Staci Hoover: Journal Entry #6
Staci's final story
Sometimes races don't go as planned, yet another parody of life.......so many life lessons, so little time! I knew I was in for it when I flew to Orlando, Florida, got off the plane and it was humid and hot. I diligently watched the weather channel for the weekend as there was much talk about the impending heat wave for the weekend. Impending heat wave? You mean this wasn't the actual heat wave? The heat was my biggest fear and enemy as well as the factor I could least control. There was no way to adequately acclimate my body to the heat while training in the midwest spring. This factor ultimately led to my demise as I didn't achieve the under 6 hour goal I had planned.
There was an element of diappointment and some definite bruising of the ego, but overall, nothing but a great feeling of accomplishment and support from the other athletes, fans, and cheering section.
As most of you know, the sequence of the race is a swim, bike, followed by a run. The swim took place in Lake Orlando. The water temperature was perfect and the excitement was palpable as about 2000 athletes and a couple thousand more specators looked on as each wave began the 1.2 mile endeavor. I felt good and was able to get my stroke to flow from the get go, only getting kicked in the face a couple times. Uncle Bob was kind of enough to mention Florida's alligator issues right before I got into the water so it left me with a nice visual! As I exited the water I noticed the timing chip that was fastened to my ankle at the start of the race had fallen off. It was quite a disappointment as it meant there would be no record of "officially" finishing the race. Fortunately I had started my own watch as I entered the water so there was a way to track my time. I finished the swim in 40 mintues, a personal record for myself. As I headed toward the transition area there was no sense dwelling on the lost chip, this would only waste valuable emotional energy and hey, it's not like I was going to win!
The bike portion was awesome, Central Florida has some rolling hills and it was a nice, welcome change of pace from the flatness of the other parts of the course. I noticed at various points that I was grinning for no apparant reason. I have later taken this to mean that I was having fun! It took me approximately 2 hours and 45 mintues to complete the bike, another personal best. This is where the personal bests ended!
I knew I was in for it on the run. The first mile of the run felt like mile 13 usually feels. I was determined to run the kinks out and press on. The sun was searing and there was very little cloud cover on the run course. I think the final temperature ended up at about 93 degrees that day. By mile 3 I was playing mind games to ease the overwhelming feeling I had at the thought of having 10 more miles. There was a water stop at each mile. I pretended that each mile was the only mile left, if I could just jog (and I use this term loosely) to each water stop, I could reset my brain and start over mentally. One mile left, one mile left, one mile....okay you get the picture.
I crossed the finish line in 6 hours and 34 minutes, the worst time I've ever posted. I let the feelings of disappointment come and they quickly dissipated. This may have been my worst time but I fought a pretty good battle and I left everything I had on the course, there was nothing I could physically do to change the outcome. There was joy, happiness, and relief!
The most overwhelming thing about this whole experience is the support and love that's been given to me by friends, family, and people I don't even know. I am truly honored that anyone would take the time to support me and the Mitchell Swaback Foundation in this way. Thank you so much. Words can't express how lucky I feel to be surrounded by such amazing people. Your money will be put to good use and reach people with a message that we all know Mitch was so passionate about before his going on to heaven.
Anyone want to join me next year? Come on, it'll be fun....I promise!
Staci
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