Ironman Sherpa 3 - The Run and Post-race

This is the third of three blogs about my Sherpa experience with my husband during his first Ironman. If you haven't already, you might want to read the first two blogs.

Ironman 1 - Pre-race and Swim
Ironman 2 - The Bike

The Run:
We went back to GG and Anna to re-group. The girls wanted to go back to the condo and GG and I wanted to watch the run, so we let the girls go with the promise that they would text us once they were safely locked in the condo. That in and of itself is a huge milestone – to be able to let the girls go off on their own.

GG and I walked to the beach and snaked around transition to the run course. We knew Tim was long gone and it is a 2 lap course, each lap being 13.1 miles. So we stationed ourselves just before the half-way turn. We had our backpack with water, Gatorade, my phone and a change of shoes for me. I switched to my tennis shoes, just in case Tim wanted me to run with him for a few hundred yards. We were cheering on all of the runners and another fan taught us that you can read their first names if they have their race belt positioned just so. We were shouting “Go, Jim” and “You can do it, Jenny”. The athletes really responded to those cheers. We waited and waited. We were constantly refreshing my phone to see when he was crossing each 2 mile marker. He started strong and then slowed down a bit so we were anxious to see him – not so anxious that it didn’t seem like he would finish, but we were looking forward to having a visual.

While we were standing there, I started to feel woozy. And that made me feel like a huge wimp because here are these athletes pushing themselves to the limit and I am woozy because I am standing in the sun after taking a nap and sitting at the pool. So I downed an entire bottle of Gatorade and I ate the last breakfast bar that we had.

We finally saw him. He looked so good! I ran with him to the Special Needs bag station and he said he wanted me to run with him after he made the turn. I told GG I was going to run with him and I thought about grabbing my phone, but figured we were only going a few hundred yards, maybe a ½ mile, so I would be right back. (Note to self – when that small, soft voice tells you to grab your phone, do it.) I figured the race marshals would only let me run on the course for a few minutes, then I would have to leave him on his own.

We started running. I told him the funny story about my blackberry and the time changing. I told him about the funny Facebook posts. I figured just me talking would take his mind off of the race. When we got about ½ mile from the turn-around, the course got very neighborhood-y. Turns out no one was going to tell me that I had to leave him alone. So we kept running. Actually, we were doing a combination of running and walking so that Tim could maintain his energy. Once we had gone about 2 miles, I started to realize that we needed to let someone know what was going on. We agreed that most volunteers would have a cell phone so we would just call Anna in the condo. Problem is that Anna’s cell phone is relatively new and neither of us knew her number, we just had it programmed into our phones. That wasn’t going to work so we continue to brainstorm. We stopped at the next aid station and Tim ran on while I borrowed a phone. I called my mother in St. Louis because I have her number memorized. Thank heavens she answered the phone. With Election Day on the following Tuesday, everyone was getting barraged with calls so the fact that she answered a call from an unfamiliar number is a minor miracle. I asked her to call Anna on her cell phone and relay a message. We had no way to get in touch with GG as she was on the run course with my phone, which she would never know how to answer. We told the girls to stay at the condo and wait for GG until 6:00. If GG wasn’t back at 6:00, they needed to head down to the bleachers and wait for Tim and I to come to the finish line. With that settled, I raced to catch up with Tim. Once I caught up, we ran and walked and fell into a great rhythm. We talked and walked and ran and joked and time just flew by. When we passed the 18 mile marker, I realized that I should probably head back. Tim was going to turn-around at 19.5 so I got him to about a mile from the turn-around and I gave him a kiss and started to head back. We were well into the Panama Beach neighborhoods so my only choice was to run the race route. There was no way to short-cut it because I would certainly get lost.

As soon as I started running by myself, the reality of our situation started to sink in. I was 5 miles from the transition area and finish line. It was 5:08 on my watch. I run 10 minute miles. If I ran all 5 miles at my usual pace, I would reach my babies at 6:00. I now cannot believe that I told my 11 year old and 10 year old to leave the safety of the condo and walk into a crowd of thousands of people and wait for us to return. What if GG didn’t go back to the room? What if the girls got lost or scared? What if, what if, what if? It is worthwhile to note that the longest I have ever run in my life is just under 6 miles. Now, after already walking/running 5 miles, I had to run without stopping for 5 straight miles to make sure I got to the girls in time. This is when the parenting instincts kick in because there was NO way I was stopping or slowing down. While I was running, and passing Ironman athletes left and right, the crowd started cheering me on. At first, I felt horribly guilty because I wasn’t an Ironman. I hadn’t done activities that these amazing athletes had done. But then I got over the guilt. Because I was doing something I had never done before – running 5 miles at a rapid clip – so I accepted their support and cheer and used it as additional fuel.

