BEFORE THE RACE
140.6 miles. That is a long way. Going into this I expected it to be
extremely difficult but it was even harder. It is difficult to explain what
happens to you during a 140.6 mile race and all the things that you go through
but I will do my best. My race really started the night before. I had the best
support crew of anyone in this race. That is not hyperbole. A total of eleven
friends and family drove all the way to Panama City Beach Florida for the
single purpose of cheering and supporting me. I can not express how much this
meant to me and how much it helped me throughout the longest day of my life.
The night before, I wanted to say "thank you" to everyone so I took
everyone out to dinner. An early dinner of course. It was a great time with lots
of laughs and discussion of strategy for how they would keep track of me during
the race. There were a few comments that I looked nervous and I guess I was. It
was difficult to not think about what I was about to attempt. At eight o'clock
I finally said good night. I got back to my room by 8:15 and by 8:30 I was in
bed. I had checked my bike and transition bags at bike check-in earlier that
day so there was nothing left to do but get a good nights sleep.
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| Pre-Race Dinner with Family and Friends |
I was actually able to sleep much better than I expected. I'm not
sure the exact time I finally fell asleep but I believe I was able to get 5-6
hours of sleep. The alarm was set for 4:30 but I woke before that, some time
around 4. I used this time to gather my thoughts, say a prayer, reminded
myself to stay in the moment for the rest of the day and enjoy it. Breakfast
was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a banana and 2 zebra cakes. I know,
breakfast of champions right? Lacie, part of that all-star support crew, showed
up right at 4:30 to help me gather a few things that I hadn't checked the day
before. I grabbed my wetsuit and goggles and headed out. I should mention the
goggles were American flag goggles. I had the great fortune of being assigned
race number 1776 so the American flag/Capt. America motif would be a theme
throughout the day. The condo where I was staying was right next to the start
of the race, which made race morning much less stressful. I even forgot safety
pins for my timing chip and was able to quickly run back to the room without
any problems. Race site was crazy. People were everywhere. Most people seemed
frantic but I was able to stay pretty calm. I dropped off special needs bags
and made my way to body marking. I was worried there would be a huge line but I
was able to walk right up, get marked and keep going. The volunteer did a great
gob. Big numbers. All straight. After body marking I still needed to top off
the air in my tires and get my bike set up and ready to ride. Transition was a
mad house. It was a bit surreal to be as calm as I was while everyone else
seemed to be losing their minds. I just went through my mental checklist and
ignored everyone else. I made one last check of my gear bags and made my way to
the beach for the swim start.
Once I got to the beach, Lacie and I met up with David, Karen, Everett an Audra. It was awesome getting to see them before the start. I think chatting with them helped my nerves as it got closer to race start.
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| Calming the nerves before IMFL start |
When the pro men started I knew that I had ten minutes before it was my turn. I told everyone I would see them as soon as I could, said good bye and walked to the swim start. I waded in among the other racers until I found a nice spot close to the front and near the center as we spread out along the beach.
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| Walking to swim start |
National anthem then, BOOM! The canon fired and the race started. An Ironman swim start actually starts slower than you may think. Most people walked slowly into the water and carefully tried to make their way past the breakers. Not me. I was ready to get started. I jogged into the water and at the first breaker I dove headfirst.
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| The swim start to Ironman Florida 2013 |
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| IMFL 2013 swim start |
As the water rolled over me I thought, "OK. Here I am. I'm swimming in and Ironman!" I was quickly reminded that I was swimming with 3000+ of my closest friends. Imagine standing in a 10x10 room with 20 other people all blindfolded and flailing their arms and legs. It really was that bad. I was kicked, punched, swam over, you name it. At one point someone actually grabbed my ankle and pulled me backward so they could get a little momentum. That person was kicked in their face. Hard. The water wasn't too rough but there was a bit of chop, which made sighting a little tough. I basically gave up trying to sight and just followed the crowd. I felt I was swimming strong. I was passing more than I was being passed. After the first turn buoy we were swimming east straight into the rising sun. It was now practically impossible to site. I decided the best thing to do was to swim to the left of the big flaming yellow ball rising in the distance. This worked out surprisingly well. On the way back to shore I was able to site using the hotel that was being used for the race site and transition. About a quarter mile from shore I began to feel a hot spot on my neck where my wet suit was rubbing. I had anticipated this and applied copious amounts of body glide that morning but apparently it wasn’t enough. As I got out of the water I saw the time said 48 minutes. I was a little bummed about this because I wanted to at least do 45 minutes for the first lap. I quickly grabbed a water from the aid station to rinse the salt out of my mouth and ran through the crowd to get back in the water for my second loop of the swim. As I settled into the second lap I realized that the time I saw when I finished the first lap was for the pros, which meant that my time was actually 38 min. This meant that I was on pace for a 1:16 swim. Much better than I expected. I wrongly assumed that the mass of people and all the fighting would die down on the second lap but it was more of the same. By this point I was used to it and kind of enjoying the hand-to-hand combat. As I exited the water for the last time I thought to myself, "You just finished the swim of an Ironman and you're still going. So far so good." Final swim time was 1:21. This means I slowed down on the second lap but only a bit and that is to be expected. Coming into the race I was expecting a 1:25 at best so I was very excited at this point.
