If you ever have a day that goes perfectly — from the second you wake up to the second you go to sleep — watch out for it to literally rain cats and dogs the next day. The reality is that something will not go accoring to plan for you today. Whether it’s something small (like your dog eats part of your breakfast while you’re looking at a text) or something huge (like someone t-boning you on the way to work), it’s going to happen. It’s how you deal with what happened and then how you readjust your Tetris for the day.
While it was going to be an early start and long day, I had everything planned out. Lombard > Chicago > Lake Forest > Vernon Hills in about 2.5 hours by public transportation so I could attend a Bears Training Camp event with Achilles Chicago.
The reality of what happened was that I was left at the “annex” of OTC instead of the main entrance. There wasn’t a safe way for me to walk to the main part, either along the rails or outside in the dark. So it then became Lombard > Chicago >Vernon Hills. And then an accident and them not paying attention to traffic reports caused me to think I’d miss it (as I arrived in Vernon Hills about 30 minutes late).
But it all worked out, and it was an amazingly fun day. The moral of the story — when life gives you lemons, chuck them back at life and keep moving forward. Oh wait, that’s not the right saying… but it’s probably the right sentiment. 😀
I’m grateful for the Chicago Bears inviting Achilles Chicago to attend, and for Achilles Chicago extending an invite to me!
This is how chaotic my year has been. I completely forgot that one of my “stalker”s was lurking until they popped up pre-race. 😀 😀 Apparently I am now not only a Golden Retriever, but also the worst “one and done” athlete. 😀 I guess that the first caused the second, so…
As I’ve mentioned, the Napervills Sprint was my first public Triathlon in 2015. It was also supposed to be my “one and done” Triathlon. This year’s Naperville race was Tri #107 overall. Oops… I guess I missed that “and done” part. LOL
In prior years, the swim has always been a struggle. Not just from my swim stroke in the beginning, but from the overall flow. For the first year, we were at the front, but quickly got swum over by the elites who could legitimately do 45 – 60 second 100s. After that, we moved to the back, where the issues because more of us being used as flotation devices by other swimmers who were struggling. This year, they (RD/Andrea) set things up so we were starting 5 minutes before the elites. In theory, this should mean the elites wouldn’t catch us until about the very last part of the swim.
Also, going into the race, I was excited to see Max and his son out on the course again. It had been about 5 years since I had raced with them last (I believe in Goshen). So with the new swim setup, the four of us (me/Scott; Max/his son) headed into the water for an early start.
I am very glad that the swim start was changed. This year’s swim seemed much cleaner. No one tried to physically climb over us or use us as a personal flotation device, and the timing worked out perfectly. While I don’t have the exact point, I would guess the elites caught us at 325 – 330yd, meaning we had 50y or less of traffic. And all of those were experienced, strong swimmers, who could easily navigate around us.
After a slightly longer than usual T1 (I had to toss on a jacket in addition to a longer run in transition), we headed out on the bike. As in Pleasant Prairie, the chain acted up. While we lost some speed on the bike, it seemed like some of it settled down as we got further into the bike.
At some point in the bike, I asked Scott if he had seen Max. I remember him telling me that they were only on loop 1 as we were about 1/4 of the way through loop 2. So I was really surprised to see them headed out of T2 as we were racking the bike.
After a normal T2, we headed out on the run. Even though I knew there was absolutely, positively no way that I was catching them, it still helped to have a “rabbit”. I had some of the normal issues (more with breathing) I do on the run. But having that “rabbit” out there helped me to keep those rest periods as short as possible.
After the race, I was surprised to see another Dare2Tri teammate (Molly). I was further surprised to later learn that there was a fourth Para. The reason that it was so surprising is that typically I’m the only Para. It was wonderful to finally have a FULL Para podium (photo on IG @nocrappyexcuses)!
Thanks to so many who helped this race to be a success — including Coach Joe, Dave, Andrea, “Quiet Chris”, and others! Thanks to Scott for guiding and all his help / support throughout. It will be a VERY short turnaround before Adaptive Mixed Relays and ParaTriathlon Nationals. Hope to see a lot of you in Milwaukee!
Before I get into this blog, I want to first apologize for racing naked. Please keep your thoughts G rated; it’s not what you think. On the way to the airport, I realized that I had accidentally forgotten to repack the ink bag (I found the “emergency” bag only when unpacking.) It was extremely frustrating, as so many help me to be able to race — and you see their logos on my arms. I will make sure to have both “A” and “B” bags for all three races over the next few weeks…
As I mentioned last year, it was an entirely new experience to race in salt water. It was also an entirely new experience to get “thwarted” by sea life (the kelp tree during practice). This year was an opportunity to build on last year’s successes.
