Chicago was a great trip and I was glad I decided, at the last minute, to do this race. I had never been to Chicago before so I didn’t really know what to expect but everyone I talked to loved the city. Even so, I was skeptical. I guess I sort of expected the city to be dirty and rundown. I was pleasantly surprised however, and really loved the city. If it wasn’t for the weather (way too cold and windy for me!), I think I could definitely live there. I arrived Friday but was busy Friday and Saturday with all the typical pre-race stuff. I did find time to go check out Wrigley Field and went to this great little pizza restaurant where they serve authentic Italian style pizza (yes, I know I was supposed to be eating Chicago style pizza but there was plenty of time for that later!). The triathlon was fun and I absolutely loved the course. I did not go quite as well as I had hoped but you but still, I was happy to end up 10th. (You can read my race report for details on the triathlon.) Hopefully I’ll be back next year for some redemption :). With the race over, I had time to do some sightseeing. My husband and I took an architectural tour of the city and I learned a lot about Chicago. Then I spent all day Monday at the Art Museum. I was so excited when I had first arrived to find out that one of my favorite artist, Cy Twombly, had an exhibition showing at the Chicago museum and I had been waiting for the chance to go see it ever since I arrived. The exhibit was amazing and even better than I expected! The whole museum was impressive. The modern art wing is brand new and just fabulous. I spent way more time in there than I had expected and so I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Millennium Park and eating in this cute outdoor café in the park. My legs were definitely exhausted by the end of the day but it was well worth it. I arrived home just in time to unpack, get the laundry done and re-pack for a weekend of races in Upstate NY. It’s going to be crazy: a triathlon on Saturday, a 1 mile swim, 2mile cycling hill climb and a 4mile road race on Sunday. All in the attempt to prove that “I’m All That” (that’s the name of the competition). I’ve done the triathlon before but not all the races so it should be fun. The weather looks great and I have lots of people coming to cheer me on.