot and the last mile was a slow trot.  I stumbled across the line but managed a 17th place overall and I’m stoked about that, especially considering the slow run.     

I have achieved much of the goals I had set forth for myself this year, like; stay healthy, enjoy the training day in and day out, travel, being a competitor through racing from within myself, not from being competitive and most importantly… having fun.  But one goal I have not achieved is breaking even by winning some prize money.  No, at this point, triathlon is a fantastically awesome hobby that costs a lot of money.  I am getting closer and am happy with my improvements as I have been in ‘the money” (usually top 10) in most of my races after the bike leg.  But my running has been, ugggghhh, painfully slow.  So, my experience, is telling me that I have a great opportunity to improve my running ability.  I know I can run much faster…..so….I’ll be pondering and brainstorming with friends and family for a while to figure out how to make it happen. 

RESULTS for the 2007 Chicago Triathlon

Articles: Triathlete Magazine, Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, Inside Triathlon,

Kevin Everett

Thanks to my awesome sponosors for helping and supporting me in living a dream:

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to Soft-Tissue / Therapies and Injury Rehabilitation