Thursday, November 12, 2009

A Big FAT Thank You!


No, this is not the ironman race post yet, but don't you fret, it is DEFINITELY coming! :) I am still riding a huge race high from completing my first ironman this past Saturday. It only took 24 weeks of mad training, 20 hours of driving to Florida, a few hotel stays, a patient and forgiving husband-(I mean, have you ever spent hours in a car with a stressed out first time ironman wanna be???? not pretty.) Then in 13:15:17' on race day I reached the goal! YAY! I made it! I could NOT have been more excited crossing the finish line. But I'm saving all race details for my next post about the race, and none will be forgotten!

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of my friends and family for helping me make it to the finish line. So many people gave up time to train with me along the way. Colin gave up solitary days off in a 6 day work week to spend 4 to 6 hours biking with me! Kim biked countless miles with me all summer and then into the brutal cold temperatures of October! My running buds still let me log miles with them while I spewed endless chatter about Ironman this and that and training and swimming and biking and race plans and BLAH BLAH BLAH! Thanks for helping me and putting up with me!

Never during a race have I felt more prayed for, supported, and blessed. Everyone sent me off to Florida with well wishes, encouragement, emails and cards-all of which stayed with me every step of the race. Kim even stopped by with some "happy's" for our trip and a 140.6 sticker which I almost couldn't look at in that moment of jitters! Thank you to all of my friends for believing in me, cheering me on, and for tracking me all day! Thank you to God for His presence and strength all through race day. I truly loved being out there during the race for every moment. It was the same way I felt about the training only unexpectedly so!

On our trip home we stopped at my parent's house and I got to celebrate my 35th birthday there with them. Wasn't I just 30 yesterday? That means tomorrow I will be 40! LOL It was the first birthday I'd celebrated with my parents since I was 18. My beautiful sister Lindsay made me this AMAZING birthday cake, I didn't even want to cut into it and ruin it. So we took about 20 pictures of it and then dug in! Her little 2 year old Noah loved the cake! While she was making it, he said "I love it! I love it! Want to bite it!" Then when it was time to blow the candles out he said it was his birthday and helped blow all the candles out, what a cutie!!!!!

Thank you to all of my friends and family for getting me through this! I loved it so much that I'm officially signed up for Ironman Louisville 2010 on August 29. Yes, I am a madwoman. Love to all of you!

2 comments:

abc said...

That is some cake! So glad you got to spend your Birthday night with your family. (And with someone who had food for you instead of the other way around!)

Holly said...

Congats! I honestly can't imagine!!That is an amazing cake!