With one mile left, I decided that I needed to get off the course because I didn’t want to get ‘tunneled’ into the finish because that would be super-awkward. So I veered off and ran through spectators and on sidewalks. I got to the finish area right at 6:00. I ran through the crowds towards the bleachers and the condo and I ran right into GG and the girls. Thank God. What a tremendous relief! Turns out GG waited for me until about 5:15 and then she wanted to leave a note in case I came back. Bless her heart, she tracked down paper, a pencil and tape to leave me a note. When she got back to the condo to get the girls, Anna failed to mention that I had called and that we had a plan. GG had no way of knowing where Tim was and when he would finish, but she just figured they needed to head towards the finish line at about 6:00. Thankfully, it all worked out.

The sun was now setting and the reality of what I had just done is starting to sink in. I ran without stretching and without good nutrition. I am freezing, achy and covered in sweat. Luckily Anna had a sweatshirt on and she wasn’t cold so I was able to borrow that from her. They didn’t bring my phone down from the condo, but they brought Tim’s. I am a blackberry fan (as previously mentioned) so figuring out how to use Tim’s smartphone to check his progress took some doing.

The four of us found a stop along the fence line for the final 200 yards of the race. I am watching Tim’s splits and he is actually started to speed up. He had dropped to 13 minute miles when we were running/walking and during the final 6 miles, he had picked up the pace to 9 minute miles. I couldn’t imagine what was going on, but he was cooking. We didn’t take signs to the finish so Tim would have no way to really see us. When we saw him coming, the girls and I started screaming and waving our arms. Tim made eye contact with me and we were so proud. As soon as he passed, I raced to the finish line to catch him. When his name was called “Tim Runyan from Waukee, Iowa – You are an Ironman”, I screamed and hooted and hollered. After he got his medal, I could talk to him through the fencing. Turns out he didn’t see us in the final chute. He heard me holler when his name was called but he didn’t remember seeing us. After we were able to reach him, he told us what happened on the run. After I left, he ended up next to another first time Ironman contender, a girl named Erica. She actually had a watch so they started running together to support each other. After doing some mental calculations, Erica realized that if they could keep a 9 minute pace, they could finish in less than 12 hours. They set their mind to it, and low and behold, they came across the finish line at 11:51. Tim had never had a goal of sub-12 hours and he was over the moon!

After we got Tim situated, he wanted to get some food, but unlike the Half-Ironman in Kansas, the food was only for the athletes. At this point, I was fairly miserable, so I headed back to the condo with the girls. I took at shower which felt soooo good and I knew I needed to eat something. Unfortunately, all we had in the condo was – you guessed it – the last 1/3 of the Pasta Carraba’s. I was so sick of eating that same meal but beggars can’t be choosers. Tim came back and he showered too and put on his compression tights and found his spot on the couch. GG and I went back down to transition to get his bike and his transition bags. It was so well organized, it took no time at all and we were back to the condo with all of his stuff. We had talked about going down to cheer on the midnight finishers, but honestly, we just didn’t have it in us. I think the entire condo was sound asleep at 10:00.

The next morning, when I woke up, Tim was gone. I knew that the “Finishers” merchandise went on sale at 7:00 a.m. and we expected there to be quite a long line so I figured that is where Tim went. He returned to the condo with a shirt, hat, jacket and I am sure much more. His finisher jacket is quite something. Turns out, Tim woke up at 4:00 in the morning and went to Waffle House for breakfast. Just like Carraba’s the night before the race, the 4 a.m. crowd at Waffle House was a curious mix of late-night partiers and Ironman athletes.

We decided to go to the beach to enjoy the Florida perks and while we were there, Tim fell fast asleep in the sand. I took the girls up to the heated pool and an hour later, Tim came up and said “Ironman is hungry.” This became his new mantra for the day – referring to himself in the 3rd person as “Ironman.” We all went and dressed and headed to the outdoor mall in Panama City. We couldn’t decide where to have lunch so we settled on Dick’s Last Resort. I thought Tim knew the way that Dick’s worked but turns out, he had no idea, so the insulting and cussing and basic un-kid-friendliness was news to him. We handled it okay and Tim continued to say things like “Ironman wants a sandwich” to which Natalie replied “Honey badger don’t care what Ironman wants.” It was so funny. She used the phrase in the perfect context and she absolutely dead-panned it. Classic.

We then went to see “Wretch it Ralph” at the movie theater. It was such a cute movie but when it finished, Tim was pretty sore and tired. We returned to the condo and Tim fell sound asleep. I walked to Wal-Mart and bought things to make dinner. I figured another restaurant meal wasn’t going to work for us. Despite my inability cook, I managed a decent salad, with a chicken pasta dish. Tim woke up and we enjoyed some family time.

The next day, we flew home. We had witnessed Tim accomplishing an amazing feat and in mind-boggling time and we had enjoyed a great family weekend as well. Loads of laughter, bonding and supporting each other. All in all – it was a magical experience!