Chaos. Complete chaos is the only way to describe the weeks prior to this race, I’d worked 2 weeks without a day off and had a 12 hour day that lasted until 9pm the day before Clemson Tri. The worst part was, my hubby was out of town the night before the race which left me picking up Addison from my dad at 9pm and then having to go home and pack for all of us. We were leaving the race and staying at the lake for Mother’s Day. I think I went to bed at 11pm after loading the kayak, packing for Addison, myself, and the dogs.
I had EVERY reason not to do this race, yet one reason to do it was all that mattered. I have a friend who has unknowingly motivated me on days that were tough, she’s reminded me to suck it up and get out there. She has every reason to crawl up in her hole and not come out, yet she’s chosen to fight and fight for EVERY piece of normalcy she can find. Susan Dupont, thank you for that. You’ve made my work more important than ever, yet you’ve also reminded me that there aren’t many excuses good enough for not getting my workouts in or doing a race I’d oringally planned on.
The morning was crazy as I had the dogs and AJ in tow, and Heath wasn’t sure if he’d get there before I started. Luckily Alex was there to watch Addison while I got ready. I saw plenty of friends before the race but was behind and no time to chat or process Susan racing. I start every race with Team Fowler if we’re all racing, and I always start to panic if I can’t find them at the start. Susan and I finally find eachother after I frantically and randomly start yelling her name, and as we get to the beach the emotions start to come bursting out. Jeremey, the race director, during his announcements mentions Susan and welcomes here back. We all cheer and then I start to cry. I look at her and curse her for making me a lush. She curses Cancer. Totally agree. I don’t have much more to say about the rest of the race b/c toeing the line with Susan for what may be the last time this year was the highlight.
I ‘ve done almost every ironman (5 out of 6) with Susan and still can’t believe a year ago we were all signing up for IMCHOO together only to have the world come crashing down. The race had it’s obstacles to overcome, I locked my Garmin and had no idea how to unlock it so I biked and ran off effort. Heath had no sleep and still got up early to come out and support. I wore a hole in my heel b/c I forgot to body glide my shoes. All of these things were worth it. I race b/c I can, I race b/c I love it, and I race b/c some of these people are like family. What better way to spend a Mother’s Day weekend than by racing in your home town with all your friends.
Special thanks to www.Trisports.com (if you want a 15% off coupon email me), Atlanta Bread @ Cherrydale, Supercuts, Skyline NW, Powerbar, and Nuun’s. I’m grateful to have the support necessary to continue to do my passion. Thank you to my hubby for always getting why I do this, and that even when life’s crazy I need to swim bike and run.
