Saturday evening we got back to the room, eagerly awaiting bedtime so we could snuggle up, get to bed early, sleep soundly, and wake up at the crack of dawn. And we did. As is my custom, I woke up minutes before the alarm, jumped on Jackie's bed, so excited for what was about to happen that day, I could hardly wait. We then both prayed... "God, please don't let us forget anything..." Dont worry, I had already forgotten my tennis shoes. I am not kidding. I forgot to put my tennis shoes in my transition bag. Thank goodness Taylor was in charge of transition and could put my shoes in my bag for me (something that is not supposed to be done, but something she so graciously did for me or my day would have been over). In any case, it was 4:06 AM, we were up, eating peanut butter and jelly, bananas, and crackers. Drinking a lot of water. Anything I could to keep from getting nervous, and I think I did a good job. It took us about 10 minutes to get our suits on and head out and I could have sworn we would be the first ones at transition to check our bikes and get in line (I was the designated bike checker, Jackie was going to get in line)... The transitions didnt even open up until 5 AM and we were there before 4:30 AM... But alas, we were not the only ones who knew the secret... there was a soft opening at 4:30 AM and as we got there. people were already in line. So, Jackie went to get in line, and i filled up the water bottles, pumped our tires, checked the bikes and hurried to meet her (and really hoped we had a good spot in line at Tumblweed!).
Leave it to Jackie to have a great spot in line, about 20 people back (out of close to 3,000!)... I found her quickly, sat down with her, Sarah, Jason, Madelyn, Rory and 2,698 of our closest friends and all of our families in the crystal clear morning. The morning was crisp, anticipation was in the air and music started to play louder and louder as 5 am came, then 6 am... 6:30 and 6:45... we started to move towards the water at 6:45 am, as we watched the pros get in the water. Jackie, Sarah and I huddled together for a prayer. As we did, a man tapped me on the shoulder, "Mind if I join you?" Then another, and another... soon, in the bright morning light, we had close to thirty athletes praying for a safe, healthy, peaceful day. Who prayed this prayer? Marc Barlow, my partner, my confidant, who had come down to cheer my on early into the dawn. We wrapped up the prayer quickly sang My Old Kentucky Home Proudly, as my eyes teared up. Then the National Anthem... this song never ceases to make my heart beat loudly. The very sound of the melody brings thoughts of every swim meet I have been a part of come flashing back to my mind so quickly, I start to quiver, and this morning was no different. This morning, I stood there, listening to the music, feeling oddly at peace as the sun rose, thanking God from the bottom of my heart that I had this body that would keep me in motion for the next 12-15 hours. How could this be? I have no idea, but I am so blessed. That is what went through my mind... THEN WE WERE OFF...
Some probably thought the swim start to an Ironman was pure insanity. This was not. This start is a time trial start which means you jump off one at a time (ok, maybe there are 4 or 5 people jumping at a time), but I have an advantage in the swim, because, well, I can swim. So I stayed calm, started my watch, quickly found open water on the right, did a few thump kicks to get a guy off my feet and swam right up the channel. It was the most peaceful, clear-heade swim I have ever done. I have swam a lot in my life (I would venture to say more than 99.9% of the people in that water) and that was the most enjoyable swim I have ever done. I was completely on my own. No one was in front of or behind me for 100 yards at least. I would pick up my head and look up and back just to make sure I wasnt in Indiana and see faint splashes in the distance, see a kayaker, or just glance at the sun coming up over the river. I would over and over thank God for the gift he had given me. I cant tell you how many times i did that. Before long, I was rounding the last buoy, heading for home. I looked toward the shore, in awe of all of the people that were standing there cheering all of us on. I was unsure of how this exit from the water was going to go. I had passed a few pros, but where did I stand... how fast did I go? Where was I? Open water swimming is very disconcerting, so I was a little unsure of how this was going to go, how to get back to transition, where fans would be, h ow to get out of the water, etc. So, I was a little nervous. But I had little choice... so I thought... here goes nothing...
I exited the water to ROARS!! Literally, I went from complete peace and quiet to utter chaos and a man on a load speaker that said something along the lines of "Our first Louisville finisher... AMY MIRANDA!!" Then everyone seemed to freak out and I saw a blur of what seemed like everyone I know, as I exited the water and ran to the transition area, grabbed my bag from Taylor, into the tent where a few girls help me undress from my suit, then dress into my bike clothes, then I was quickly (or so I thought... keep in mind, there were a few pros in and out of transition in the time I was there), out of the tent and into the sea of bikes (see below)... I found my bike and was out onto leg #2 of the day- 112 miles. People always say something is going to go wrong. Well, the swim was perfect. I found out quickly my bike problem- I forgot to fix my bike computer- the contraption that tracks my miles and speed. So I stopped and tried to fix it once on River Road (to no avail), then gave up, said I didnt care kept on going and got more and more worried as all these very very fast people WHOOSHED past me... I say that literally. They had disc wheels on and they make that sound. Finally I got up the hill at 1694, I saw Brian, and I thought that would be a smart time to make the fix because if I broke it he could fix it (although that wasnt correct, he couldnt help). Well, I fixed it myself which was a small miracle, and I was on my way- thank GOD! At this point, I was coasting, felt great and was eating and drinking right on schedule. Thanks in large part to Deb's watch and Lewis's idea of retrofitting it to my bike so it beep'd every 20 minutes, telling me to do something. Everything was going great!