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| Swim exit, headed to T1 |
I ran out of the water and past the wetsuit strippers. I did not
want to deal with having to wash sand off after lying on the ground. Besides, I
can get my wetsuit off just as fast. I took a few seconds to stand under the
showers to rinse the salt of the water off then hurried into T1 (Transition 1).
The wetsuit came off easily. I had lubed my ankles that morning to make sure
the suit would slide off easily. Ironman transitions are much longer than other
triathlon transitions. It is a long day and you want to make sure you are as
comfortable as possible. I took the time to dry off as best I could. I had a
bit of a problem getting into my bike jersey because I was still a little wet
and the jersey fits tight. Socks, bike shoes, helmet, Capt. America arm warmers
and off I went. Coming out of transition I let a volunteer apply sunscreen to my
arms and neck. OUCH! That hot spot where the wetsuit rubbed my neck did not
like the sunscreen. I ran through transition, grabbed my bike and headed out.
Most of the racers seemed to stop right at the bike mount line to get on their
bikes but I ran a little farther to get out of all the congestion.
Once I got on my bike I really started settling down. I knew I would
be out there for a while and just wanted to take my time and settle into the
ride. The first thing I did was say a little prayer for my bike and that I
would have no mechanical issues or flats. This was a reoccurring theme for the
entire ride. The bike course is pretty flat with the exception of a large
bridge on HWY 79 and a few hills on HWY 20. I started out slightly faster than
I wanted and had to remind myself to take it easy for the first 30 miles or so
then see how I feel. At this point I was really having a good time. I was
working hard but didn’t want to cook my legs. I started my nutrition around
mile 20 and averaged around 270 calories per hour for the ride. This is a
little higher than I wanted but not by a lot. I would rather have too much than
too little. There was a slight headwind going out but not enough to make a big
difference at the beginning. I did not look at my speed (well, I tried not to).
I really wanted to keep my heart rate in a range that I knew I could ride 112
miles with. A heart rate of 125 was my goal and based on my data I was able to
maintain an average HR of 127. I am very pleased with this although my average speed
was much higher at that heart rate than I was expecting. At mile 30 I started
getting the urge to pee. By mile 40 I was ready to pop. I was seriously
considering just peeing on the bike when I finally came to an aid station with
port-a-johns. I lost a lot of time during this break but my average speed was
up to 17.4 MPH at this point so I knew I had a little in the bank. By the time
I hit the halfway point at mile 56, I was averaging 17 MPH and this was
becoming a bit of a concern. I had expected to average between 16 and 16.25 and
was worried that I was cooking my legs. I kept telling myself that I felt good
and my heart rate was where I wanted it. Things didn’t get bad until mile 65
when the course took us back to HWY 20 and we headed west, straight into a
headwind. This was also the first time we ran into hills of any consequence.
With this combination of wind and hills, my speed dropped significantly and I
was getting frustrated for the first time all day. I knew I had to fight
through this and told myself that I had been expecting and was prepared for it.
I knew that I just had to make it to mile 80 and we would turn back onto HWY 79
and head back into PCB with a tailwind the whole way.
I started having to pee again around mile 70 but really did not want
to have to wait in another line at an aid station. I stopped at a small bridge
so I could use the rail to prop my bike and peed on the side of the road. The
rules say this is a violation but I just didn’t care.
I was extremely excited to make it to mile 80 and turn back south.
