Visiting the Sweets in the Land of Lincoln

Sweet Times




A couple of weeks ago I had a wonderful opportunity to visit some friends out in Illinois. Chris, Cara, and Jonah Sweet were very gracious and invited me out for the Evergreen Lake Triathlon in Bloomington, Illinois. It was a great to see them all and to meet little Mr. Jonah for the first time. You can tell he’s gonna kick some butt out on the race course some day (just like the rest of the Sweet Clan).

It’s about a 9 hour drive from Wichita to Bloomington-Normal. The trip takes you through two major metro areas, KC and St. Louis. Of course, I hit both of them at rush hour (lunch and evening). The trip started out with rain in Kansas, gradually giving way to sunny but crowded roads in Missouri. The number of truckers and billboards were simply astonishing.

I arrived in Bloomington just in time for dinner. Chris’ culinary skills have definitely improved with time, he was good in college – but the meals at his place were extraordinary. I was fortunate to catch dinner with the Sweets; including Chris’ brother Andy and his wife Heather. We had so much to catch up on, we could have spent hours there, and a few more bottles of wine ha. However, I was practically crashing at the table because of the long drive. Also, we had the big race the next morning – so we called it a night early.

The next morning Chris got me up early and we started to get our gear in order, when it happened… the sky opened up and the deluge began. Chris kind of groaned a little and said something to the effect of oh no not another duathlon. The earlier local club race (the Tri-Sharks Invitational) had been canceled due to the severe storms in the area.

The rains kept up all the way out to the lake. Here, they tapered off enough for us to get the bikes racked, the gear sorted, and registration completed. As soon as the race director called everyone over to announce the rules, the rain started again. By this point everyone was already soaked and looking forward to the swim, so we all stood in the rain getting soaked. The announcement that wetsuits would be legal was my saving grace and caused lots of folks to make a spilt second decision about whether to wear the suit in the barely legal and warm water, or to go as is.

I chose to get the suit, got on the boat ramp and waited for the heats to start into the water. The pro wave went first, my wave was soon after. The start went really well. However halfway through the swim I was starting to overheat and was really suffering. I got er done, but it really wasn’t a great swim for me. However, it was a really neat one – because I got to experience swimming while it was raining.

The firs transition went well and soon I was off on the bike. The roads were soaked, with rain pouring down. Out on the first smooth flat road, I really noticed the Zipp 404 wheels that Andy graciously let me borrow. I pushed down on the crank and immediately felt some extra get-up and go from the bike. It was awesome. I passed a lot of folks on the bike and ended up with a pretty good bike split. It was really interesting to be riding on the roads traveling through the corn fields. The corn was so high that you could’t see over it or through it. It was like riding in small valleys.

The run stage started well. The sun started to come out, but fortunately the clouds hid it for most of the race. That saved everyone from sweltering in the humidity. I passed a lot of folks on the run and felt really good about the race. I also got to see Chris on his way to a 36 minute 10K at the end of the tri (holy moly), freak’n awesome. Cara and Heather were a riot too, it was great to see them on the course. Oh, and I got to meet Chirs’ mom and Al, an awesome cheering section.

After the race we had a great time visiting Chris’ dad; with the house that he got level using major lumber, big cables, and a truck. The Sweet clan is ingenious at everything and very industrious. However, this takes the cake. Chris’ dad got the house square by tearing it down to the studs (he was doing this away to renovate it), then using the leverage system to get the house square, finally – they nailed the sideboards to keep the house in position. Ya, I couldn’t do much but shake my head – just amazing.

Chris didn’t fall very far from the tree when it comes to the home improvement projects. I think he and Cara have rebuilt their house from the inside out. I need him to come visit with some power tools for about a month ha.

After the tri, some of the club members threw a great party out at the lake. It was a great time, with amazing food and music. But the best part was getting to see Shorty, Knutson, and Knutson’s girlfriend. We had a great time catching up on what everyone is doing. John is working the editing desk and Shorty is threatening to bust knee caps if people don’t pay up ha. It was great to see them all. I’m so happy they drove down and that the Sweets arranged it all.

I stopped by Springfield on the way home and got to see Lincoln’s grave site and the outside of the museum/library downtown. Both were really impressive and I highly recommend visiting them. It’s especially interesting given the context of the presidential race going on this year.