TRI TALK | EPISODE 6 | CHICAGO TRIATHLON STORIES EDITION W/ TRIATHLETE CHRISSY GRATZ

[Music] all right welcome back Tri 312 crew uh very excited today and hopefully for the next several days and several weeks of being able to interview and connect with so many great athletes that we have worked with or have befriended over the years that are either one time or multiple time participants and finishers of the Chicago triath line and today I'm very excited to have with us Chrissy Gratz who has been one of my athletes and has been a great friend for several years now I think we're going on six years something like that Chrissy something like that yeah so it's uh I'm very excited to have her to come on to interview because I feel Chrissy has a wonderful story about her journey through and into triath one and has great insight and great tips logistical tips that will be great for any newcomers to the Chicago Triathlon both this year and hopefully into the coming years so Chrissy thank you so much for being here we really appreciate it yeah I'm excited to chat and catch up great so Chrissy tell us a little bit about your story so uh first and foremost how long have you been participating in triathon yeah so I actually started doing triathlons back in 2018 um and I think since then have done probably 15 or 20 different uh triath lons and also uh an Aquabike one or two of those in there as well so yeah and what's been your longest distance to date yes I have done um three 703s I back in 2019 actually I signed up to do steel head for 2020 and ultimately did not pan out doing steel head in 2020 but did find out that I needed hip surgery in 2020 and so I had uh my left laborum kind of reconstruct Ed in 2020 and it took a little bit of time to get back into actually like running and feeling my best from that so I postponed that uh 70.3 again in 202 20 yeah 2021 I rolled it over uh into 2022 and so in 2022 I did both steel head and then later in the year got the opportunity to do it as a team Race uh with the Chicago Athletic Club Tri clubs in up in Michigan in Frankfurt um and then kind of kept the party rolling and I ended up doing 70.3 Hawaii in the spring or early summer of 2023 that's awesome and I love the fact that you you've built it all the way up to the iron distances and have done all the race distances leading up to that so now thinking and reflecting even well before that what was it why Triathlon what got you into the sport what was the motivating factor what was your journey to start Triathlon in the first B yeah first place yeah yeah I feel like you don't just like randomly one day wake up and you're like I'm going to do a triathon maybe for some people um that actually was not true for me so I actually back in 2013 end of 2013 had really kind of thought to myself I wanted to just make some changes in my life to be a healthier version of myself and I wasn't really sure what that was at the time um but I knew that I it was becoming harder and harder for me to do kind of things that I enjoyed doing that I had energy and excitement around and found myself to be pretty um you know just feeling like I wanted to try something new but I I didn't really know where that would pan out and later that year uh in 2014 I was working with a colleague who had talked about she was doing Sprint triathlons and I thought that sounded so neat it was something that I hadn't really thought about I had friends that were marathon runners and constantly were out doing halfs and fulls and I knew that running was never it didn't sound that exciting to me um but I was interested in like some sort of kind of activity or Hobby and I had around 2014 kind of decided like well that Triathlon idea sounds really cool but I I haven't swam since I was a kid I think fifth grade was like the last time I swam a lap in a pool um I hadn't been on a bike since I was a kid and I actually couldn't even like run a mile uh straight and so I was really kind of starting in a place where like I had no idea how to do any of the things and it sounded like an intriguing challenge um so I started uh to kind of just prioritize my my Health in general started drinking more water started moving my body more and it actually took quite a while like I said I didn't start doing triop on until 2018 um I ended up having a different hip surgery in 2015 and so that was a little bit um of kind of like a curveball then too I had hoped to be able to do a triy off on probably closer to like 2016 2017 um but because I had hip surgery things just kind of kept getting delayed uh and then I actually got the opportunity to watch one of my best friends uh her name is Lindsay do the Chicago triathlon back in 2017 and I remember thinking like yes this is it I definitely want to do it um she kind of like took me under her Wing uh back in 2018 brought me to some of the Open Water swims helped me build some like confidence and and belief in myself that I could do some of these things and so uh I actually got the opportunity we I did do a small Sprint prior to Chicago I think I just wanted to make sure I felt like I could could do it or I had like tried it myself once but then I actually got the chance to do it with her in 2018 and so through that journey I actually uh you know I lost a significant amount of weight I learned a lot about myself um and all of the things that I really didn't know how to do I I spent a lot of time learning how to how to kind of rewi and how to ride a bike again I I brought a bike from working bikes that was just like a used road bike um that first time around just to remember what it felt like to ride a bike again so it was a really fun Journey or between those years of kind of like learning how to do things that I thought I couldn't do before and so that was a kind of just like a fun foray into learning how to do triathon yeah so when you attended that first race with Lindsay was there something specific about watching her being in that environment experiencing the race that was the one thing that really pulled you in they're like yes this is what I want to do what what was that yeah so I actually remember her parents came uh to watch the race and cheer her on and we were all standing on the bridge that goes over the bike path and I remember watching all of the bikers just kind of like zooming on by down there by the railroad tracks and I remember she like looked up and waved to us and she just like honestly genuinely looked like she was having