I haven't posted at all about my journey to Kona because it happened so fast and seemed almost too good to be true. I was afraid it might be taken away. Six weeks ago, I was driving McKenzie to gymnastics when I received a phone call. It was an unknown number but I picked it up anyway. It was a lady from Ironman. She asked if I had raced in Hawaii in June, and I confirmed that I had. She then asked if I wanted to go to Kona. I was so confused. Kona? That doesn't make any sense. I told her of course I want to go to Kona! But why is this even happening? She told me that one of the ladies who claimed her Kona slot at Honu 70.3 could no longer go and they wanted to offer the slot to me. This was shocking on so many levels. Mainly because Ironman never calls anybody. They send out emails, and don't care about customer service. So to receive a personal phone call was shocking. I told her absolutely I would take the slot! I just needed to make sure I had things ready to go. I immediately called Dan and asked if he could get me ready for Kona in 6 weeks. We were lucky in that I had just started my build for Ironman Chattanooga, so I was at least mentally preparing for full ironman training even thought I wasn't ready yet. My wheels were spinning as I drove home. I called Jeremy, my mom and Lexi. When I got home Cambrie was there and I was just still in shock. "I get to go to Kona!" I screamed. "I get to go to Kona!" I still didn't believe it is the weeks kept getting closer. I checked and double checked to make sure I was registered and my name appeared in the participant list, but it still wasn't real. Because there is such a backlog of Ironman Kona athletes due to COVID the island was going to be very, very full. Most everyone had their accommodations, flights, and cars booked for about a year or more. So I was scrambling to find a place to stay. I kept refreshing Airbnb hoping to snag a cancellation. That's exactly what happened. I found a condo for Jeremy and I just a half mile from the pier. We couldn't have asked for a better location. The best part was, they hadn't jacked up the price because of Ironman week so we could actually afford it. There were so many miracles like that leading up to the race that it felt very truly like Heavenly Father was saying, "Here's a gift for you. I know how much you've wanted this and how hard you've worked for this." Suddenly my dreams were coming true. It didn't mean it was going to be an easy 6 weeks though, it's still Ironman training after all, and a hot world championship at that. So I turned down every other responsibility I had to focus solely on prepping for this race. I had two workouts a day, I would do one in the morning before the kids went to school and one in the heat after they were gone. Earlier I posted about one of my morning memorable running training sessions with my friends around McKay Lake. I was watching the days on the calendar tick down, 30 days, 10 days, and it felt unreal.
None of the grandparents could watch the kids, so Christian and Mercedes Moon came to the house to stay with the kids for that week. It was just going to be Jeremy and I which changes how we vacation for a racecation. It was all Ironman all the time. I had been really stressed leading up to the race, especially about a week before. I began to doubt my preparation, my fitness, and whether I was going to be able to handle the unique conditions racing in Kona. But as soon as I landed on the island and I saw all of those other athletes, all of my fears just melted away. Some people report being intimidated by the other super fit people walking around at that time. For me, I looked around and I just saw my people. I know how to do this. I know how to race. I know exactly what I'm doing. We had a little hiccup with our bikes as they were rooted through Las Vegas and arrived at the airport a couple hours late. But at least they arrived at all!
Our first stop on the island was the merchandise tent. There was no way I was going home without some Kona swag. Then I was able to go get checked in. One of the volunteers helping me check in was kind enough to take my phone and snap a couple pictures. I was actually crying as they put that wristband around my wrist. This has been a dream 6 years in the making. Even longer for Jeremy. We finally made it, we finally made it to Kona!
The are around the King Kamehameha hotel was packed. I loved hearing all of the different languages being spoken and seeing other excited athletes and supporters. Time for some photo ops!
Hanging out on the pier and getting ready to celebrate one incredible week.
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