Ironman Louisville - Run & Finish

After I saw Josh come into transition on his bike, I quickly made my way to the end of the chute so I could see him out on the run. He once again took his time in transition (I was relieved thinking he was eating a meal... I found out later that wasn't the case). He looked good coming out on the run. He saw me at the end of the chute and actually stopped to talk to me for a minute or so. It was so nice to actually talk to him. He told me at this point about his stomach cramping up on the bike, but that he felt better now and thought he could run. He looked good at this point and was in good spirits. He actually was more concerned about me and if I had been eating and drinking that day (since he knows I tend to forget to eat when I'm stressed). I told him not to worry about me that he was the one doing an Ironman!!! And with a kiss, he was off on the run!

Out of transition!




Stopping to talk to me :)



I knew if I moved fast I could see him just a few miles down the course. There is a bridge fairly early in the marathon that is a quick over and back. I positioned myself at the bottom of the bridge and was able to see him once again on the run. He looked TERRIFIC at this point. His form looked great and he didn't look like he was hurting at all. He gave me a thumbs up and kept on chugging a long.

I then decided to head downtown towards the finish area and where I would be able to see him at 14 miles. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then waited ever so patiently for him. It was probably 10 miles between when I saw him on the bridge to when I saw him again on the loop... a lot can happen in that period of time so I had no idea when to expect him. He came running around the corner and looked horrible. His cheeks were completely sunken in and it immediately reminded me of what he used to look like when he cut weight for wrestling. Knowing that he was going slower than he wanted based on his time, I put aside all my cameras this time around just to focus on yelling at him and trying to get his spirits up. Good thing... as soon as I saw him he gestured to me and wanted me to run/walk with him for a little bit. I only went a few blocks with him, but I'm so glad I was able to do that. He told me that his stomach cramps came back and he was having a hard time getting anything down. He was basically running between aid stations and then stopping at the aid stations to try and get down as much nutrition as possible. Despite how bad he looked and the fact that the run was not going as planned, he still sounded good. He was being reasonable about things and was continuing to plan on running and stopping as long as he needed to (if you know Josh, I was concerned he would push too hard and hurt himself... that's why I was glad he was being reasonable :). Right before he took off, he told me at that point his goal was to finish in under 13 hours. His initial goal was 12 hours so not too bad for a 95 degree, 90% humidity day.

I was nervous for him, knowing that I wouldn't see him again for 12 miles and that section of the race would be the hardest challenge of the entire day. I decided I couldn't sit there pacing for two more hours so I headed back to the hotel room to try and relax. I tried to send out an email and relax but I couldn't. The athlete tracker on the internet stopped working, so I couldn't tell how he was progressing on the course. I started to panic... what if he got a second wind out on the course and was going faster than expected and I missed him at the finish!! So out the door I went and I practically sprinted back downtown to the finish line.

Earlier in the day I had scouted out the perfect location to watch the finish... there is a 2nd story balcony that basically wrapped right around the finish line area. There weren't as many people up there so I slowly was able to push my way to the front. And then I sat. And worried. And sat. And worried. I think I got to the finish line around 12 hours and 40 minutes into his race (in case he finished early). The 20 minutes leading up to his 13 hour expectation was the only time I think I actually enjoyed the finish line atmosphere and lived it up... an experience like nothing I've ever seen. Then 13 hours (which he told me to expect him in) came and went. As I'm sitting there, I'm watching people crawl across the finish line. One woman was no longer able to stand up straight and she was walk/running across the finish line completely hunched over. There were medical personnel and a long line of wheelchairs waiting behind the finish line to catch the athletes. The entire street directly behind me was filled with ambulances which would periodically take off with their sirens blaring. Being that I sat at the finish line for so long, I got fairly good at recognizing an athlete that was in trouble. As soon as he/she stopped running through the finish line, they would start to lean. And immediately there would be people there to catch them. Absolutely crazy. I couldn't believe I was watching this.

Of course I'm sitting there trying to pull up athlete tracker on the iPhone, which still wasn't working. I had absolutely no idea where he was on the course. My mind was moving with all kinds of things... how long do I stay here and wait and when do I go look for him? Where could I go to ask the medical staff about athletes they had picked up off the course? I didn't know what to do. I tried the athlete tracker one last time... and WaaLaa! It showed that he had just made it past the 25 mile marker! He was almost there! I quick called my mom at home (since the girls and my parents were watching it live on the internet) and then waited in great anticipation. I had spent most of the day with tears in my eyes watching all of these people cross the finish line and achieve their dreams. As I saw Josh finally running down that finisher's chute all I could feel was relief. He was actually jogging and he looked good!

Here he comes... he is the little red dot coming down the chute!




Crossing the finish line!


He did it!


Getting his finisher's medal!


As soon as I got some pictures from my spot high up, I sprinted downstairs to get him. He was looking everywhere for me and I finally got his attention. We just sat there embracing... I was so glad he was okay. Some nice random gentleman asked if he could take our picture....



He's looking pretty decent here... finisher's high!


Taking the official Ironman picture!


Look at those sunken cheeks...



