Post race (marathon) / Pre race (bike)

The thrill of finishing the most amazing race EVER was soon replaced by the realization that it was friggin’ cold outside and the beads of sweat that were starting to form on my forehead would soon freeze solid and make me that much colder (assuming that was even possible). There wasn’t a lot of standing around, but rather a quick dash back to my tent to strip my running clothes off and try my best to dry the clothes that were going to pull double duty today in both the marathon and the bike race.

According to Richard, the bike race was going to start soon after the conclusion of the marathon, but with three-quarters of the people still out on the course when I finished and several of those on their 5th or 6th laps, I figured I could count on a good 4 or 5 hours (at least) before I’d be doing ANY bike riding – sufficient time to get something to eat, walk off some of the marathon, and possibly get a quick nap in. I wasn’t tired and I wasn’t particularly hungry, so I went for a walk to support the people still out on the course.

I walked the course in reverse by starting down the runway with wheelchair athlete William Tan (who by that time had roughly 15 miles to go). When we got to the end of the runway, I veered left and made my way to the finish line. Richard was there with Tommy (who won the marathon) and that was about it. Tommy was looking cold, so he went back to camp leaving me there with Richard (who by that time had been standing outside for the past 7 hours). Speaking for myself, I was friggin’ cold! Richard looked downright comfortable.

After about an hour of wandering around, I had enough and returned to camp. I still wasn’t tired, but I was hungry, so I went by the canteen and made a cup of split pea soup with rice to hopefully provide me with some energy to get through the bike race. It went down well and I felt surprisingly good in light of what I had just done. After the feast, I returned to the sleeping tent to get my bike gear in order and only then did I feel the urge to lie down.. not to sleep, but rather just to take a load off my feet and have a little down time.. 20 seconds later I was passed out in my bed – totally dead to the world..

”Bobby Bostic?!”
”Bobby Bostic??”
”Are you in here Bobby Bostic???” - said a voice with an Irish accent. It was Richard Donovan (race director).

”The bike race is just about to start – you need to get up NOW!”