My speed had dropped over the last 20 miles but I was still able to keep my
average above my expected range. Once I was back on HWY 79 and the wind was at
my back, my speed started to pick back up again. Nutrition was going well and I
was feeling good once again. I started comparing the distances remaining to
what I would ride at home. “Only 30 miles to go. No big deal, I do that on my
lunch break.” With about 5 miles to go I passed my brother Davy and my niece
and nephew, Dusty and Garrett. It was great to see them and got me excited
about seeing the rest of my support crew during the run. The best thing I can
say about the bike was that I never got to the point that I was sick and tired
of being on the bike. By the end I was definitely ready to get off but not as
bad as I was expecting. I had planned to take my feet out of my bike shoes and
the leave the shoes clipped onto the bike but decided there really was no
advantage to this considering that the time saved was minimal and the risk of
falling on my face was high. One of the great things about a race of this size
is there is a volunteer to help you at every stage. Once I dismounted the bike
I simply handed it off to a volunteer to re-rack for me.
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| I look pretty good for having just ridden 112 miles. |
After handing off my bike I ran to grab my T2 (Transition 2) bag and
quickly made my way into the men’s changing area. I found an empty chair and
called for a volunteer to give me a hand. It was a little odd. I was still in a
hurry but there were a lot guys sitting around and talking while changing gear.
They had no sense of urgency at all. They were just having a nice Saturday
afternoon chat. It was a bit comical and I couldn’t help but laugh. I quickly
stripped out of my bike gear and handed it to the volunteer that was helping me.
He asked if that was all and I told it was. He left with my bag before I
realized that I still had my tri shorts and heart rate monitor. At that point
there was nothing to do but take them on the run with me and hope that I saw
one of my support crew early in the run. I pulled on my running clothes,
including my Capt. America run shirt and headed out of T2.
THE RUN
I was very excited about getting to see my friends and family and
began looking for them immediately as I ran out of T2. I made it about 200
yards and saw my mom and dad. It was fantastic. They were both cheering and
holding signs. I was so happy to see them and I really wanted to stop but my
quads had already started to cramp a little and I knew I needed to keep
running. I tossed my tri shorts and heart rate monitor into their chairs, waved
and kept going. I was very worried about my legs cramping. This was not
something I wanted to deal with for the next 26 miles. Not far after passing
mom and dad, I saw Lacie, Everett and Audra. They ran along side me and chatted
a little but were worried about getting me in trouble since we weren’t supposed
have outside runners with us. This worry was short lived, but more on that
later. They told me I should see Dave and Karen around mile 5. The quads stayed
pretty tight and teetered on the verge of cramping through the whole first mile
but by mile 1.5 my legs started to loosen up and by mile 2 all cramping was
completely gone. My run plan was to run to each aid station and walk through
while drinking water and eating whatever they had. This planned lasted until
mile 3 when my stomach decided it had had enough. At this point I couldn’t even
take a sip of water without it wanting to come back up. I decided to walk more
often until my stomach settled and I could start taking in hydration and
calories again. I had been hoping to see Dave and Karen sooner and was on the
lookout for their matching Capt. America t-shirts. I finally saw them as I
rounded the corner just after mile 5. Dave ran with me for a few minutes and left
me to run the park by myself and said he would wait for me at that spot.
Running through the park was bitter sweet. I was grateful to be at the
turnaround point but it is lonely and desolate out there. This is where things
began to get mentally dark and low. I was able to continue walking and running
because while I was exhausted, my body had not reached its stopping point yet.
Looking back I feel like this is a good justification that my training had me
physically prepared for the race. Mentally however, I was in a very bad place.
I was exhausted, I couldn’t eat and I knew I still had 20 miles to go.
As I exited the state park I knew I would get to see Dave and was looking forward to some company. I picked him out about 200 yards ahead and told myself I would run until I got to where he was. About 100 yards before reaching him he spotted me and started walking away as if he were going to walk until I caught him then start running alongside me. This was incredibly frustrating. I wanted to shout, “Just stop! I’ll be there in a second if you would just stop!” I finally gave up and just started walking within about 30 yards of reaching him. I told Dave that I was not doing well and while my stomach was starting to feel a small bit better, it still had not settled. Dave was great. He just kept telling me that I was doing great and looked good and that I had this and to trust my training. At the moment I thought he didn’t get it and didn’t understand but come to find out later, as soon as I left him he called Everett and Lacie to tell them that I was in a bad way and would need as much help as they could provide.
