adventure, and family. Yet, as I look around the room, my story involves new people that God has brought into my life for a purpose and I smile. "John- John" throws a terrible 2's tantrum while his Dad drinks a beer and pretends not to hear it but that's impossible. His 4 year old brother James threatens to "pile-drive" me so I lock him into the "Boston Crab" move I learned from Nintendo WWF and perfected on my sister. Stacey tends to the little guy so that there Mom Amy might keep some sanity that is foreign to most mothers who have a 2 and 4 year old. Kelcy, Laura, and Hannah are all laughing at the little boys while asking me crazy questions regarding how athletes "relieve themselves" during such a race like Ironman (I'll save that for another day). And my long lost friend Erin finishing up her amazing pre-race meal of lasagna, salad, and garlic bread, to which I successfully added a whole lot more butter to in a moment she wasn't looking. I end the night spending a few minutes responding to texts and calls from friends and family. I assure my Mom that I will be fine but don't stop praying, and that Dad should sell my triathlete bike (my most valuable possession) but must keep my dog if anything goes south. Than I reflect on the good people He has surrounded me with and I see that in some of life's coolest moments, you are rarely alone.After a restless nights sleep, the alarm goes off at 5 AM and I know the Ironman is finally here. In my OCD preparation, I have already prepared everything for that morning. I simply walk 2 feet, and all my gear, clothes, and food is laid out for me. I am anxious, nervous, but excited. I am not thinking Julie Moss, but Dave Scott and Mark Allen (both 6x winners of Hawaii). I feel good and after eating some food, its time to get this party started.
As I walk down to the race site, you can feel the energy in the air. Its absolutely crazy! Athletes from all over the world and there families have migrated to Panama City Beach, Florida to compete in what many call one of the toughest endurance events in the world. My mind is flying so I cannot recall what I was thinking but I see my heart rate is fricken 123 bpm (resting: 47 bpm)! Task number 1 is to pump up my tubular wheels which is a process that may have stole some sleep. After the anxiety attack of trying to fill the disc wheel (not a bad problem though- thanks Bruce!), the bike is good to go. Green and looking hot- I may or may not have kissed it multiple times. I throw my slick aero helmet in my bike bag (thanks Rachel!), grab my wetsuit and meet the crew for some pictures. Its now 20 minutes from the 7 AM swim start and a long day in Florida.
Swim- 2.4 Miles
Its a beautiful morning in Florida. The air is crisp, slight wind, and its all blue skies! I notice the "pancake flat" waters of the days before are gone. There is a good chop which should make the swim a bit more challenging for everyone. After goodbyes to Stace, Amy, and Erin, its time to jockey for position among the 3000 lined up over a football fields length along the beach. I talk to this Australian guy before we started and some calming quotes from Dumb and Dumber came into my head which wa
s nice ("That's a lovely accent you have. New Jersey?", "Austria", "Austria! Well, then. G'day mate! Let's put another shrimp on the barbie!") As a good swimmer, the game plan was to be in the first 3 rows of my area, hammer 400 meters and see what was going on. If I could find the "60 minute group" to swim with- do it. After what seemed like eternity (2 minutes), the MC who was telling everyone "if you are not good at swimming, be in the back of the pack or risk getting swam over", gave us the 10 second countdown. Soon a cannon sounded and Ironman Florida began! To understand an Ironman swim, imagine taking a seat inside your washing machine, adding a few pairs of shoes, and hitting the wash cycle. Everyone thinks they're Michael Phelps but in reality they're probably more like Michael Jackson. So as planned, the field thinned by the first turnaround buoy, as reality hit for many "swimmers." The waves were challenging but I liked that because I knew others did not. I got into a decent rhythm where I felt pretty smooth, tried not to get kicked in the head, and finished the first of two 1.2 loops in good form. The second loop was easier than the first minus some big ogar who about scissor kicked my head off, but I was out of the water in 58min and some change which put me in 72nd place overall- don't want to build any suspense- that did not last! Swim to Bike Transition
Got out of the water, this Nazi "wetsuit stripper" yelled at me to lie down. So I did. She quickly ripped it off, handed it back to me, and said "Go!" So I did. Seriously felt like Forrest Gump in a few unique ways. The rest of transition felt like a sheep being led to the slaughter. I was just following the masses and did what they told me. Put my cycling shoes on, helmet, food in jersey, and got the green machine and was off on what would be a interesting long ride!
Bike- 112 Miles
As I jumped on my smoking hot bike/ girlfriend for many years, I settled in for the long haul. This course was flat and fast, which was good, but as a result prone to a few things: wind and cheaters. Put those two together and you have a very frustrating combination. For the record, I am a decent cyclist, yet each race this discipline is where I lose the most time to my competetors. I blame my Colombia genetics as they are generally known to be great "climbers" and not the best "time-trialists." But in truth, I am just lazy and never lift weights thus I am not that strong (145lb weigh-in!). Having a good swim and being in front of quite a few people, I quickly realized that regardless if I was Lance (well maybe not him) but say a better cyclist, I could never compete with the masses of cy
clist working together (cheating). So I settled into my own race, fought the 15-20 mph headwind myself, and may or may not have let a few comments out as these "peletons" passed me. What was hard to swallow, is that I knew a few of these athletes, but I made the decision to do it "fair!" Screw them. On another note, I would not care if I never drank another bottle of Gatorade again. My nutrition plan was perfect though and much love and credit goes to being the case study for 12 awesome dietetic interns at Vanderbilt. Lucky me! My plan of 40 oz/ hr of sports drink and water, accompanied with 300 calories (Clif Bars, Shot Blocks, and Gels) went very well. My stomach felt great the whole ride, wish I had better legs, but was happy to get back home and start the Marathon slightly frustrated, yet in good spirits.