the best time and so now that I've had the opportunity to do this race that's always like that moment right there is like one of my favorites I like like to like wave at all the people because they're all cheering on their loved ones um but that is like one of the moments that really resonated with me when I was watching her do it and then obviously the finish line of course um but I think it was just like such a unique you don't get to see Chicago in the way in which you get to when you're doing the triathlon and I think that was like a prime example of the different ways in which you're able to like actually be in the city and experience the city yeah because how often besides like maybe bike the drive do you actually get to ride your bike on lak Shore Drive yep yep or even in like lower whacker I did obviously didn't get to see her lower Wacker on the bus uh bus down on the on the lower bit uh like underneath like Grant Park and Millennium Park right yeah yeah absolutely so and I think that's one other thing that happens when and people participate in the Chicago trial for the first time and they're riding their bike on Lakeshore Drive you know also because this usually happens before bike the drive and it is an experience where they go oh uh there's Hills on lakes Shore Drive and they just don't realize it that when you're going over an overpass that there's a little bit of elevation because when you're just driving on it you're just like oh this is just a flat Road from point A to point B and then all of a sudden you get on your bike and you're like oh gosh there's there's a hill there there's another Hill oh my gosh there's a massive Hill going back up uh going south going up onto the bridge over yeah so over the river and uh that that can be sort of uh sort of a little bit of a surprise when you get out there for the first time so for those that might be watching that are looking for last minute tips just remember that there are Hills they are overpasses on Lakeshore Drive so be sure to make adjustments in your gearing if you haven't already learned to do so but try to get good gearing skills in so that you're able to get into an easier gear to get up those Hills and make it a little bit easier especially since when you come out of transition the first thing you have to hit is a hill to get up onto Lakes Shore Drive and to get over the river so so it's a little bit uh of a surprise for some athletes where I mean I've seen chrisy I don't know if you've seen but I know when i' I've gone out coming out of T1 going into the bike going up that first Hill that people aren't in the correct gear and sometimes have to get off their bike and actually walk their bike up that hill that that it's actually an off-ramp going off of Lakeshore Drive Right Around Randolph so uh so that's something that uh everyone should be aware of and making sure to get into the correct gear a light gear that will make it easier for you to ride up that hill that off-ramp and then once you get up on top there then it's a nice flat you can readjust get into a stronger gear because then the next benefit is that if you have to go up you they then you get to go down and it's a long strong downhill coming off Lake short drive uh right off Ohio Street beach going off close that turn to North Avenue beach and and you can just get that good free speed going off to that first first mile or two definitely yeah any other thoughts or suggestions on that I was gonna say on the bike course I feel like the one thing that I'm always a little bit I don't know if stressed is the right word hesitant I wear glasses to see and so I do have prescription sunglasses but then when you're in or heading uh especially if you're doing the Olympic distance uh the going into lower whacker there's a really significant change in the light and so I'm always like what do I do do I like whip out my these glasses and put them on rather than my prescription sunglasses so I kind of just play easy and and try to like get acclimated with my eyes heading down into lower whacker um before I'm like cranking it down there because once you're down there it's a blast um I definitely recommend you know there's lots of people yelling it's very echoey it's fun um but before you like get get real hype make sure that you can see well and your eyes get accustomed to just being darker yeah I think that's a great step looking to that first year looking back to that first year where you felt like you've come out of surgery you've recovered you felt like you can start getting back into training or or start training for the triathlon what was that like what for you what was your experience like what was that first couple weeks the first month or two starting to train uh were you doing it alone had you already found a tri Club to train with and how did it feel did it feel like overwhelming a little daunting at first or do you feel like you were able to pace yourself well enough that uh that you didn't get discouraged or felt burnt out right out of the gate yeah I'll I'll be honest I really had no idea what I was doing I think I was not part of a group back in 2018 or really had any sort of formal training plan I remember I Googled like how to train for a triathlon and I didn't understand any of that um because I was just so new and I knew that it like required swimming biking and running and for me my priority to start off with was just getting comfortable doing those things and learning um I really that's something that I value is just trying to like learn and grow and I've really just did that I really like I said I learned how to swim in open water for the first time um and so I went to a few clinics with the uh Open Water you know swim group just to learn how do you site what how do you put on a wet suit like I had never experienced any of those things before and so really just like it was a lot of newness and a lot of learning um and I think that like I wasn't so focused on the gosh I've got to get this workout in or oh this one I have to hit hit the exact mileage for this workout I kind of had like a rough estimate like based off of the plan of like oh you should aim to you know bike this far or a bike for this long but at the same time it was more about just like building Comfort like am I comfortable on my bike am I comfortable putting on a wet suit so that I don't feel like I'm having a panic attack because if you don't put it on right it's really uncomfortable so that