As the alarm went off at 4:45 am on the morning of July 22nd, I knew the day was finally here. It was race day! I gathered up my stuff, grabbed my wet suit and headed out to meet my friends from Blink Multisports in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza. The lobby of the hotel overlooked Mirror Lake. You could see the swim buoys and the fog lifting off the lake. The sun was rising, the town was coming alive with the nervous energy of over 2000 triathletes from 49 states and 26 countries, the excitement of the 3500 volunteers, and the countless number of fans already lining the streets, even my parents were up and it was only 5am. I headed down to the transition area to make the final preparations on my bike, drop off my special needs bags and then to the body marking station to get my race numbers. As I made my way down to the lake with the STR Ironfans, the nervousness began to build. Was I ready,was my new leg strong enough, could I really go from not being able to run to Ironman in 7 months, did I have what it takes to make it through 140.6 miles in the Adirondack mountains? Well, ready or not, I was going to find out soon. I squeezed into my wetsuit, said goodbye to my family and friends, and made my way to the swim start. I did a little warm-up to make sure everything was good to go, then I just floated in the lake, trying to take it all in, thinking of all the people I met and listening to their stories, like the guy who lost over 160 lbs and changed his life around on the way to becoming an Ironman. I also thought of my journey, losing 30+ lbs, going from hoping to make it through the first 5k race just over 6 months ago to being able to compete in an Ironman. I also thought of the many firsts I accomplished like finishing my first adventure race, first 1/2 Ironman and first 1st place trophy in the big kids division, and the creation of Spare Tire Racing. What a journey it has been. The one minute warning was given, everyone was getting ready, 3..2...boom.... The once quiet mountain lake turned white, filled with arms and legs hurling into the air. An Ironman swim start is one of those things in the world that you just have to experience to believe. The over 2,000 athletes were on their way. I definitely experienced my fair share of kicks to the face and arms to the head. I was in the middle of the main pack and made it out of the water in 1:18. Then it was about a half a mile (up hill) to the transition area. I put on my bike gear and headed out of the tent. I grabbed my bike (with fully inflated tires, that is one of the 100 things you worry about the night before when you are trying to sleep) from a volunteer and headed out for the 112 mile bike course. There is about 10 feet of flat ground, a turn, then a small but steep hill and a quick turn. I heard the sound of someone hitting the metal barricade. As I made my way down the small hill, there he was trying to fix a flat tire and the crowd was putting the barricade back up. It was the first of several crashes I would see on the bike. Lucky for me, I was able to stay upright. The bike and the run courses are known to be one of the hardest of the Ironman courses in the world. You start going up hill a few miles from town. What goes up must come down. Around the 7 mile mark you come to a point on the course which is known as the decent. It is about a 6 mile section where you will hit speeds close to 50 mph. It gives you a break from pedaling but it is not what I call relaxing. On the second loop, my contact flew out of my eye as a result of the cross wind and the 47 mph I was traveling, lucky for me it stuck to my sunglasses. I grabbed it and put it in my mouth for safe keeping until the bottom of the hill. After a quick stop and several poor attempts of putting my contact in with my Gu, Gatorade and sweaty fingers, I was off again. The course was filled with hills, rivers and mountains, one of the most beautiful bike rides I have been on. I was feeling pretty good until about mile 95 when a muscle on the inside of my right leg decided to seize up. This was not good. I had almost 20 more miles which where the most challenging and the marathon left to go. I stopped, stretched it out, tried to hydrate as much as I could and kept on moving. I took the rest of the bike slower, trying to leave some for the run. 7 hours and 13 minutes later I was off the bike. I made it through the 2.4 mile swim and the 112 mile bike, now all that was left was the 26.2 mile run. Great! I hobbled out of town with my new STR jersey, said goodbye to my family and friends. My legs felt pretty good, but I could feel like they were going to start to cramp soon. I made it to the first aid station and grabbed some water and Gatorade. I slowed down because I got that "leave it all on the course feeling" and knew that would not be good because I still had 6-7 hours left. The crowd was amazing, they gave you the energy to keep on going and everyone loved the new Spare Tire Racing jersey. I spent the next 25 miles running and walking, trying to get the right amount of hydration and nutrition so I could make it through the marathon. I had the chance to talk to my friends from Blink and wished them well on their final lap, but I had one more lap to go. The sun was setting, the temperature was dropping, but my spirits were up, I knew I was going to make it. I had the chance to talk to other athletes, shared stories, encouraged each other as we made our way back into town. There truly is an Ironman family. It is an amazing experience to be around so many people who are out there achieving their goals and dreams. It was about 9:30 when I made it back into town where the crowds were gathered, I had about 2.5 miles. I passed the 25 mile marker around 9:45. I thought maybe I could break the 15 hour mark. I was thinking the same thing a couple of hours ago, but now it was for real. I was still able to run, I decided to go for it. I just had to go to the turn around and it was mostly down hill from there. Well, I think someone put out an extra few cones because I felt like I never was going to get to there. And then there it was! I was figuring it was going to be about 3/4 of a mile to the finish and I had about 7 minutes. I was not sure about my math skills at that point. I had been on vacation for a week and had also went 140 miles. I ran. I don't know why, but I wanted to break that 15 hour mark. There it was. I entered the Olympic speed skating 400 meter oval, and had 200 meters to go. I decided to put the hammer down the last 100 meters. Then, I was about to hear those words... after a year of rehab, 7 months of training programs, countless hours of training, time, effort, money, sacrifices, not sleeping in, not being able to walk down the stairs sometimes, eating my body weight in Gu, and Gatorade. It was all going to be worth it. At 14:58:03 I crossed that finish line, and heard ..."you are an Ironman." I want to thank my family, friends, co-workers, patients, my dog and running partner, Madison, and especially my wife, Annette, for with out you guys it would not have been possible. Ironman is a special thing, for those 2,000 athletes on July 22nd and anyone who has ever crossed the finish line and heard those words "...you are an Ironman" knows what I am talking about. For those who have not made that journey it is difficult to put in words. For me it was to do something I never thought in a million years I could do, but I did not listen to the hundreds of excuses, and I tried and I did it!
Anything truly is possible.