clist working together (cheating). So I settled into my own race, fought the 15-20 mph headwind myself, and may or may not have let a few comments out as these "peletons" passed me. What was hard to swallow, is that I knew a few of these athletes, but I made the decision to do it "fair!" Screw them. On another note, I would not care if I never drank another bottle of Gatorade again. My nutrition plan was perfect though and much love and credit goes to being the case study for 12 awesome dietetic interns at Vanderbilt. Lucky me! My plan of 40 oz/ hr of sports drink and water, accompanied with 300 calories (Clif Bars, Shot Blocks, and Gels) went very well. My stomach felt great the whole ride, wish I had better legs, but was happy to get back home and start the Marathon slightly frustrated, yet in good spirits. Bike to Run Transition
Just happy to be off the bike- got really bored the last hour. Again, like sheep to the slaughter but had a really funny conversation with the "helper" in transition. During our 90 second conversation, while I took off come cycling gear and put on running shoes, we laughed and made light of such a long race. Wish I knew his name, because he really gave me the lift and perspective I needed in that moment.
Run- 26.2 Miles
The course again was flat and familiar to me as I did an early season race on it. Its just the idea of running a marathon after 5 1/2 hours on a bike that's a tad daunting. Yet, coming out on the course I saw my gang! I gave them all a hug, took a picture, and headed out feeling energized. I settled into an easy pace that I knew I could maintain for hours without much trouble. The emphasis was on eating, staying hydrated, and having fun. I ran with this German guy for the first 13 miles
which kept me sharp...kind of. We talked about family, beer, racing, and poked fun of other racers. I felt like a moran when I initially asked him if he was from Boston...to which he replied "Germany!" I also asked if him if Germany hated us for our steroid-infused picture of Drago in Rocky IV...to which he replied "Soviet Union." Not sure how sharp I actually was in that moment. Yet, we'd run through aid stations asking for "Cerveza" and this made me laugh. After 8 hrs I still had no problem smiling and enjoying the moment. I ran the next 10 miles with a middle school principle from Alabama. He had 3 boys and another on the way. At one point on the course, you run over this mat which identifies who you are. In front of you is a big jumbo screen where encouraging comments from families and friends appear (if they typed them in at the expo). Nothing for me, but my little man (seriously maybe 5 ft 2 inch's) had some great stuff from his boys. It read "Finish quickly Dad! We miss you and can't wait to see you!" We'll my man starts crying as we run. Feeling touched but somewhat in an awkward moment...I tell him "to save that water- he might need it later in the race!" The sun's seriously going down, and my body is actually feeling awesome. My pace has been solid but much slower than my pre-race goal. Maybe I was scared to "blow up" ala Julie Moss, but I'm guessing the harder than expected bike was the culprit. Yet, I figured I would drop the little principle and hammer (faster shuffle) the last 3 miles to ensure I finished under 11 hrs. Coming back into town and reaching the masses that surround the finish line, I feel both overwhelmed and relieved. My quest to conquer the Ironman is finished. I cross the finish line pointing up to Him with my hand across my heart. He has allowed me to do this, provided all my strength, and has taught me so much in these moments together. This endeavor was finally over yet I know the journey has just begun!
which kept me sharp...kind of. We talked about family, beer, racing, and poked fun of other racers. I felt like a moran when I initially asked him if he was from Boston...to which he replied "Germany!" I also asked if him if Germany hated us for our steroid-infused picture of Drago in Rocky IV...to which he replied "Soviet Union." Not sure how sharp I actually was in that moment. Yet, we'd run through aid stations asking for "Cerveza" and this made me laugh. After 8 hrs I still had no problem smiling and enjoying the moment. I ran the next 10 miles with a middle school principle from Alabama. He had 3 boys and another on the way. At one point on the course, you run over this mat which identifies who you are. In front of you is a big jumbo screen where encouraging comments from families and friends appear (if they typed them in at the expo). Nothing for me, but my little man (seriously maybe 5 ft 2 inch's) had some great stuff from his boys. It read "Finish quickly Dad! We miss you and can't wait to see you!" We'll my man starts crying as we run. Feeling touched but somewhat in an awkward moment...I tell him "to save that water- he might need it later in the race!" The sun's seriously going down, and my body is actually feeling awesome. My pace has been solid but much slower than my pre-race goal. Maybe I was scared to "blow up" ala Julie Moss, but I'm guessing the harder than expected bike was the culprit. Yet, I figured I would drop the little principle and hammer (faster shuffle) the last 3 miles to ensure I finished under 11 hrs. Coming back into town and reaching the masses that surround the finish line, I feel both overwhelmed and relieved. My quest to conquer the Ironman is finished. I cross the finish line pointing up to Him with my hand across my heart. He has allowed me to do this, provided all my strength, and has taught me so much in these moments together. This endeavor was finally over yet I know the journey has just begun!
Special thanks to my family, friends Kelcy, Laura, Hannah, Stace, Erin, Amy, Bart, Chris and Sarah, the lil ones, Kendall for the support and also leaving the country which gave me a great reason to do IMF, my awesome swim coaches Carol Carr and Chris McPherson, Trace Bikes (they are the best-seriously), Bruce, Rachel, Ed, Cory, Zafer, VUMC Dietetic Interns and Charlotte, Will (training, racing, challenging me), and all of you whom I may have missed and who deserve a hug- thank you. If you made it this far- January 4th will make a huge chapter in my life. Hope to reveal that to everyone in a few days...
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