was really just kind of the the first year and I remember going to my first race and being really nervous and fortunately it was the Wisconsin Women's Triathlon and everybody there was so helpful but they were there to like help me figure out how to set up my transition I had watched like a YouTube video on it but I didn't really know otherwise how to do those things um and so like I said it was definitely just like a lot of learning a lot of growing but I think that that's what I needed in that moment because I was able to look back at how much I had grown over the course of that time of like really not even thinking I could swim at all let alone go then and actually complete multiple Open Water swims like that was something that I was incredibly proud of just because it had been so long same thing with the bike like I remember uh I got my my bike from working bikes and I remember one morning it was a Tuesday morning and I went out and I rode it for eight miles just on like trails around where I live and I was so excited I was like gosh I like rode eight miles this morning before work even started yeah and I just I remember feeling that like sense of like proud like accomplishment that sense of like I'm doing things I didn't think I could do and I'm learning something new every single time and I think I just got a lot of energy from from that um and so it was actually and I don't I don't know if you have another question here but I was thinking about like after that first season was over I was like I think there's a lot more here that I should be doing that I don't know about um don't know yet yeah exactly I was just making it up and I actually went to the Chicago Athletic Club Triathlon Club had some like winter engagements and one of them was with you and uh I actually attended one that was like a pool clinic and then after swimming in the pool we hopped on a space bikes and I remember it was like the first time I'd ever done a ketchup drill and I genuinely thought I was like how did I go from swimming in Open Water not too long ago to feeling like I'm drowning in this this because I'd never done even like a ketchup drill in my life and so I think that that was when like I knew I was like I knew it there was way more learning to be done here than just uh stopping after that those first few races um that I did back in 2018 yeah and I think what you're alluding to here too and describing which I think is also very helpful and beneficial to those at maybe doing this for the first time and probably feeling as you did or as many of us do doing that first triathlon which is feeling overwhelmed and going I don't know anything I think I've done enough I'm I hope I don't drown I just want to finish is to go into the events and just be a sponge and learn ask questions and and not have a time in mind or you know uh like how well you want to perform necessarily but just to be able to you know learn the things that are unique to Triathlon that transitions like doing them effectively or just being able to get through it especially as as large as Chicago is as an event I mean it's one of if not still the largest Triathlon event in the world and if you've never done a triathlon before which Chrissy you mentioned that you had done a smaller race beforehand I think if anybody gets a chance to maybe sign up for a shorter race before doing Chicago I highly recommend it because if you've never done this event before and you're already feeling overwhelmed there's a lot to it you're trying to play three disciplines together and you know I've never gone through the transition of going from an Open Water Swim to going onto the bike and then coming back and then going out for a run and then finishing the event and then going now what how do I get all my stuff again that when you go to a race like Chicago it can be very overwhelming and very intimidating because that morning that you get there on race day and there's just thousands and thousands of bikes and transition areas and athletes and Spectators and officials and volunteers I mean it can be a lot um so if you do get a chance to go in and do a smaller race and where it it not be as overwhelming and feel a little bit more comfortable talking to your neighbor to the athlete next to you that's doing their transition they look like they know what they're doing like hey can you help me out like what is this supposed to look like especially if you don't have a coach or haven't had the opportunity to be part of a club that might be going through a lot of these things with you guys and helping you learn those things is ask right because I think one of the things that I know keeps bringing me back that I love about this sport is the community of people that we kind of surround ourselves with is more often than not uh I may even dare say Almost 100% of the time if you look around and you ask somebody will be willing to help you and give you some guidance or give you some extra encouragements some motivation some tips and that is absolutely helpful I mean I know I I was intimidated in my first one I wasn't sure how I was going to do I felt confident being able to put it all together but then I also got into transition and never seen it before going oh God I really don't know what I'm doing here like I was still the person like putting like safety pinning my race number on in T2 going I'm pretty sure there's a faster way to do this and this isn't correct because like people are running through here like grabbing something and then leaving and I'm still like five minutes in going is this right is this gonna stay and it may have also been me just trying to delay because I'm not a fast runner I don't enjoy running as much although that has been changing so which I'm I really appreci and I like it now because I don't have knee pain at the moment so fingers crossed that continues but anyway uh the time I I've been still having some the issues some IT band stuff and so maybe it was just me delaying trying to get out onto the Run um but I realized very quickly it's like this is probably incorrect but what am I gonna do I mean they they provided the safety pens and the race packet that you picked up for that race and so I'm assuming this is what you do um but sometimes you just kind of have to go through these learning experiences and know that you don't know everything and go with it with you know more W eyes wide open and becoming a sponge and learning um about the events and again