The weekend began with the Train2Race camp. After John helped to get bike issues resolved (a bent skewer, spacer height, and others), Frederick and I headed out for the triple brick workouts. Even though we lost about two while John worked on the bike, we still got in several decent bricks. It was great to have an opprtunity to get in “mid-aero” (helmet on Frederick’s back) and hammer the bike.
After lunch and time with Team Zoot (thanks to them for all their support!), we headed out into the swim. As I mentioned in June, the open water swims (OWS) were frustrating me given the increases I’d seen in the pool. Eric helped to point out a couple of things for me, and hopefully I can catch up with Danny at some point soon to recreate the 2019 swim tether…
Day two of camp began with swim practice at the race site. This year, different “sea life” (aka Shark Deb) came into the practice swim. But even with the “interruption”, it was still a solid practice swim. After lunch, geting packets, and a course preview from the RD, we put the bike into transition and did a shake-out bike and run.
As I mentioned last year, the path along the marina is challenging at best. This year, “pedal carts” took over the trail, with us having to maneuver around about fifteen of them at one point. On the way back, people weren’t practicing common sense. After my guide told someone we were on their left twice and they moved left twice (only moving right when I yelled “on your left”), I’d had enough of trying to fight the gauntlet. The shake-out run went far better, with very minimal issues of people on bikes trying to swerve into the run lanes.
On race morning, one of my main focuses was making sure my bladder was empty. I know how odd that sounds, but after having lost about five minutes in T1 last year, it was definitely on my mind. After addressing that and ensuring transition was fully set up, we headed down to the beach for swim start.
The swim went just as well, if not better, than practice. I haven’t gone through all the numbers, but Eric yelled at me that I was on the podium as we ran off the beach into T1.
While there were umpteen turns this year, it was still a very strong bike. There was one point where someone was trying to ride left (blocking), but we made it around there. I did have a minor issue coming off the bike, where one of my cleats caught on the hanger and caused me to fall — but no serious injuries.
After a solid T2, I was hopeful for another decent run and the second year on the podium. But it wasn’t meat to be. Even with ice on my back and extra hydration (Liquid IV) in a bottle, the humidity took its toll of me. By mile two, it felt like running in water and it was hard for me to keep enough breath for more than a few hundred meters.
Even though I got pushed off the podium because of the run, it was still a great weekend and race. It was great to see old friends and make new ones. And while I still am not a soccer fan, it was fun to hang out and “hear” about half of the World Cup final with one of my friends.
While there were a lot of positives out of the trip, one huge negative was the continual absurdities from accessibility Agents in airports. I am still waiting for a formal, written apology from the LAX MOD for [Airline] after how they treated me at LAX.
Thank you to Dare2Tri for all of their help and support throughout the weekend. Thanks to Frederick for all their help and guiding throughout, and thanks to Erik for his help around the race.
Time for a brief break and then it’s on to a very busy August — all of my “A” races will be next month (2 Nationals, 1 Worlds).
THANK YOU to Team Catapult for continuing to support my athletic training!
Their support will enable me to continue working with a local swim coach (Coach Joe of Experience Triathlon). I am extremely grateful for their continued support!
THANK YOU to the Para Guide Foundation for their generous support towards my new tandem!
I greatly appreciate all of their support over the last several years, and look forward to racing with Jonathan and Paul from Para Guide again later this year!
(Photo from Video; Video courtesy of ND Football staff)
Looking back on the first half of my 2026 season, it definitely hasn’t gone as I had planned it. None of bike challenges, wetsuit challenges, and DNF’ing a race were on my 2026 bingo card… And I’ll admit that some of those have been harder to deal with than others.
Even though it’s been frustrating at times, I will always keep moving forward and striving to improve. I think this was best crystalized in a statement I heard within the last week (paraphrased) — ‘I don’t look at it as if I won or lost; I look at it as if I won or learned from it.’ The latter part of their statement is what I’ve chosen to focus on in this blog.
Just a few of the lessons learned include focusing more on nutrition, going further than just having a plan Z on race weekend, and being willing to try new gear. On that last point, I hope to figure out the long-term wetsuit issue soon.
The overall sizing of the wetsuit is correct. I believe that going up a size would probably be too large and create drag. But from the two June triathlons, it seems that I need to find something different since it’s compressing my upper chest (near lungs) too much.
And even though there have been struggles the first half of the year, I am not giving up or packing it in. I have a long, important second half of the season, which includes all of my “A races”. What’s helped me to continue pushing through is the knowledge that the hard work pays off — which the header photo shows.
Prior to 2023, I’d had hundreds upon hundrds of snaps on different football fields. Up to that point, I had zero TDs and zero fumble recoveries. In that one camp, I accomplished both (along with a second TD the following year). While it took 17 years to get to that point, I didn’t give up — I kept going.
That’s how I choose to look at things overall. I will continue putting in the work, showing up at start lines, and know that the hard work pays off. Here’s to a strong second half of 2026!
