Ironman - 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. People train for years for this event. All the months of training come down to one day. - 17 hours to be exact (that's the time limit to complete it.) My friend, Jeff, was doing his first Ironman in Cambridge, Maryland. When I heard about it earlier this year, I decided that I had to go and cheer him on. I have seen him training all year - in the pool, on the bike & at the track. We train together when the workouts allow - his volume is always just a wee bit higher than mine (go figure!) The day before the race, I headed out to Cambridge with my friend, Dave. He has earned the title of greatest friend ever because it was his job to drive me across the bay bridge & keep me calm on that four mile span & he did an awesome job of it. Even now, as I write this, I get nervous about that darn bridge (fears are so stupid!)
Our plan when we got to Cambridge was to run 14 miles on the Eagleman 70.3 course - this would serve as my training run for Marine Corps. We met up with Jeff & Erin and after Jeff was checked in and getting his things ready for transition, Dave, Erin & I headed out for our run. Jeff was going to meet us at the halfway point for a water stop. The first 4-1/2 or 5 miles were fine. Dave & Erin were a little ahead of me (no surprise as they are stronger runners) and I was feeling good. Then out of no where, I started having trouble breathing. I thought I would walk for a bit, but it didn't seem to get better. I was watching the others running ahead of me & thought to myself this was a crappy day to start running without my phone! I was in the "energy lab" area of the run - where the air is still & there is no shade. It was like the air was sucked right out of my lungs. I finally stopped walking & had to bend over to try to catch my breath again. Hyperventilating is no fun. I have had this happen to me twice before but it is normally when I am emotional at the end of a race. It happened at mile 25-1/2 in Anchorage in 1999 & once earlier this year. In Cambridge, I'm not sure what caused it, but I was able to get it under control with a little walking. Once I started moving again, Jeff pulled up beside me & asked what was wrong. I told him & he told me to get in the truck. I said no thanks - I would start running again & meet him up ahead with the others. He didn't look too pleased with me & later told me he was watching in the rear view mirror to make sure I didn't collapse. I ended up feeling okay and finally caught up with the others. Dave suggested I cut a few miles off the run & ride back a few miles. I didn't argue. I didn't want to run that section of road again. Hats off to all the people that can succesfully run that stretch of road. I'm just thankful it wasn't 25 degrees hotter that day. Jeff would probably found me lying on the side of the road! All in all, I was able to get 10 miles done that day. I was happy when it was over - I was able to sit and put my feet in the Choptank & relax while I waited for Erin & Dave to get back.
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| Beautiful way to start a race! |
Once the run was finished, it was time for the fun to begin (for me at least!) I was excited to be there as a sherpa - Jeff might not need anything, but I was determined to have a good time on the course cheering him on! I joked that I had been training all season for this & realized I had been at all but two of the triathlons he had done this season - so maybe I had been training without knowing it? I have so much fun going to the races - there is no pressure & I enjoy cheering on everyone & love being there for my friends. Jeff & Dave are both part of Team FeXY, a national amateur sports team and there were ten members racing at Ironman Maryland. Thanks to Dave, I was decked out in a FeXY shirt & sweatshirt and felt like part of the team & I was ready to cheer for everyone.
We headed out from the hotel a little after 5am. Jeff was so calm - I would have been a nervous wreck, but he seemed to be taking it all in stride. As the sun started to rise, it was time for the national anthem & the start of the race. There wasn't much to do after the swim started, so I wandered around & checked out transition. It was so different from the smaller tris I had been to. There were only bikes on the racks & everything else that are usually on towels next to the bike (clothes, helmets, shoes) were off in another locations. When we knew the swimmers were getting close to finishing the 2.4 miles, we moved to a good location to be able to see Jeff & the rest of his teammates come out of the water. Apparently there were wet-suit strippers there, but I didn't get to see them in action - bit disappointed to have missed that! Once Jeff came through to get his bag, we headed over to the bike out area to see him head out for the
112 mile ride. Erin, Dave & I headed out to grab some breakfast & then found our way to mile 58 of the bike course. The FeXY tent was there along with a bunch of their team, so we were able to hang out & cheer people on as they came through. After Jeff passed by, we headed out on the bike course to find a good spot to cheer on the triathletes. We found a great one at mile 88 - except for the mosquitoes! I had wandered down the road from the car to get a better view of who was coming & looked down to see my leg covered in those blood suckers. My reaction was to start slapping the heck out of my legs & arms. Needless to say, some found my dance quite entertaining! Thankfully, they didn't stay long enough to bite me. We saw Jeff a few more times & headed back to transition to get ready for the final leg - the marathon. As we were walking down to transition, someone calls out to us - it was Jeff on his bike - he had beaten us back. The run course was three loops, so we were splitting up. Dave & I were heading out to one end the course & Erin was heading the other way to watch with family.
Our spot was great, there was a street that cut through to another section, so we were able to save time & see people a lot. We were goofy & offering nutter butters to everyone - not many people took us up on our offer, but we were having a great time & got a few laughs!
Soon, Jeff was on his last lap & we headed up to the finish line. It was so exciting to see Jeff coming down the road with less than a mile to go. Then he was in the finisher's chute & running over the finish line. He had an incredible race - 11:07 for 140.6 miles. Words can't even explain how happy I am for my friend. I try to explain it to people at home & get so excited & they probably think I am nuts. It is such a huge accomplishment & I am really proud of him and everyone who raced that day. One of their teammates, Nate, finished in 2nd place & earned an invitation to the 2015 world championships in Kona & last year in Arizona, he earned a spot for this year - pretty damn awesome! Congratulations on a great race & good luck at Kona in 2 weeks!
Ironman Maryland was an incredible experience & one that I hope to repeat next year - as a spectator. I wonder if I will ever be ready to sign up for one of these. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. For now, I am going to focus on Oct 26th & then thinking about the races for next season. Life is an amazing adventure & I am so glad to be on this new road!
I've tried my hand at video & it doesn't work out so well. I will stick with photography.
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| You are an IRONMAN! |
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| Beautiful ending to the day! |
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