not worrying about how well you perform and just appreciate that you got there and uh and learn and and see what happens and and and put sort of a Time on the board then we go okay if that's something like you kind of get the bug and it's something that can Evin an experience that you appreciate and want to try to do more of those things then you can start going okay I know I now know I have areas where I can improve which it sounds like you were like okay uh I got through it there's probably way more than I can learn here and do better at and that becomes then the next step of how a lot of people really sort of dive head first into the sport and can be able to do it and want to be able to do it potentially for a lifetime uh which is what I think I love most about the sport because it was those uh men and women that at the time you would still see their age number on the back of their calf uh as an identifier of their age group and I remember being out on that first bike ride and I was not going fast uh I think I was still on my small chain ring so biking on a flat Road in Florida and thinking like wow I I I don't know how to get any more speed out of this and you're seeing like uh 50 60 70 year old men and women like in super Tri bikes just hammering it like just smoking past me and I was like like it's very humbling but at the same time very motivating because you're like man I want to be them when I grow up right right right so uh so anyway it's uh it's it's good to just sort of come at come into this race come into this uh into this world be open-minded Have Eyes Wide Open uh experience for what it is uh and be a sponge and just learn as much as you can and I think the other thing that you talked about Chrissy is that you know like when you go into it um and you're not quite sure how you're going to if you're going to like it or not like don't feel like you have to buy a super bike right out of the gate that's not required I mean uh if you can go get a bike uh from you know a used bike from a bike shop or from a friend um as long as it's somewhere in the range of what your bike should fit you for right so like at least do some do diligence and and learn and U discover what size bike you should have or something in the ballpark of what fr and dimensions work right for you then you don't need to like have like I mean you can spend a couple hundred dollars on a quality bike that's going to get you through the race um and at that point if you feel like you want to continue on and further make that investment in yourself and into the sport then you can start looking at like higher in bikes and then it becomes an addiction we'll get into that later um but uh but start off and be you know Be Frugal be reasonable and you know think of it as that like I'm just going to try this out see what happens I mean this is all the reason why they have a deby division in the super Sprint uh on the Saturday before so if you even don't even have a bike that's another way to experience the race and see if it's something that you might want to get into and then think about making the investment for yourself in the future so uh so I think inadvertently you gave a great piece of advice chy um start off with a bike that you know may not be like the super high-end couple thousand dollar bike and uh and just see if it's something that you want to continue yeah I was gonna say I think mine was from 2003 and it was 2018 when I purchased it it had seen some good years uh and I talked the bike shop about it it had pretty good like components and it fit me and that I was looking to spend $300 to $400 and that was it back then um and I used it actually for close to four years I like did I learned a lot on that bike I learned how to clip it because there for at the beginning I wasn't clipping in or or doing any of those things and so um I I learned how to clip in on that bike I learned all sorts of things um and that's when I realized I was like oh I really love biking and so then I like you mentioned things kind of quickly escalated after that um but the the the um the yeah I think really just figuring out like what are your goals at the beginning and making sure that you are able to you know really I don't I think as you were talking you were talking about longevity and um thinking about like triy off on longer term and and when I think about the people that are older or have been doing triath on for 20 30 years I think so much about the community that people build through the sport like I know that those people aren't doing it for 20 30 years and have just only been doing it alone um and so to your like make friends with the people next to you in transition uh because who knows they could become a friend of yours uh I know that that has happened where I've met some really incredible people that have been just racked next to me in transition and are just we've just been excited to kind of celebrate together at the end of races like we did it like great job um but then also great stories from those people too like they're like you know like oh how many times have you done this race since someone like oh my God it's my first time I'm like hey you're gon to do great and you could be that supportive person like giving them extra encouragement or it's somebody that's been doing the sport for years and like yeah like I you know any number of stories of like maybe challenges or struggles that they've gone through is like I mean in fact like last time I spoke to a kid that is coming off of like lymphoma cancer and is doing the Chicago race for the first time um because he wasn't able to do it last year because of that so uh so like and and I don't know about you but like when I hear stories like that and you get the chills and you're like oh my gosh like that's amazing you're now motivating me and I've been doing this for years and now I'm encouraged to do my best now yep um I was so scared for I think that's the right word to do 70.3 Hawaii I was a little bit under the weather I thought about backing out I went for it I was like a bundle of stress that morning and I sat next to a guy on the bus and um I'll never forget that interaction and he was like oh you know where are you from have you done this before and I was telling him all the details I was like definitely never done this before and it was like his 15th 20th time doing that race and he just like told all these great stories about all his favorite memories and how much he