I was alone again for the next 2 miles and I’m not sure what happened but I have no recollection of this 2 mile stretch. Maybe I was on autopilot and just wanted to forget where I was and what I was doing. Maybe I’m repressing this traumatic moment in my life. I truly don’t know. I do remember being miserable and confused once I left Dave and Karen. Beyond that, it’s a blur. Somewhere around mile 10 I came upon Lacie. She was standing beside a belly dancer who was entertaining the racers at an aid station. It was great to see her (Lacie, not the belly dancer). I should take a moment here to express once again that my support crew was the best in the world. They got me through some very dark moments. From this moment at mile 10, I would not be alone for the rest of the entire race. That is 16 miles for those of you keeping track at home. My spirits definitely picked up at this point but I was still pretty exhausted. Because the course is an out and back, the road was divided in half with traffic cones. Once Lacie started running with me I began to use the cones to pace my run. The cones were spaced about 50 yards apart and I ran 3 cones then walked 1 then repeated. My stomach had started to settle at this time too. I was able to now start taking in water and chicken broth. The combination of Lacie joining me, my new run walk strategy and my stomach settling gave me new life. I can’t remember what we talked about but it was great having Lacie run with me and keep me company. She, like Dave, was incredibly supportive and positive. She continually told me how proud she was and that I was running strong. By the time we made it back to the main stretch on Thomas Dr. it had started getting dark and there were tons of crowd support. This was a lot of fun running through this area with everyone cheering and calling out Capt. America because of the shirt I was wearing. Just before the turnaround we saw Everett and Audra. Lacie dropped off here and Everett jumped in with me. Having this support system really helped and meant the world to me. Everett said he was ready to run with me as long I needed him to. We rounded the area for special needs and I saw Mom and Dad again. I waved and ran over and gave Mom a hug. Dad was taking video so I waved for the camera. When we made it back to Lacie, she picked back up with us. I had assumed Everett would drop off but he stayed with us. I was really glad he did. My spirits were as high at this point as they had been all day. I was still only able to maintain a run walk but I was mentally in a much better place than I had been just an hour and a half earlier. I was doing a run 2 cones, walk 1 at this point but Everett was able to get me to run 3, walk 1. I had started trying to tell Lacie and Everett how much it meant to me to have them out there with me but I don’t think I was ever really able to express just how important they were. They talked to me a lot and I answered back as best I could. Mostly I just listened. Around mile 16 I began to really feel the effects of the day. I had read that ironman gets the hardest during the last 10 miles and that is exactly what was happening to me. Mentally I was in an ok place because of my support crew but my body was reaching the point that it had had enough. Lacie told me that we would meet Dave and Karen at mile 18 so that was giving me something to look forward to. Even though Dave jumped in with me, Lacie and Everett stayed as well. Now I had 3 of my support crew running (it was more of a shuffle) with me.
Shortly after picking up Dave I actually stopped for the first time all day. I bent over with my hands on my knees and just stood in the middle of the road. After 132 miles I just needed a small break even if it was only for a few seconds. Dave didn’t want me to stop. He talked to me and got me going again by encouraging me and telling me to keep my momentum going forward. I think he knew that I was getting close to a wall. I was still keeping my run walk going although I was gradually running a little less. Once we made it to the state park I knew that I just needed to get to the turn around and at that point I would be headed back in to the finish. I walked a lot of the state park. I hoped that maybe if I walk a bit more through the park that maybe I would have enough in the tank to keep running on the way back to the finish. Just a few yards after the turn around I had to stop once again. Again Dave was there to keep me moving. At one point I looked over at a sand dune and said that I want to lay down there. I think they all thought I was kidding but I was not. Lacie made a joke about sand mites and we kept going. We met back up with Karen as we came out of the park. At this point Everett left with Karen so they would have time to make it to the finish line and Dave and Lacie stayed with me. Nutrition and hydration had been going well for the whole second loop and I was taking chicken broth and water at every aid station. The next 3 miles were much of the same, a run walk using the cones to help pace. I could tell Lacie was starting to struggle she had never come close to running or walking a distance like this yet there she was helping me get to the finish line. Things started to pick up at mile 24. I remember Lacie and Dave mentioning the 24 mile marker sign. This is when I knew I had it and it started to sink in that I was going to finish a 140.6 mile race. Its hard to describe how I was feeling. I could hear the announcer calling peoples names as they crossed the finish line and I new I would have my turn in a few minutes. I started trying to run faster but that wasn’t happening but I was able to run a little more and walking a little less. I was starting to get a little emotion with the end so close in sight. With less than a mile to go we round a curve and I see John Chandler and Jeanetta Bennett. They were all smiles and cheering for me. I mentioned to Lacie and Dave after we passed them that I was really glad that I was running and not walking when I passed them. With about a half mile to go I walked for the last time. I wanted to make sure that I was able to run all the way to the finish once I got into the finish shoot. Dave and Lacie peeled off and I was left alone for the first time since mile 10. Like I said, I had the best support crew in the entire race. Running down the finish shoot was incredible. I everyone was cheering and yelling and encouraging me. I wanted to go faster but I just wasn’t able to. As I got close to the finish line I saw my dad towering over everyone with his video camera on the left side of the shoot. I ran over and gave everyone high-fives as I ran past. Then I heard it. From Hattiesburg, Mississippi, JOHN MARK LAWLER, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!
