Abbey's Florida Ironman

Florida IRONMAN
November 6th, 2010
Panama City Beach, Florida 2,700 participants
2.4 mile swim 112 mile bike 26.2 mile run

I have been asked to post an update of the race. I SOOO appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers from my family and friends. Here we go! :)

The beginning of the race: It was COLD! A huge cold front actually came into Florida. I could see my breath!!! Crazy, I know. The outside temp was 41 or less. And the sand was even colder! My poor feet were already starting to get numb. My heart was pounding, standing by all the other athletes. They sang the national anthem, and we all stood quietly, with hands over hearts. The feeling was incredible. I had to smile! The sun was rising; the ocean was a beautiful color, white sand beach and thousands of participants and spectators. I thought to myself “I am ACTUALLY DOING IT! I’m doing my goal. I can’t believe it’s here!” What an awesome feeling! The cannon shot, and off we went!

While I was swimming, I had to psych myself out…”just look at today as a duathlon (2 sports instead of 3). You’re just going to swim and then bike 112 miles. Nothing else. That seemed doable. Though, I knew it would be extremely challenging still. But to look at the whole picture was too much for me at that point. The swells were big and there were almost 2,700 people in the water. When I finally reached the shore I was SO happy to be done

When I finished the swim, heart was racing, excited to start the next segment of the race. I got changed and hopped on my bike. Just up ahead, in front of our hotel, Greg, and Baby Kate stood cheering! Kate was in her pj’s with her coat on top. Greg was holding her, cheering like crazy! When Kate saw me she gave me a big smile! That MELTED ME! They were SO CUTE THERE! I REALLY appreciated their support. Then, just up ahead of them, Mom and Dad were cheering so loud, holding the signs Dad had made the day before. They had huge smiles, and it gave me a huge boost as I headed out! So fun! I couldn’t believe I was now on the bike. I felt good and just kept relishing in the realization that I was DOING IT! I couldn’t believe it. We fought wind most of the way, but seeing MY FAMILY at the turn around was the best! They had driven to the turnaround! It meant so much to see them! They are the best. I love them so much. And I was so thankful for them throughout the entire day. Thinking of them kept me motivated. It meant so much to me that they’d stand outside, while it was freezing, and cheer my on all day. They are SOOOO cute! I loved to see them. I really enjoyed the bike course. It was tough, but it was also SOOOO beautiful.

I had to just think of it as a beautiful ride in Florida; on a beautiful day. I really wanted to soak it up. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do one again, so I wanted to enjoy every bit of it. That optimism was annoying to the people around me. They told me that I was enjoying it more than they were! But later on, around mile 95, I wasn’t feeling so hot. I thought “how can I do this? I still have almost 20 miles left? And then, the run. How can I do that? My legs are so tired.” I was sad that all of those positive feelings I had felt, were not there. hoped they’d come back; that I’d catch a second wind. I prayed fervently for help and encouragement. Once I got onto Front Beach Road (the road leading into the bike finish) that put quite a bit of pep in my “step” and I was so excited to be on the final stretch! The only thing with getting excited about finishing the swim and the bike…there’s still a MARATHON! So, you can’t feel totally off the hook. But, none the less, I was sooooo happy to be done with the bike!

...Of course, my support team was there… Mom, Dad, Greg and Kate. They’re my favorite people! They were walking toward the bike finish, but I could see the stroller and then Greg and shouted out to them. They were so cute! They got emotional and expressed how proud they were of me! They are the best! I DID feel a sense of relief that I could have my feet on the ground again and no need to worry about water or flat tires or a major head wind. I felt a good sense of relief about that. Right when I exited the area, the family was standing there shouting for me. I actually went over and stopped and talked to them. I gave them all hugs and kisses. I couldn’t kiss Kate though, b/c she was in her stroller. All I wanted to do was hold her. I missed her SO much while I was on the bike. I thought about her button nose, her laugh, her smile, and her little hands when she turns the pages on her board book. But I decided not to pick her up but decided to wait till the finish line.

The run…I started off kind of excited, b/c a lot of people were on the side of the road, cheering all of us on. Our bib had our race number AND name on it. So people would actually cheer for you by name, which was awesome! That was SOOOO awesome! I loved that. But I must say, the run was tough for me. And the last half of the run was the MOST difficult part of the day for me. I really didn’t know how I could keep going. I was so sleepy. I kept indulging myself in the day dreams of hot baths, a warm hotel room and food. It was so hard to motivate myself to keep going. The mind does funny things to you when you’re so exhausted. Negativity overtakes and you have to literally fight it with every tool you can think of: smiling, praying, talking to yourself like a kooky person, pumping your arms, saying quotes, scriptures, singing songs, remembering all the people who are rooting for you, remembering who is waiting for you at the finish line, reminding yourself that “Pain is temporary, “(DNF) Did Not Finish” is forever”. But I was able to keep going. I felt I was being pulled by angels. And when I FINALLY reached that finish line at 11:00 pm after 16:00:58. (16 hours and 58 seconds), I heard those words that I’ve literally dreamed of hearing since I was 8 years old…
“Abbey….YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”

The volunteer put my medal around my neck and I gave her a big hug. I was smiling! I felt relief and disbelief that it was over. Greg and Kate came over and I gave Greg a big kiss and Kate too; I finally got to hold Kate.! Next, my Mom and Dad. They were all such an incredible support group. I love them tons. What a wonderfully difficult experience!