loved it and how much he loved the swim and I just throughout the entire race just kept thinking back that like one moment I had had in the morning I was like if this man has done it 15 or 20 times like I can I can go out there and like get it done today um and he wasn't wrong that swim was incredible so you get good tips from people that have done it before and just making those connections for sure yeah and I think something else that you mentioned there too is that and I'm sure for when you talk to most athletes most athletes that when you ask about their experience with the events nine times out of 10 I almost would think like 99 times out of a 100 the thing that they are most proud about or that uh that is their favorite memory has nothing to do with the time that they did it in never absolutely not I've never once talked to somebody and that has been their favorite memory from it's been about the people that they meet or the experience like oh I love that swim oh that bike was awesome like I I did so great in my run or I met this great uh great person in transition uh like again all the things that you just alluded to um sorry you were going to mention another oh yeah no I was just going to say I was like it's usually people that like have a great story about someone they met or a moment on the course where they you know that they remembered that was like really meaningful to them or just like a memory about like celebrating the fact that they're that they're there and and doing it and celebrating like all the hours that people put in to actually making it happen yeah I mean usually never the time yeah and and and speaking of our our friends with uh CAC with Chicago athletic clubs um we'll get back to them and us in a minute but uh but one of my favorite memories uh and again I was very happy with my time uh that was something I was I was going for was a sub six hour half Iron Man and even though that happened and that was great but my favorite part of doing 70.3 Michigan was being there with all of you guys and having that weekend experience like all staying in the same house together and you guys going off and you know exploring the the the area and you and your husband uh going out and uh you know and him kayaking uh throughout uh throughout the lakes and him being our sort of like official team Sherpa so we always appreciate Alex being there and being uh part of our support team which by the way everyone anyone that has a support person out there a tri Sherpa a significant other a friend a family member whoever it is that's out there supporting you uh one thing that I have now I wish I came up with this myself but another one of the coaches gave me this idea and I'm just taking it and running with it and offering this up to every athlete out there is um whether it's the days leading up to the race or the days following is maybe take a moment uh of appreciation and send out a note an email a letter a text uh to any and everyone that you can think of that uh knows you're completing or competing in this uh that have supported you along the way and just give them a little bit of a shout out and just say thank you right hey I just want I know I've been like you because you're probably like not as social as you have been in years past um and or just and can't say yes to a lot of things but for those that uh have are are familiar with that appreciate or have supported your sacrifice to train for this event come back and just say thank you and like hey thank you for supporting me or thank you for your coaching or thank you for those tips or you know thank you for making this aspect of my life just a little bit easier so I can go out and train but uh but I think that comes back to you tenfold uh providing that appreciation and especially if if you do get the bug after this event and you uh decide to explore bigger distances that uh you uh you continue to show that appreciation for those that you know are also not only being supportive of you but also maybe sacrificing uh so that you can be able to uh continue to do this this event and think that makes a that goes a long way and it makes a huge difference but um but knowing that we had Alex out there all the rest of you guys uh participating some that were doing the whole event some that were just doing a relay component and then next thing you know they're off doing their own Iron distances themselves is just to see everybody out there in the course uh like passing each other in transition or on the bike course or seeing everybody on the Run course and like giving them fist bumps or congratulating or go Chrissy or seeing somebody from Chicago like yeah Chicago like just being part of that community and and being able to everybody out there and just knowing that you're not alone I think makes a huge difference um and I that to me was my favorite experience so now coming back to the being part of a club being part of a team uh you know whether you know there's some that might be a little bit more competitive than others more on the social end um that uh you know compared to when you started out doing it kind of on your own versus now participating or training with a group of people or with a team uh describe for us the difference that made in your training and your you know maybe even the enthusiasm that you had for the sports yeah I would say I learned that I really love to do Triathlon when it is with other people and so I obviously was like really proud of myself the year that I you know kind of went at it a little bit alone and unguided I learned a lot but I definitely learned way more when I was doing it with and alongside other people um and I made so many incredible friends and so I think that that is honestly what motivated me is to like kind of grow together with other people over the course of a season and learn from them especially people that had more experience than me or you know were I just learned that there's so many other like I I think I learned just about like multiport and endurance things that I didn't even know existed and so personally like I've had three hip surgeries in my life running is not my favorite I didn't even know that there was something called Aquabike um and so I like learned about that and actually got the opportunity to do some of those events which was really fun and I you know I still to this day trained with the the CAC Tri club and um I feel like I'm always like I said because I'm doing it with other