One of the medical personnel was tailing Josh the entire time. He was one of the athletes that was leaning as he crossed the line and she was concerned about him. She was trying to walk him out of the finishing area and she asked him how he was feeling. He told her he was getting chills and she told him "That's only because I have my hand on your back sweetheart!" :) Gotta love it! As she's walking with him, behind his back she mouths to me that I need to get him to the medical tent ASAP. I run to meet them and take Josh immediately to the medical tent. This was the crazy part. It was like a scene out of some wild movie. People being rushed in every which way. They took Josh back and wouldn't let me go with him. I waited for him in the lobby and he reappeared just a few minutes later. Come to find out they had placed him right next to some guy that was puking and he told me that was only going to make things worse. So he got up and found some food and came and sat by me. We hung out in the lobby of the medical arena for probably 45 minutes... I wasn't going anywhere until I knew he was okay. During this time he had lots of cramps, shooting pains, chills, twitches, you name it. I didn't want to go anywhere with him until I knew his light-headedness was gone. Finally some of the food settled in his stomach and he seemed to be a little more "with it" so I tried to help him hobble back to the hotel.

Josh sitting in the medical facilities trying to recover... I figured it would be mean to take pictures while his legs or back were spasming so here is a calm moment.


He was in pain and repeating up and down that he would never do that again. He took a shower and immediately got in bed. He was still shivering so he basically passed out under the big down comforter. I then headed out to transition again (at 10:45) to get his bike and all of his stuff. It had to be out of there by midnight. I made it back with his stuff and he was still awake (kind of). I told him he had to eat (as we knew his electrolytes were low and we needed to replenish them more than just the food at the medical tent). So I called room service and ordered him a bacon cheeseburger and fries... his request. Of course every other athlete did the same thing so we didn't get our food until after 12:30 :( I woke Josh back up when the food got there... I knew he had to get something in him or the next day would be miserable. He was actually quite hungry and did well with his food. Then we both crashed for the night.

The next morning I hear him up and moving. He was up before 8:00 eating breakfast! What in the world! He felt fine. Like he had a bad workout the day before, but nothing like I thought it would be. I envisioned him lying in the back of the truck while I drove home the entire way. Not the case at all. He was just moving a little slower than normal. He claims that he wasn't able to run fast enough to be that sore ;) We enjoyed the quiet 8 hour drive home together. It was actually a blast. I can't remember the last time we had that much uninterrupted time to just talk! It was wonderful. We laughed so hard and had a great time hashing out the weekend together!

When we got home, the girls were bursting with excitment to see him. Maya was so excited she burst into tears! Here are our surprise posters for Daddy that we worked so hard on! Maryn tried to tell him about them numerous times before we left for Louisville, but somehow we still managed to keep them a secret!











So what really happened out there? He obviously finished the marathon much slower than anticipated (he had trained to run it at an 8:00 - 9:00 minute/mile pace). Just like he told me at mile 14, he continued to run between aid stations and then stop at the stations to get in as much nutrition as possible to help with his cramping stomach. He continued doing that until mile 23, when suddenly his face went numb, his hands went numb and he got extremely light-headed. He laid down on the side of the road so he wouldn't pass out. A medical person found him and tried to convince him to stop the race... no way, no how. He was only 3 miles from the finish line, he wasn't quitting then. So he just took his time. He was sitting on the side of the road and at one point a medical staff and another racer walked by. The racer says "Hey, I just passed out back there so she's walking with me to make sure I'm okay. You can walk with us!" So Josh got up and walked with them. About a mile outside of downtown Josh started to feel a little better and even had enough left to jog through downtown and the finish line!

Josh finished the race in 13 hours and 47 minutes. Slower than he had hoped for, but we were thankful that he even finished after all the stories we heard the day after the race. The hot and humid conditions combined with the race organizers running out of water at key aid stations caused disaster for many athletes that day. This very race ended up being the 2nd highest "Did Not Finish" race in the history of Ironman races. Approximately 3000 people started the race and around 900 didn't finish. That is almost 1/3 that started that didn't complete the race. This is almost unheard of in Ironman racing. People that give up a year of their life to train for something like this typically "do not finish" unless it is medically necessary. Athletes have 17 hours to complete this race (up until midnight). We heard that somewhere around 360 athletes were still out on the course trying to finish when they closed the course at midnight. How heartbreaking. Josh said that he was shocked at how many athletes were walking or stopping along the course. He said he would guess 80% or higher would walk or stop. Not how I imagined the race at all (but of course this could be due to the conditions as well). And it was reported after the race that the average race time was over 45 minutes slower this year compared to the year before... that says a lot for the conditions that day.

With all of this being said, I am SO proud of Josh. He endured these horrible conditions (on top of how horrible it is to do an Ironman in the first place), and "kept moving forward". Not only did my husband finish an Ironman race (which very few people can claim), he finished one of the hardest Ironman races in the history of the sport. Amazing. He was pleased with his bike and swim, but obviously disappointed with the run. He actually wanted to run a marathon a few weeks later just to prove to himself that he could run it in the time that he had trained for ;) He decided to settle for a marathon next summer instead! But it doesn't matter that his marathon wasn't his predicted time... he still had a time that most people would love to claim and he completed a race that most wouldn't even have the courage to attempt.

Joshua Reed, most people probably think you're nuts (actually I know they do :), but I get it. I get you and I always have. I understand the drive and passion that is within you that most other people don't have. You aren't afraid to step out of your comfort zone to follow a dream, no matter what the risk may be. What you did in Louisville is nothing short of amazing. I have experienced so many great moments with you in life and this one is right up there. To see you lay it all on the line for a dream and fight to get there has been one of the proudest moments in my life. I will never forget that day in Louisville. The words we speak can not express the emotions of that day. It was like nothing I've ever experienced. Thank you for sharing it with me and bringing me along for the ride! Thank you for the inspiration and for showing our girls that anything is possible with dedication and hard work. You are their superhero. I love you.