This first run actually felt very good. This is a strong pace for me. I was pretty much behind almost everyone, but I kind of expected that. The first AG women passed me at about 15 minutes (they started 5 minutes after the men). I really enjoyed the Canal Walk section of the course. Even though the pavement was harder there, it was a unique and enjoyable scene.

I'm not sure what I would do differently. I possibly could have picked up the pace some.

Knowing I wasn't going to win the race, I took my time... but I still forgot my gloves! (Turned out not to be a problem.) Changed shoes and socks, and put cycling shorts on over my one-piece uniform, and ran out to the bike mount area. As I was in T1, the elite male race started. Kinda fun to be a part of 2 race starts!

I could have been a little better organized: layout the T-area better. I could have not forgotten my gloves. I could learn the whole "put-your-shoes-on-the-bike-ahead-of-time-then-run-and-jump-on-the-bike-putting-your-feet-in-the-shoes-later" thing.

The cramps started as soon as I got on my bike, although they didn't become disabling until later on. They started in my calves, then moved to my quads, groin, and hamstrings. By slowing down (and walking half of the steep hill once on the 3rd of 4 loops), I was able to "manage" the cramps and take in enough hydration to start feeling a little better. But it made for a slow, overall, bike ride.

The course support was not made for BOPers like me. They only had 1 aid station, and it only had water. There were a couple times when I was running out of hydration and I wasn't sure if I could make it to the aid station again.

I also had stomach problems and I'm not sure why. I often use Powerbars in training, but hadn't used them in a race yet, so that might have been part of it.

But other than my lack of proper nutrition and training, it was a nice ride. Very scenic. Perfect weather. Lots of spectators. Fun.

I need to figure out this hydration/nutrition thing.

No real problems, but pretty much took my time to be safe that I didn't start cramping up.

Again, I could learn the whole dismount-without-shoes thing.

The second run didn't feel so great, but because I had gone slower on the bike and was able to catch up on my hydration somewhat, it wasn't too bad. I'm actually surprised that my pace is as good as it is.

This run was more of a walk/run. I would run until a cramp started to come up, or until my stomach said to slow down. Then I'd walk until I felt better. I played leapfrog with a couple other runners: my run was faster than theirs, but their jog was faster than my walk. One of them I eventually passed; the other eventually left me behind.

I drank Gatorade from the aid stations, filling my bottle when I arrived. The volunteers were again very supportive.

Given everything that was going on, I think I did OK. I pushed when I could, slowed when I couldn't, kept a positive attitude, and kept moving forward. I was definitely determined to finish.

Triumphantly ran across the finish line. Then got a quick check from the medical person on the other side and was thankfully OK'd. She put an ice water-soaked cloth on my back (yeeooww!) which was nice, and I got some Gatorade and other post-race goodies. Stretched a little, then gathered up my stuff to head back to the room, get on a plane, and fly home! Got home about 1 AM due to delays.


Other than my nutrition not working, I also didn't train enough for this race. Being significantly overweight slows me down a lot too.


It was fun being part of Team USA. I don't know if I'll ever get the chance again, so I decided to take advantage of it. There were some really amazing athletes there, as well as a lot of very sexy bikes! It was a great experience being part of the Parade of Nations and being around people who had come from all over the world to do this race. All the athletes that I met were very friendly and very motivated; very inspirational.