Race Report: It's Bike Time

Thank goodness for those volunteers in the changing tent. I was so cold coming out of the swim that I couldn't move my fingers. The volunteer who helped me change out of my wet tri clothes and into my dry tri clothes was an absolute life-saver. With her help, I stepped into my non-matching tri outfit: Tyr shorts (because I'll do anything to look like Chrissie Wellington) and 2XU tank top. Add on a helmet, shoes, sunglasses and a race belt and I was good to go.

I ran out of the changing tent and into transition. Transition volunteers called my race number up the bike rack lines and when I reached my rack, a volunteer was waiting for me with my bike. I thanked the volunteer, grabbed my bike, and shivered my way out of transition and onto the bike course.

Once I was on the bike course, all I could think about was a). maintaining a conservative pace and b). getting warm. The morning air was still chilly and I was still wet and freezing cold. It took me 45 minutes on the bike to reach my normal core body temperature. At 30 minutes in, I started my nutrition plan: an amalgam of EFS/Clif Shot sports drink, Gatorade Endurance, water, chocolate Gus and one peanut butter sandwich.

There was only one problem with my nutrition plan...I lost one of my EFS/Clif Shot bottles on the first loop of the three-loop bike course. I hit a bump in the road and whoosh!, there went my sports drink. I immediately freaked, knowing that I had just lost 300 calories of my planned nutrition intake. I decided at that moment to start drinking a lot more Gatorade, in order to compensate for the lost calories from the sports drink. I faithfully ate my Gus every 45 minutes and ate the pb sandwich during hours three and four.

The three-loop bike course definitely worked for me mentally. I was able to take the 112 mile course in three segments and monitor my effort that way. I also looked forward to coming back into town to see our parents and friends.

Let me also mention that I did not get off my bike once - not once, if you get my drift. Porta-potties were placed at every aid station, but yours truly took care of business on the bike. I kept waiting for a USAT official to catch me in the act and send me to the penalty tent...

When I hit the third loop of the bike, I was pumped. I was looking forward to getting off the bike and getting onto the run. It was also hot by this time of day. The temperature reached 76 degrees and all of us cyclists were baking on the asphalt. I spent the last 25 miles just focusing on hydration - and psychologically prepping for the marathon.

I came back into town for the last time, rode down the chute toward transition, heard my mom scream (probably something along the lines of, "Don't die on the run, please!") and was thrilled to no end to get off my bike and hand it to a volunteer.

After I dismounted from the bike, I felt awful: dizzy, nauseous, exhausted. "Mom told me I can't die on the run - I'll take it easy going through transition," I remember thinking, even though thinking hurt me all over, too.

It was going to be a long marathon...

Next post - Race Report: The Run!