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The sad part for me is I know I can't do another. (well shouldn't). So this was a one and done. I have adapted my swim and bike and am perfectly comfortable with both sports and my wiggly joints. Running kills me. I can't keep my hip in place or my arches. Often many other joints are falling out. I know if I continue running, that I will end up NOT being able to walk unassisted in 10 years. I sit here and have the 'high' that the rest of the finishers have and contemplate doing another, and I know I can't. I will continue with my Aquabikes, I will continue with the Pan Mass Challenge. I will continue to be a slow biker but will rack up the miles. I am not done with the sport, just the running part.
I will look to encourage others to try something new, to push a little bit, to get "out of their box."
I get to say now and forever that I AM AN IRONMAN!
First, I must thank my husband John. Seriously you cannot do this alone, it takes a village! He has been supportive of my crazy addiction, he comes to races, drags my crap around, cleans the house, does the laundry, and doesn't complain (too much) :). He is a gem.
I would like to thank my family for making the trip to Florida from PA. My brother took his only vacation for the year to see my race. Thanks Mom, Dad and Norm. Thanks to my cousins Tanya and Bernie for making it out as well!
A HUGE shout out to Kelly, Rebekah, and Naomi who administered my facebook page for 17 hours! They did such a fantastic job, there is no way I can repay you for what you did, amazing job!
Thank you to all the Fatgirl fans! It took me 2 days to get through all the comments, I cried several times. I am inspired by all of YOU. I am going to create an event for all of you who said you were doing 'something' this year, I hope you follow back with us and tell us how you're doing! I am amazed by the support, by the number of people that followed me all the way until midnight! I am inspired by your stories! Both those that are here for the 'fatgirl' side of things, and for those that are here for the EDS side of things. I am so happy to see that others are going to get active!
Thank you to my training partners. As I mentioned before there are only a handful of friends who are willing to go the distance with me at such slow paces. I appreciate you more than I could even say! Jay, Michele, Ali, Kim, Stacey, Kurt, Naomi, Sarah, Nate, you guys rock! *I apologize if I missed someone*
Thank you to my Coach Hollie Kenney. She believed in me, encouraged me for 2 years, and used her 25 years of pro triathlon & coaching experience to push my odd limitations to an IRONMAN!
I am thankful for the experience. I learned so much about myself and others on this crazy journey. I especially learned to embrace the EDS part of me. Most of you know about it, but I tend to not write about it. I always felt like I was complaining when I did. The EDS foundation put a link to my journey and I found so many others that WANTED to hear my story, it was amazing. It was talking with Joe Stone that made me realize that I need to be more forward about it. Those with EDS, or even other 'limitations' need to hear that, yes I did an Ironman, but no it wasn't all unicorns and rainbows!
Everyone has a journey, we can't judge by what we see on the outside, you NEVER know what someone is going through, or what they may be overcoming! For the most part, triathlon is very encouraging, especially as you get to the back of the pack! I hope to keep up what I can, and be more forward about how I'm feeling too!
I look forward to sharing the next chapters as they unfold.
Right now I'm just eating ice cream and cheesy bacon french fries :).- I'll go to the gym on Monday!
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