When we arrived there was hardly a line and we stepped up to get our boarding passes only to be shocked. None of us were registered on the direct flight to Chicago that Regina booked two months ago!! Regina provided the confirmation number and it came up as leaving at 10:45am stopping in NY for 6 hours and arriving here in Chicago at 8pm. That was not happening. After going back and forth a few times we asked for the supervisor. She informed us that the plane we were supposed to be on had a mechanical and they changed it to a smaller plane. The system randomly chose passengers to be bumped. That email came in at 5am as we were checking in. After about 30 minutes we were switched to a 7am flight (it was already 6am at this point) to NY with a 20 min layover before our connecting flight to O'Hare. They set us up with pre-check and seats in the front of the plane so we wouldn't miss our flights. We checked our bags and were told we had to pay for them. Regina spoke up and said no that's not what it said when I made the reservation. After more back and forth and if we booked before July 1st they were free, after that not so much. We booked before July 1st. We made our way around to security and the line just kept going and going!!
Finally they called pre-check and were on our way to gate 19, or so we thought. We had about 15 minutes to get there and try to get some food. We stopped to get smoothies and they were out so we opted for breakfast sandwiches. Regina went to fill water bottles and came back with another look of shock. Gate 19 was headed to LA!! We looked at our boarding passes and had been checking our NY to Chicago passes. We dug out the Boston passes and had to be at gate 31 in 5 mins!! We made it.
It was a quick 45 mins to NY and we rushed to gate 19. On the way there we all checked our seat number and that space was empty, great. We made that flight and were the last ones on board in the back of the plane. We didn't care, we made it.
The captain came on after about 15 mins and reported that the electric box needed to be replaced. We looked at each other with those big eyes again. Really! He kept us up to date on the process and 45 minutes later we took off. Steve, Regina and I spent the entire flight planning the week. There is almost no sightseeting time for me until Sunday.
Between training, packet pickup Tuesday, picking up my aunt Tuesday night, bike check in and opening ceremony Wednesday night at 6, racing on Thursday, rest and recovery post race, packet pickup for my second race on Friday then a mandatory meeting, watching women's elite race Fri night, race Sat at 7:25am, rest and recovery and watching the paratriathlon on Saturday, watching the men's elite race Sat evening and closing ceremony.
Today's agenda: arrive in Chicago, get rental car, drive to venue to check out the course, assemble bikes, go for a ride, walk through venue, check into condo, go food shopping and get a swim in.
It mostly went to plan. The course is flat, it took awhile for us to find a parking spot near the park, we didn't leave any bike parts in NH, the rec path is WAY to crowded to get a good hard ride in, Lake Michigan looks like the ocean, parking passes disappear or fly out the window in the windy city and rental car nearly got towed, condo is in the basement but really nice, pm swimming was replaced by dinner and a blog, Sinea and I have the bigger room and the condo is really nice!
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| The view from the flat bike course! |
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| Bike assembly in the park |
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| Our condo.... |
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| ....is in the basement |
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| A really nice basement! |
Tomorrow we do two bricks before packet pickup at 11, hit the expo, grab lunch, swim in Lake Michigan where the current water temp is 68ยบ rest/nap for the after noon and pick up my aunt at the airport.
The Sprint World Championship race begins at 10am central time on Thursday, September 17th. My offical start time is 10:55. There are so many competing that the last wave begins at 1:00pm!!
It’s great to know about world Triathlon Series Chicago Day 1. Chicago is really a beautiful place to visit. Last month I went to venues Chicago to attend a wedding of my colleague. Well, thanks for sharing such nice blog with us.
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