Our local paper, the Badische Neueste Nachrichten (BNN), had a kind of lottery, five winners get a bike ride with Sebastian Kienle. First I asked Martin but he showed little to no interest and it doesn't fit his training, anyway. Then I wrote that e-mail to the paper myself. Well, that's a classical 'be careful what you wish for' because the next couple of days after getting the mail that I won that prize, I was visualizing scenes of me way way behind everyone, maybe getting lost in the…

In T2, I tap dance again and rack my bike. All the practice of dismounting with my shoes still on the pedals was for naught (in Kansas, my transition on and off the bike will be with the shoes left on the bike). I take off my helmet, sunglasses and bike shoes. I put on my running shoes and as I tie the laces, I look into my bike shoes. I apparently left a power gel in there on the bike and gel is caked all on the inside. I laugh all the way to the "run out."

As I leave T2, a sense of…