people I'm learning from them both the athletes and the coaches alike and that's something that I get a lot of motivation and support from and it's also really fun to over the years like see what people's goals are and kind of like how we're all working together like you mentioned um each year you know that people have different goals and so some people are you know training for half distances or full distances other people are it's maybe their first race and it's just really fun to see kind of all of the different experiences and people coming together to to be a part of a a broader Community yeah and it's interesting too and it's fun because you always have that sort of new infusion of new athletes and new life into the sports yeah and for those I mean it's it's a great and and I think this is probably relatively consistent across different clubs where you have a lot of people that me hey these are my people I want to continue to training with them they s they motivate me they've now become some of my best friends and the city and you see their journey and that's also continues to be motivating it's nice to have that continuity and at the same time you have new athletes coming in and they're brand new and you see yourself and them like you look like me 10 years ago or whatever it may be and you're now the veteran and being able to take maybe someone or several of them under your wing like hey this is you know kind of what you're going to experience and this is okay or try this and they may be looking to you for advice and support and you know looking back and like if you had something that you could offer to your younger self your your newer Tri self and and it's kind of the things that we're imparting here which is like ask questions like be open-minded be a sponge and and if you're part of a team environment or a club environments you have a lot of these veterans and a lot of people that have gone through things and you know those of us have like just know just what not to do like I did this I did this wrong it was not great but I learned through it so just try not to do that and then you're just setting them up to have a much more successful experience and especially when it comes to a big race like Chicago is to uh help sort of minimize some of the anxiety that can happen uh with as big as the race is and all the things that surround it the number of athletes are going to be around um is the more you can kind of help them minimize their anxiety feel a little bit more confident uh not as stressed out uh then everyone's gonna have a better race right and and especially depending on what could happen you know maybe the swim gets canceled maybe it's 90 degrees in August uh and the run is just brutally hot that a lot of us have experienced that before and knowing sort of hey look if we can anticipate what the weather's going to be like or what the context the event is going to be like is just allow them to roll with the uh unknowns that could potentially happen within a race and uh we we've experienced it all uh with Chicago so as just knowing to be adaptable is another thing that I think is just able to learn and absorb and be a little bit more have a little bit more of awareness of when you're working with other athletes that have kind of gone through it yeah definitely So speaking of which uh speaking of experiences is there one experience and it could be that same one that first one but is there is there a most memorable experience that you have from the Chicago triathon over the years oh that's a good question and I already shared the one which is like my favorite on the bike that like moment every year is one of my most memorable um just looking up on the Olympic distance and waving to everybody over yeah yeah I love that moment that's one of my favorites all right so so before we move on so I'm going to come back to it but for those that are doing the Olympic where is that spot where should be looking out for will they know it when they see it or where where should they be sort of like you know I want to have that same experience Chrissy did like what am iing for I was going to say I think it's um I always tell people when they're having family or friends coming to watch is to if you're starting kind of over near where the swim start is what are like I forget what those cross streets are that like go over the bridges but basically you can have your family like stand on the bridge and watch the bikers go if you're doing the Olympic distance or the international distance you can watch the people underneath but I'm forgetting like what actually those streets are and that's the moment right there where it's just like it's really fun everybody's cheering for you because the bike course depending on where you're add on it can be a little bit lonely because you're on lak Shore Drive so it's not like there's a ton of fans anywhere and I think that that's also there's like a lot of people right there and they've got they've all got posters and signs and they're cheering on their people and so I think that's why that maybe resonates uh the most with me um and then the other memory that I was having was my very first one that I did my friend had told me um because she had done Lindsay it was to like put a piece of like duct tape on my swim cap so that way like my people that were watching me could follow along because what's unique about the swim course is that like your family and friends can actually watch you the entire like walk with you while you're swimming um throughout the course and so I actually I remember I like put like a piece of you know silver tape on my um swim cap so that way Alex could see it and so it was like every time I was taking a breath to my left or whatever side he was on um at that point in time I could actually like see him he was right there and so I think that's like another really unique part about the course and something that I remember yeah every time my wife Sarah she has now been able to fully distinguish my swim stroke from every other swim stroke that's out there so even though she she couldn't see me the whole way through Ohio last year like that last little strip going out to the exit she was like she she caught it on camera she's like I just know uh my husband's swim stroke and it's like that's right on Q but uh but every time like I see her in Chicago and I usually uh when I breathe every other stroke it's usually to my left and so I'll see her and I'm like