140.6 – T2 (aka 0:14:10)

Photos: (Didn't actually have any pics of this transition as folks were very spread out by this point). But, since I have these of me coming out of transition, I thought I'd throw them in.
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I was so excited to be inside—out of the rain, out of the wind, out of the cold, and, most importantly, off my bike. I grabbed my T2 bag from the transition room and headed into the women’s changing room. Paula, one of the changing room volunteers, grabbed my bag as I sat down. She was a godsend—she helped me get my toe covers off my shoes as I started to peel off the other layers, then she dumped out my bag and started arranging things in logical order. As I stripped down again (no chance I was going to take off on the run with anything other than dry clothing), she handed me my towel, shorts, and sports bra, then asked what else I wanted and in what order. I grabbed my tri shirt (had to have the back pocket), then probably threw her a loop when I asked for my gel flask and Ziploc bag with my tums and Pepto, but I had to get that stuff settled in my tri shirt before I could do anything else. I did laugh, though—she took one look at my Endurolytes and started laughing—turns out Paula is a marathoner and knew exactly what those were—she was also very well aware of the fact that I likely wouldn’t need any due to the weather. I ended up stashing my Endurolytes tin from the bike in my pocket, though—figured I was better off having them just in case.

Once I had everything situated, I grabbed my long-sleeve shirt and pulled it on, then put dry socks and shoes on (Paula even helped me pull my shoes on). I grabbed my bag of notes and my “before” picture, shoved them in my jacket pockets, and shrugged into my jacket—I figured I wouldn’t have it on very long, but I was so fricking cold I didn’t care. Paula handed me my race number belt and I put it on, and, after giving her the bottles of Gatorade and water and the banana that I had in my bag but didn’t want, I thanked her profusely for her help and was out the door.

It’s funny, though—a number of people have asked me since the race how I managed to head out in that weather knowing that I still had to run a marathon, but the honest answer is I really didn’t think about it like that. I remember heading out knowing that I just had the run left and feeling relieved that, at this point, I didn’t have to worry about mechanical issues or getting kicked in the head. I also remember knowing that I had to do two loops and then I would be done, and I know I was trying like hell to not take off too fast. But I don’t recall, however, ever thinking that I was facing a marathon—probably good at that point, but it does seem weird that the thought never occurred to me. Regardless, though, I crossed the timing mats yet again, ran through the run out arch, and was on my way one last time.