Paul May

I made it. On Sunday I successfully completed the Chicago Triathlon in a time of 2 hours 53 minutes and 47 seconds. It hasn’t really sunk in yet; to have finished is great, but I’m very proud that I made it in under three hours.

We’ll be back in Dublin in a couple of days, and then I’ll write a full race report and post photos. Thanks for all your support in the last four months, I really appreciate it. I made it, I made it, I made it! (I’m very happy)

We’ve arrived, put the bikes back together, had a swim, cycled the run course and there’s nothing left to do now but wait. Tomorrow I’ll be up at 4.30am to set up my transition area at Lake Michigan, and at 7.41 I’ll start the race. It’s daunting, but I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve come a long way in a few months and I’m pretty confident that I can drag my bones around the course in one piece.

If you’d like to track my progress you can use the Athlete Tracking System; you can get an email when i get out of the water, off the bike, and then when I cross the line. I’m number 3345.

Wish me luck!

My bike has been packed into a case the size of a small elephant, and the rest of my gear is packed and ready to go. Crumlin have given us some snazzy hoodies to wear while we’re over there, so there’ll be 35 people dressed the same with 35 bike boxes at the airport - we’re sure to blend in :) Hopefully I’ll keep you posted on prep before the race on Sunday - if not, I’ll post after the race. Talk to you soon.

Hey! I’m very proud to say that we raised €2426 from the Table Quiz on Wednesday night; a really huge amount of money! Thank you to everybody who came and was so generous with their cash, and to our sponsors for donating all the really great prizes for the night (mountain bike! paintballing!).

We visited the team at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children yesterday to talk about the work they do; and to talk about the journey to Chicago for the triathlon. Participants from previous years gave advice on the race and on coping with the heat, which is likely to be a bit more ferocious than we’re used to.

After visiting the hospital I went to the good folks at Wheelworx to have my bike converted to its race setup. I had tri-bars (aero-bars), a Fast Forward seat post, pedal clips and a computer fitted, as well as a second bottle cage. Oddly enough in just over a week or so I’ll have to break it all down again and pack the bike into a flight case for travel.

In two weeks from now I’ll be on the course in Chicago praying my legs hold out. 4 months of training, 2 weeks to go.