For those of you who have been following the Blog for a while, you know that Pleasant Prairie is where it all began for me in 2015. It’s always great to go back there for camps and races — even when things don’t go to plan…
After getting transition set up, we headed to the water for the group Para start. Although the time doesn’t reflect it, it was the best swim I’ve had at Pleasant Prairie. I will continue to work on figuring out how to resolve those issues.
After a normal T1, we headed out on the bike for what should have been a solid ride. However, less than a quarter mile in, something happened with the chain. So instead of having the normal 30 gears, we had 3 (from what Scott told me later). This made the bike an extremely challenging and draining one.
After a longer than usual bike, and a relatively normal T2, we headed out on the run. It was at this point the extra effort of the bike due to lack of gears caught up with me.
At about a quarter mile in, it became painful (mostly in my back) to run. So I tried going to a walk / run, which was still painful. So I then had to go to walking most of the course. It definitely wasn’t what I wanted or planned on, but it was the only safe way to finish. I did find a way to jog in through the finish as normal though (although I was in pain after that).
While it wasn’t the race I had planned, I’m grateful to Scott for guiding and all his help. I’m also grateful to Dare2Tri for all their help and support.
I will take some time to fully recover after this race to ensure that I’m at 100% heading into the second half of my season. All of my “A races” are still to come, which means recovery and then lots more training.
Leon’s has typically been the start of my summer Tri season, and it was again this year.
After seeing the normal Dare2Tri procession into the lake, Scott and I got transition set up and then went to the opening ceremony.
While waiting for our wave to begin, I found out that I wouldn’t need the wet suit due to water temp. Shortly after stripping it off, we entered the water for the start.
I’m glad that I was able to do this. It seemed like a much easier swim than in past Leon’s races. I didn’t have the normal wetsuit issues that I typically have at Leon’s.
After a normal T1, we headed out onto the bike. It went well until one of the final turns. At that point, I heard something fall and the bike wobble a little. From past experiences, I knew exactly what it was — one of Scott’s pedals falling out because the threads had stripped.
After stopping so he could get the pedal, the restart didn’t go well. I ended up falling since the pedaling was off-balance (he only had the right pedal). But once we got going, it worked out. It was definitely harder for the last few miles of the bike since Scott only had one pedal, but we made it back.
After a longer T2, we headed out on the run. It went about the same as in past years, although the roughly 1.5 miles along the bridge was a little bit less choppy of a run.
Even with all these challenges, I did still end up with a podium finish (2nd ATD1 VI Male).
I’m grateful to Scott for guiding and all of his help and support. I’m also grateful to both Dare2Tri and Leon for all of their help and support!
Earlier this year, a very good friend said that they wanted to do a marathon for their 60th birthday. While I’ve avoided marathons to this point, I was willing to get the training in because of them.
When my second half of the year (Holy Half) sold out before I could register, I went looking for other halfs that would fit into my calendar. What I found was the Warrior Dash in Wheaton.
With it being on a trail, the RD allowed us to begin before the main start. This helped us to get most of the first loop in before the crowds came.
The race began with roughly a half mile on grass, followed by about a mile uphill on the path. The race itself was a lot of up and down hills, with minimal flats.
As we got back towards the grass (heading in to start loop 2), I was in a decent amount of pain. When we got back to the turnaround, my left leg was completely numb.
After standing for a few minutes and trying to get feeling back to it, I wanted to go back out. But after less than a hundred feet onto the second loop, I could feel it going numb again.
At that point, I made the decisioin that it wasn’t safe to try and push it. I was concerned about potentially tearing something — especially with the first 1.5 miles being a long, challenging stretch. So I had to throw in the towel and accept the DNF.
While the day didn’t go as I had hoped, it was still a great event. I’m grateful to John for guiding and all his help and support. I’m also grateful to the RDs and the rest of the staff for their help and support!
Once again this year, I ended up in “jail” to help support Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center. If you haven’t already done so, please read last year’s blog for background on the event.
As with last year, my bail increased again. Unfortunately, I have not yet made my goal. If you would like to donate and help me to reach it, you can do so here. .
2027 will be Shining Star’s 25th Anniversary. Because of that, I would like to raise a HUGE bail next spring during the 2027 Jail & Bail event (actual event date TBA). To help achieve that goal, I am asking those of you who are currently having to take RMDs (Required Minimum Deductions) from your retirement accounts to consider having a portion of it directed to Shining Star as a chartiable donation to help support my 2027 fundraising event!
If you are able and willing to make a donation from your RMDs, please email me (sscacinmate@gmail.com) for more details and logistics. If you’re not, please watch my main and fundraising socials (@nocrappyexcuses and @sscacinmate) for 2027’s fundraising launch!
Let’s all help raise a LOT of money to support Shining Star’s programs and help the children of Lee & Ogle Counties (IL) whom have been affected by abuse!
