132 miles done...and 8 miles left...so close

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support. I put it in a great effort but just fell 8 miles short of the finish on mile 132.

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/louisville/?show=tracker&rid=164&year=2008


I could have been faster on the swim, bike and transitions but I just was not prepared for the marathon. Although I did not swim 2.4 miles in any training day but did log in a few 100 mile bikes, the farthest I ever ran was 13 miles and that was not enough to prepare myself for the brutality of a marathon. (The farthest distance in marathon training is 19 miles.)

I will post a description of the three segments later but focus on later part of the run now. I felt at pace the whole race and came out of the bike with 7 hours left. I felt strong and told myself that I would run every other mile, especially given the fact that the farthest distance I ever ran was 13 miles. I thought that walking was easy but it is actually more painful than running. When I got to mile 8, I was losing time and had to pick up the pace so I ran a little faster, walked a little less, then I hit mile 12 and started to panic that I was still behind, so I broke my promise to myself and started running, skipping aid stations. I still felt strong and picked a fast pace and ultimately, at mile 16, I hit a wall and could not run anymore, so I walked and looked at my watch and tried to walk faster until I got to aid station under Interstate 264 which was just past mile 18 and my legs could would not move forward. Everyone tells you to just keep moving forward but my legs wouldn't do it.

A volunteer named Dawn came up to me and asked if I wanted some gatorade and I told her that I couldn't walk anymore so she asked if I wanted to sit down but I kept telling her that I would try to keep walking and she commented that I was looking very "wobbly." She offered to walk with me for awhile and then I stopped and started to cry. She said "maybe you just need a hug right now."

That's when I knew my day was over. I couldn't walk anymore and just sat down and cried because no matter how much my head and upper body wanted to finish, my legs and feet and disagreed. Dawn and her daughter tried to console me and pointed to another athlete who was delirious and vomiting and said that at least I wouldn't leave the race in an ambulance. Although it was true, I still could not accept that my day was over. A transport came and they carried me into the back and I was off to the medical tent.

It is hard to describe my feelings and how I felt like disappointed a lot of people, especially myself but I am grateful that I was able to walk back to the hotel, get up the next morning....and register for next year!