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| Midway point of the first loop |
As I exited the state park I knew I would get to see Dave and was looking forward to some company. I picked him out about 200 yards ahead and told myself I would run until I got to where he was. About 100 yards before reaching him he spotted me and started walking away as if he were going to walk until I caught him then start running alongside me. This was incredibly frustrating. I wanted to shout, “Just stop! I’ll be there in a second if you would just stop!” I finally gave up and just started walking within about 30 yards of reaching him. I told Dave that I was not doing well and while my stomach was starting to feel a small bit better, it still had not settled. Dave was great. He just kept telling me that I was doing great and looked good and that I had this and to trust my training. At the moment I thought he didn’t get it and didn’t understand but come to find out later, as soon as I left him he called Everett and Lacie to tell them that I was in a bad way and would need as much help as they could provide.
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| Running with Dave on the first loop |
I was alone again for the next 2 miles and I’m not sure what happened but I have no recollection of this 2 mile stretch. Maybe I was on autopilot and just wanted to forget where I was and what I was doing. Maybe I’m repressing this traumatic moment in my life. I truly don’t know. I do remember being miserable and confused once I left Dave and Karen. Beyond that, it’s a blur. Somewhere around mile 10 I came upon Lacie. She was standing beside a belly dancer who was entertaining the racers at an aid station. It was great to see her (Lacie, not the belly dancer). I should take a moment here to express once again that my support crew was the best in the world. They got me through some very dark moments. From this moment at mile 10, I would not be alone for the rest of the entire race. That is 16 miles for those of you keeping track at home. My spirits definitely picked up at this point but I was still pretty exhausted. Because the course is an out and back, the road was divided in half with traffic cones. Once Lacie started running with me I began to use the cones to pace my run. The cones were spaced about 50 yards apart and I ran 3 cones then walked 1 then repeated. My stomach had started to settle at this time too. I was able to now start taking in water and chicken broth. The combination of Lacie joining me, my new run walk strategy and my stomach settling gave me new life. I can’t remember what we talked about but it was great having Lacie run with me and keep me company. She, like Dave, was incredibly supportive and positive. She continually told me how proud she was and that I was running strong. By the time we made it back to the main stretch on Thomas Dr. it had started getting dark and there were tons of crowd support. This was a lot of fun running through this area with everyone cheering and calling out Capt. America because of the shirt I was wearing. Just before the turnaround we saw Everett and Audra. Lacie dropped off here and Everett jumped in with me. Having this support system really helped and meant the world to me. Everett said he was ready to run with me as long I needed him to. We rounded the area for special needs and I saw Mom and Dad again. I waved and ran over and gave Mom a hug. Dad was taking video so I waved for the camera. When we made it back to Lacie, she picked back up with us. I had assumed Everett would drop off but he stayed with us. I was really glad he did. My spirits were as high at this point as they had been all day. I was still only able to maintain a run walk but I was mentally in a much better place than I had been just an hour and a half earlier. I was doing a run 2 cones, walk 1 at this point but Everett was able to get me to run 3, walk 1. I had started trying to tell Lacie and Everett how much it meant to me to have them out there with me but I don’t think I was ever really able to express just how important they were. They talked to me a lot and I answered back as best I could. Mostly I just listened. Around mile 16 I began to really feel the effects of the day. I had read that ironman gets the hardest during the last 10 miles and that is exactly what was happening to me. Mentally I was in an ok place because of my support crew but my body was reaching the point that it had had enough. Lacie told me that we would meet Dave and Karen at mile 18 so that was giving me something to look forward to. Even though Dave jumped in with me, Lacie and Everett stayed as well. Now I had 3 of my support crew running (it was more of a shuffle) with me.
