Wife of an Ironman

Looking back I didn’t know how Thanksgiving 2010 would change the summer of 2011, I do now.  When Brad decided that the full distance Ironman was what he wanted to do, I was in.  I know when he goes after a goal it is 110%.  What I didn’t know in the spring of 2011 was the amount of time Ironman would require.  I was fully in support of Brad following the triathlon training plan, I wanted him to be prepared to compete at the mind boggling distance of 140.6 miles!   

The summer went by quickly his training time steadily increased.  We planned weekends and family events around training, we were both working towards Ironman.  Brad followed the daily training plan except for a few days.  On those days he didn’t follow the plan and we took the evening off!   We needed a normal evening of just us, thank you babe!

The week before REV3 was full of excitement and list checking.  It takes more to pack for a triathlon than a camping trip.  The morning of REV3 started at 3 a.m.  I was calm until we walked on the beach towards the start line.  Brad gets calm and focused at the start.  I looked at lake Erie and my stomach went in knots.  Having friends at the start was like a hug and that hug meant more than all of you will ever know.  I gave Brad one last kiss and his adventure began.

 Greg, Dee, us, Rabbit and John

I tend to worry, OK if you spent the day with me at REV3 that is an understatement.  I can’t help it, it’s a genetic defect.  I don’t do calm when Brad is competing, especially at this distance, this was unknow territory.  Brad knows I worry (and he still loves me) so before every event he tells me his predicted split times.  I always carry this list with me, REV3 was no different.  He was either exactly on time or a few minutes off over the 140.6 miles. 

 I carried this all day

The last hour before Brad finished seemed like a week, I just wanted the day to be over for him, I was worried he would be hurting from 14 hours of competing, I needed to make sure he was OK. I want to thank Brian, Ann Marie, Dee and Greg for being there for the entire day.  Dee and I walked toward the parking lot to try and spot Brad as soon as he turned toward the finish line.  When we saw him my heart started pounding he was still running and he was smiling.  He grabbed my hand and we took off.  Running in with him was a moment in time I will never forget, I am so proud of what he has accomplished he is my Ironman!

Thanks to Brian Coon for taking photo's!