and I and I feel like I'm like hi honey like doing this very distinct wave in the water and then I'll come out every year I'm like did you see me wave she's like no it just looks like like me just struggling with my swim stroke over the w y uh but no that's great piece of advice um and and again I would say like uh because most of the time people are going it's less crowded and you're going to see most of your swim going northbound past the swim start so when you go southbound and then come back North uh for the Olympic distance for the Sprint they're just jumping in and going straight North so I would say something around the left side of your cap so that uh that's probably what they're going to see most right yeah definitely um great yeah uh and then last but not least and I know we've talked about some other great tips throughout the course of this uh conversation or interview today but before we got started you were telling me that the things that you really wanted to impart on the athletes today were more logistical tips that they may not necessarily think of like when they're just stressing about ah to get through Swim Bike and run there are some other like little things that are sort of around the event itself that whole weekend so let's talk a little bit more about that and let's uh have you impart these very quality logistical tips for the weekend of the actual Chicago triy to make sure that maybe they are just a little bit more efficient going from one thing to the next yeah so I've done it I've done the Chicago triath line for four years but I did five races in those four years one year I served as a guide with dear to try and did the Super Sprint um and so done the Sprint twice the Olympic twice and then one of those years with the Sprint I threw in a super Sprint as well and I think like the biggest thing you want to do that entire weekend is celebrate everything that you've done the whole summer and that you've like put in the hours of work and you want to like be with friends and family and just like be in the moment and that's really hard when you are stressed out there's a ton of logistics to navigate and you're like trying to like read through 18 manuals to figure out like where to park and what to like where you're supposed to put your bike and just like a lot of logistics and so I think that like my my tips are always focused on the logistics because I'm like if you can just get those squared away it usually like just makes for a smoother weekend and then you can actually do and focus on the things that matter and that you likely care about more and so I've learned over the years that usually if you want like the good swag or the gear in the right sizes to hit up the Expo and the registration on Friday which is tricky because you can only preck your bike on Saturday so you do have to bring it beforehand and so that could mean that if you are checking in Friday that you also need to go back on Saturday as well to drop off your bike and so you want to kind of think about you know how do you want to coordinate your weekend do you want to do it Go twice downtown to drop off your stuff or like get the good gear and do the registration or would you prefer to do it kind of just like in one kind of midday afternoon type of moment on Saturday I like to get there early to Rack my bike on Saturday because it is overwhelming when there's just so many bikes and you're like where do I even put it so I kind of like to get there early put my bike on the rack and then pretend that I'm doing the swim in the bike out and then I pretend like I'm bringing my bike back in and doing the run out even though I know where they are every year it's different because of where my bike is racked and so I kind of do like a okay what color is my bike rack or how many bike racks away is it that I need to count up or back from in order to make sure and because it's looks so different the next day when all the bikes are there I kind of repeat that the next morning before I head out of transition as well just to make sure I know where my stuff is and then my other secret hot tip is just to buy your parking now like you can open up a spot Hero app or whatever it is get your parking for the Millennium garages and then take a photo of where you parked because I have heard countless stories of people after the race getting lost down in the Millennium garages because there's multiple Millennium garages all named similarly and then people lose their car so um I'd say those are kind of like my my logistical tips and I think the one thing that like I do before to help with some of those logistical pieces as well is like visualizing myself actually going through the day so waking up driving there setting up my transition waiting to start actually starting the race the swim navigating through T1 like each of the different stages I break it down and I actually visualize myself like successfully completing it I sometimes when I visualize it the first time I'm like wait do I have my goggles where are they like I sometimes I remind myself of like the logistics along the way yeah but I might actually like concretely I remember some of the times I've done this where it's like I actually successfully am getting my wet suit off it's not stuck on me I'm like it's off of me I'm running to transition and I'm like specifically looking for my red towel next to my black bike like I'm getting that specific yeah only because I I know and like have done some like research as a part of what I do for my job and things like that just about like the actual benefits of visualization and I feel like on a weekend like this when it's overwhelming there's a lot of logistics there's a ton of kind of pieces there's just a lot of people knowing the like psychological and physiological benefits of a vis visualization is like super helpful because cognitively when you're visualizing you're actually reinforcing that like sequence of steps that you'll go through so it not only is building your confidence but like actually they've shown like it does help your memory so that when you're there it's kind of like more automatic and then physiologically the mental imagery actually does have the same neural Pathways as doing the real thing so if you're imagining yourself pushing yourself in a low gear up that big hill that you were talking about it actually helps like make that neural pathway connection and it helps with like coordination and just the communication