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| Dave, Everett and Lacie running with me (That's me behind Everett) |
Shortly after picking up Dave I actually stopped for the first time all day. I bent over with my hands on my knees and just stood in the middle of the road. After 132 miles I just needed a small break even if it was only for a few seconds. Dave didn’t want me to stop. He talked to me and got me going again by encouraging me and telling me to keep my momentum going forward. I think he knew that I was getting close to a wall. I was still keeping my run walk going although I was gradually running a little less. Once we made it to the state park I knew that I just needed to get to the turn around and at that point I would be headed back in to the finish. I walked a lot of the state park. I hoped that maybe if I walk a bit more through the park that maybe I would have enough in the tank to keep running on the way back to the finish. Just a few yards after the turn around I had to stop once again. Again Dave was there to keep me moving. At one point I looked over at a sand dune and said that I want to lay down there. I think they all thought I was kidding but I was not. Lacie made a joke about sand mites and we kept going. We met back up with Karen as we came out of the park. At this point Everett left with Karen so they would have time to make it to the finish line and Dave and Lacie stayed with me. Nutrition and hydration had been going well for the whole second loop and I was taking chicken broth and water at every aid station. The next 3 miles were much of the same, a run walk using the cones to help pace. I could tell Lacie was starting to struggle she had never come close to running or walking a distance like this yet there she was helping me get to the finish line. Things started to pick up at mile 24. I remember Lacie and Dave mentioning the 24 mile marker sign. This is when I knew I had it and it started to sink in that I was going to finish a 140.6 mile race. Its hard to describe how I was feeling. I could hear the announcer calling peoples names as they crossed the finish line and I new I would have my turn in a few minutes. I started trying to run faster but that wasn’t happening but I was able to run a little more and walking a little less. I was starting to get a little emotion with the end so close in sight. With less than a mile to go we round a curve and I see John Chandler and Jeanetta Bennett. They were all smiles and cheering for me. I mentioned to Lacie and Dave after we passed them that I was really glad that I was running and not walking when I passed them. With about a half mile to go I walked for the last time. I wanted to make sure that I was able to run all the way to the finish once I got into the finish shoot. Dave and Lacie peeled off and I was left alone for the first time since mile 10. Like I said, I had the best support crew in the entire race. Running down the finish shoot was incredible. I everyone was cheering and yelling and encouraging me. I wanted to go faster but I just wasn’t able to. As I got close to the finish line I saw my dad towering over everyone with his video camera on the left side of the shoot. I ran over and gave everyone high-fives as I ran past. Then I heard it. From Hattiesburg, Mississippi, JOHN MARK LAWLER, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!
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| JML, YOU. ARE. AN IRONMAN! |
THE RECOVERY
I had done it. In 2 years I went from not being able to run 2 miles
to finishing a full ironman. When I crossed the finish line a volunteer put is
arms around me and asked if I was ok. I remember as I was running down the
shoot thinking that I felt better than I had been expecting. I told the
volunteer that I was fine and he relaxed his grip. I’m not sure what happens
when you finally stop after doing something like that but you go from running
to barely being able to stand. When he relaxed his grip I could feel myself
start to slide a little. The volunteer noticed as well and quickly tightened
his grip to keep me from falling. He walked me to get my medal and my finishers
cap and t-shirt.
After a few moments I was able to get control of myself and made my way out of the finishers area where my family and friends were waiting for me. They got me chocolate milk and blanket. They were very concerned about me and rightfully so. I was fine but physically spent and I wasn’t thinking exactly straight. I was getting very cold and needed to sit down. We went inside the host hotel and I stretched out on the floor and let my friends pile space blankets on top of me.
Once I finally started feeling better I took advantage of a free massage. Everett collected my bike and transition gear and walked back to my condo. I did not sleep very well that night. My legs cramped all night and I woke several times dreaming I was still in the race.
After a few moments I was able to get control of myself and made my way out of the finishers area where my family and friends were waiting for me. They got me chocolate milk and blanket. They were very concerned about me and rightfully so. I was fine but physically spent and I wasn’t thinking exactly straight. I was getting very cold and needed to sit down. We went inside the host hotel and I stretched out on the floor and let my friends pile space blankets on top of me.
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| E'Ray making sure I don't fall fall out |
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| Dad checking out the hardware |
Once I finally started feeling better I took advantage of a free massage. Everett collected my bike and transition gear and walked back to my condo. I did not sleep very well that night. My legs cramped all night and I woke several times dreaming I was still in the race.
The next morning I met my family and friends for breakfast along
with a few other ironman racers that I know from the Hattiesburg area. We swapped
war stories from the race and generally had a great time while trying to refuel
on the breakfast buffet.
I can’t say enough how much it meant to me to have my friends and
family come support me during this race. I was so happy to have them there with
me and to share one of the most special moments of my life with them.
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