Kev.
It is all about finishing what you started…
I am still on a high from finishing the race. After saying “Congratulations” the first question is always “So, how was it?” I wish I could put into words the overwhelming feeling of euphoria, accomplishment and pure joy I felt crossing that finish line hand in hand with Kevin, Brant and Lance. You probably won’t believe me, but I enjoyed every minute of the race: from the national anthem being sung prior to the starting gun, to the words “You are an ironman!” as we came down the finish chute, and all the pain in between.
We flew into Phoenix on Thursday with my parents and met Kevin’s mom, Mimi, at the airport. After checking into our condo Kevin and I headed to the ironman “village” in Tempe to check in. Unlike other races, we had to show our ID, get weighed and sign pages of waivers before they would put on our ironman wristbands and give us our numbers. My heart was racing – after a year of hard work and stress, I couldn’t believe that the day was finally here and tried to take in the whole experience. After checking in, we went to pick up our bikes, which we had a third party transport for us. I panicked when I realized that my back tire was flat, although we had just put in two new tubes before we left. We headed to the on-site bike support tent to have it looked at over night. It turned out just to be a pinched tube, but it definitely set off my nerves. The next couple of days went by so quickly. We drove the bike course and went for a test ride on the first 6 miles and were relieved to see how flat it was, although got to experience some of the wind that had sidelined racers in the past. We also jumped in the lake for a test swim one morning. It was a little freaky not to be able to see the turn-around point from the water since it was so far away, but otherwise the temperature was fine and there was no real current to speak of.
For the carbo-loading night before the race we made pasta with bread and salad. I couldn’t understand why Kevin bought 3 loaves of garlic bread and made a huge salad until a surprise walked through the door - my brother, Cary, his wife, Lorie, and my two nieces, Camy and Piper had come to cheer us on in person! I was so ecstatic to see them. You can’t underestimate what the power of support from family and friends brings to an event like this. However, knowing that we had to get up at 4:00 a.m. the next morning, we went to bed at 8:30 and Mimi “reiki”-ed me to help me sleep.
It was really cold Sunday morning as we got to the transition area at about 5:30 a.m. and you could feel the nerves and excitement in the air. What really struck me, though, was the sheer number of athletes. I read somewhere that there were 2200 athletes from 47 states in the US and 30 countries. Even more impressive was that the event required 3000 volunteers. The volunteers were so positive and amazing – stripping off your wetsuit, grabbing your transition bag to help you get changed, eat and back on the course, handing you water, Gatorade, gels or bananas on the bike and all of that and more (including coke, chicken broth, cookies, pretzels and grapes) on the run.
The 2.4 mile swim had a mass water start. Since I had seen some videos of the mass starts and Kevin had described how pummeled you can get if you get caught behind slower swimmers, Kevin and I swam towards the starting line of kayaks as soon as we jumped in. I couldn’t help but get choked up when hearing the national anthem, but then something strange happened – all my nervousness left, calm came over my body and I heard a voice say “let’s do this thing.” The gun went off, the crowd of spectators went crazy and the race was on! We did get pummeled. I got kicked in the gut and scratched on my legs and Kevin got hit in the eye, but stroke for stroke, Kevin and I did the entire swim side by side. We came out of the water together and went into our respective transition tents. I didn’t know if I would see him again during the race.
I love that our ironman race numbers for the bike and the run actually have our names printed on them. So imagine this: as I got on my bike and started down the road, all I could hear were screams of “Go Lisa” “You can do it, Lisa” “Looking good, Lisa!” Feeling like a rock star, I headed out on the first of 3 loops of the 112 mile course. The course was mostly flat with a gradual climb to the turn-around, then downhill back to the transition area. I actually liked the loops since it gave me a chance to see the boys and my family every time I was starting to get a little tired. Seeing Brant and Lance jump up and down screaming “Go Mom” gave me the energy to push through the course so I could see them again. Bob passed me at about mile 15 on the bike and it was the only time I saw him. Kevin was about 10 -15 minutes ahead of me the whole ride, so I got to see him almost every loop. The wind picked up on the second loop, which made it harder than it otherwise would have been, but I was still getting giddy each time I saw the miles tick by: 56, 72, 99, and back to transition. Once I completed the bike portion, knew that I would finish the race.
I was wobbly getting off the bike so when they asked me if I needed anything when I went back into the transition tent, I had an ART (active release technique) specialist stretch my legs. Feeling pretty good, I headed out on the run. With hugs and kisses from the kids, I was off on my first of 3 loops on the run. I can hold my own in swimming, have learned to love road biking, but let’s face it, I am just not a runner. But for the sake of all my “fans” chanting my name, I started out with a jog. As I crossed the bridge around mile 5, I saw Kevin on the trail below. I picked up the pace and caught up with him, and we stayed together for the next 21 miles, while the sun set and darkness covered the course. During this time I met a cancer survivor, a grandfather, a new mom, and countless others. Everyone had a story to tell and a smile on their face. But to each individual, on that day nothing else mattered. It was going to end with each one of us being an ironman. When Kevin and I began our jog through the finish chute, the boys were waiting for us. Lance led the way (of course) and the crowd went wild.
“Limits? What limits. You can do anything you set your mind to.” I understand that now.
Lisa