I got to LaGrange and everyone was yelling and screaming, they announced my name and again I thanked God for what he had done for me. I am so blessed. This is another time I cried. And again, no pain here. Just happiness that I was out there, enjoying the most beautiful day of the year, doing something I loved. So I kept going, eating, drinking, pounding the goo packets, like a college kid pounds beer. I stopped once for my special needs bag (for future reference to all others that do this course in the years to come- you can stop twice. That would have been good to know). Before I knew it, I had finished my second lap of the loop and I was heading back on 42 towards downtown Louisville. Throughout the ride, I had it in the back of my head that I had to run a marathon. For anyone who has been reading this blog, you know I am not a runner. I have never run a marathon and prior to my training for this, I had not run more than 6 miles consecutively, so this was a minor stressor for me during this ride back to town. These thoughts started to enter my head as my friend Rory rolled up next to me... "Hey Amy! How are ya?!" (He was just taking it easy...) "I am doing great! But I keep thinking about this marathon coming up" "Well, someone always told me when I do these things, only live in the moment, dont think about what is coming up."... I can honestly say, that was really nice, and it was a good effort on his part, but it was completely useless in that moment. How do you ignore 26.2 miles? haha.
So anyways, it was getting closer and closer...my greatest relief was that I could take as much time in transition as I wanted. I didnt care if I sat and got a massage. I just wanted to relax when I got there. I think that got me to transition without any huge mishaps. So I rolled down 42, up the hill, down Wolf Pen and River Road, past Katie and Ryan and all my other friends and into transition where my little brother was waiting to catch my bike! Well, he didnt get to catch my bike, but I did get to blow him a kiss as I ran by. Then off I headed into the tent to change, get a pretend massage and start off on my first marathon.
I left transition and heard a voice behind me..."Fancy seeing you here!" It sounded familiar and oh yes! It was Eatherly! I cant tell you how amazing it is to hear a familiar vice after being alone for the better part of the day. Especially for someone who is as talkative as me. So I decided I would run with him and do his plan. Run, and walk the water stations... little did I know 99.9% of everyone does this. Its a good plan, if you do this next year- I suggest you try it. We started out fast, and E had to keep reminding me to stop, I felt great! ...then I got to mile 5 and started to slow down... then mile 7 and my legs started to hurt, then at about mile 8, Eatherly needed to puke and I thought, well, I am not doing as bad as that guy, surely, I am doing good. So I went on without him. 1 minute later, he passes me, telling me- I feel like a million bucks, see ya later! Then I started to hurt, REAL bad. I tried everything- gatorade, coke, pretzels, cookies, grapes, sponges, water, and in every combination. Anyone who has ever trained with me knows that all of this is bad for me with the exception of water. I cant have sugar when i train. So this started a bad spiral of stomach problems. Finally when I got to mile 15 or 16 they brought out the chicken broth and I tried that (this run was a science experiment that I dont suggest), well, that FINALLY worked. I felt much better after that, but I didnt eat much other than chicken broth, water and pretzels from then on out. At mile 13, the race directors do the meanest, cruelest thing possible... they take you TO the finish line, then make you turn around and go all the way back to where you just came from (ie Iroquois Park) and run back again. So basically, you are tired, hurting, delirious, watching seemingly fast people reach the pinnacle of their life as the run through the finish chute, and you have to turn around and go back to the furthest point in the marathon and start over. It was at this point, I wanted to die. It was also at this point, I heard someone yell my name... "AMY!!" It was Jackie.
Jackie and I ran from mile 14 to mile 23 together, step for step, during the most grueling time, suffering through stomach aches, legs that wanted to give out, dizziness, discouragement, and everything else. Come to think of it- this is what we went through all season. These miles replayed the way our summer did- sacrifice, tears, joy, and ultimately triumph. At mile 23, I told Jackie to go ahead. She was running faster than me at that point and I ws struggling to keep up. She wanted to cross the finish line together, but I thougth we both needed our own moments. We did. She ran on and I watched her go, my eyes tearing up at the thought of her running through the finishing chute, of her realizing her dream. You see, she always wanted to do this. I never thought I would. We are so different, but so much the same and I was so happy in that moment. I knew if I glanced back, I would also see Sarah not far behind. She was the reason we were where we were. She started all of this. That was when I stopped walking and vowed to never walk again. I hadnt hurt that bad during the whole race. My entire body pounded, but knowing the three of us were out there and all my friends and family were at the finish waiting for me kept me going. I just kept saying, I can do anything for 30 minutes (I only had 2 miles to go- I was going slow)...
Before I knew it, I turned the corner and it was getting louder and louder and louder. I cant describe this point very well because I honestly dont remember much. I remember seeing Monique on the corner and she yelled my name, then I remember seeing Brian and Curtis. Then I remember pumping my hands in the air and not knowing which finish line was the actual finish line. I remember hoping I finished under 13 hours and I remember looking to my left as people called out my name. My friends from high school. Barbie Thomas, Lewis, Katy, Katie and Ryan, Mary Little Brother, then My mom and dad... I crossed the finish line, someone caught me, and quickly Taylor took over. I remember people giving me Gatorade when i couldnt drink it, then I remember wanting to pass out, but I never wanted that moment to end. I was so happy, so weak, so sore and tired and joyful. There is a line between happy and joyful and I had crossed over. It was bliss.
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