in general between your brain and your muscles and so neuromuscular coordination yeah yeah ex that is yes neuromuscular coordination that's the that's the word I'm looking for but um all of those things I think are things that I do in advance that are more logistical and like focusing on visualizing going through all those steps so that way it's just it's just happening and I can actually be in the moment versus feeling like oh shoot I forgot that or I need that um and just kind of is happening automatically around me which is nice yeah as a coach I'm very proud of everything that you're saying right now and knowing that how many athletes I've worked with that's the visualization component being very important and also helping reduce your anxiety through the events and again visualizing like what what what would be a perfect day right and because again A lot of times it's not going to go perfect but what would that look like and by being able to know like hey you know if certain things happen like how will you adapt or adjust um but if you have that visualization and especially doing what you're suggesting which is again if you've got all the other things that you can control out of the way the logistics and like when you set up your bike and where you're parking and and things that you can do ahead of time to minimize any unnecessary stressers that once you actually get to the event now you can maybe be a little bit more fresh a little bit more uh Zen if you will being a little less anxious about other things that are going on and as you say be present and then being able to navigate transition that is absolutely huge I I I have this conversation this this coaching component every single year with all my athletes whether they've done 100 races or it's their first like just making sure don't forget and I still do it every single time as you're saying that you do it every single time navigate because every race is going to be a little bit different where your bike is set up is going to be a little bit different who you're going to be around is going to be different and especially with Chicago because it is just so massive so having taking the time the day before the morning of once you get to your bike rack and you know physically where you are in space and you start looking at landmarks and and where trees are where your rack is and what color it is and how long it takes you to go from swim out uh to bike out and then bike in to run out like looking at where all those markers are and having a sense of like if I do all this consistently and take this route from one point to to the next I should be here and this is where my bike should be and where my uh where my transition area should be because depending on what time your wave is and how many people have gone through or maybe in your um what you call it in your rack area then you know there could be moments where somebody is next to you that have already come through have stripped where their wet suits and that wet suit is now on top of your stuff so uh so knowing like generally where you are should be able to or where you should be you should be able to like kind of know okay well this is where my bike is where I don't know where my transition stuff is oh maybe now I can just oh I think that wet sits maybe on top of it I should move that off oh there it is so again if you have that sort of visualization of like knowing where you should be where you are you know if things like that happen you are then even better prepared for how to make those adjustments right definitely yeah so Chrissy I think that is all great advice great story uh I love the your journey of not only how you got here but how you continue on and being able to pay it back to maybe the the next generation of triathletes and for those that will be doing the Chicago triath line for the first time this year and hopefully not their last and then also them seeing this or listening to the advice and then seeing the opportunity to maybe come back next year or subsequent years joining a club joining a team joining us here on the tri 312 Network and being able to then tell their story and be able to pay it forward and give back to the community and uh continue this process of uh helping each other out and uh and building a a good strong Community uh every single year at the Chicago Tri so Chrissy thank you so much for being here last question um are you excited about the pro race this year that's happening with super tries that's something that you're interested in and looking to experience yeah I actually so I know that it's happening Sunday afternoon I feel like I need to get a little bit clear on like times and details and things because I imagine I like will need to find food and a shower and then I feel like that's like a back to that idea of visualizing we've got more Logistics this year added in in order to like make it back to watch that um so I have to kind of figure out my game plan for what I'm going to do after the race so that way I can you know shower get all of the salt and sweat off of me and then enjoy enjoy the afternoon yeah so for those of you that are doing the race and if you want to stick around or come back for the pro event that will be happening that afternoon it's tight quarters it's more circuit style crit style cycling quick swims quick runs uh you know elimination style team events so it's going to be fast-paced furious fun um very spectator friendly so hopefully like if that's something that you guys all wanted to see and participate or experience after you've completed your race or you've uh supported you're a person in the race and you want to stick around so uh so just one more logistical thing to think about for your Chicago experience in 2024 so uh that being said again Chrissy thank you so much for your time today we really appreciate it uh great stuff great stories and uh we look forward to hopefully having a lot of our members and a lot of our viewers uh like really take something or take a lot from your story today from your experience and from your tips and feel that hey I listen to Chrissy on this wonderful amazing podcast that's all about Cho trath lunning and it was this tip that really helped me get through my race and um and hopefully be able to have them have that much better experience in their race this season so thank you so much we really appreciate it and thank you wouldn't be here without you Brian so thanks thanks griffy [Music] hey