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Transplant Athlete
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
  You Spin Me Right Round Baby

This past weekend I rode in the 24 Hours Of Booty in Columbia, MD. I'm 4 months post transplant and I'm finishing up a kitchen remodel, so I haven't trained for any kind of distance. The morning of the ride, I scrambled to get everything together, but I was able to get to Columbia and get my tent set up with a couple hours to relax.

While I was sitting there outside my tent resting, I heard a voice that sounded vaguely familiar and seconds later two men walked between my tent and the one next to me. It was Paul Gimbel. We were college roommates, he got me my first job in Virginia, we co-founded Tri-Mech Solutions and we hadn't seen each other in a decade. His goal for the ride was 300 miles and his friend Bob was hoping to do 150. I was just hoping to have fun, at least hit 100 miles to prepare for the Chuck and Crista Weekend Centuries. He got to see my wife ABL and meet my kids for the first time. I got to see his wife Heather and meet his two kids.

Last year the weather was brutal. I wrote about it here. This year the weather was awesome: sunny and mild temperatures. Earth Treks had a support stop on the backside of the course with watermelon, energy bars, and drinks from Trader Joes. There was more selection at the main area (Bootyville), but you had to pull off the course and park the bike, so I liked this stop best. I rode the first 10 or 15 miles with Paul, but he was gunning for that 300 miles and I couldn't hold the pace. I backed off and rode my own ride. About 70 miles into the ride, I was feeling really bloated. My body wasn't used to riding and taking in food and fluids and I knew from past experience, the best thing to do would be to get some rest and let my body get some recovery time in.

I went to sleep for a couple hours, but I still wasn't feeling well when I woke up, so I changed out of my stinky cycling clothes, went back to sleep, and woke up around midnight for the Three Brothers pizza. I went back to sleep. I had some food when I woke up and got back on the bike around 8 am. I started cranking out laps. When I got to 100 miles, my legs started feeling really good and I flew up the gradual climb on the back side, lap after lap. The short steep climb near Bootyville was hit or miss, sometimes I felt like big ringing it, sometimes I just had to slog up it.

Paul was racing to finish with 300 miles. Every couple of laps, he would pass me and tell me his mileage. He was worried he wouldn't make it. I hit my limit and 125 miles with about 10 minutes left in the 24 hours, so I pulled off the course. Paul hit his goal with minutes to spare.

 

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I've gone through kidney failure twice. The first time in 2000, my mother donated a kidney; and again in 2008, I'm on dialysis waiting for a breakthrough in immuno-suppression medicines before seeking a new kidney.

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