When Ironman rolled into town at the beginning of the week, it almost looked like a circus had rolled into town. The Tents were up as fast as they had got into town, and you could feel the excitement buzz around the locals questioning what was to be. Signs around town began to warn of road closures for the big event. Very few were heard to grumble, most locals willing to excuse the closure of M-22 for the day and postponed their vehicular travel. Making this an ideal opportunity for cyclists to preview the course in advance.
For myself, my preparation began to amount in some stress as I had previously ridden an old bike that had lots of miles and had been used in all of my races and training, lots of miles. Things at the last minute became unfixable. So the Hunt for a bike was on.
I had put the word out I was looking for a bike. Aid came, as Marines find their own, a brother came to my side and offered me aid. Randy Newbold, owner of Crystal Lake Adventure Sports, a local Veteran, offered me the assistance of his Bike shop and Mechanic, Bryan. We troubleshot on the bike and quickly came to the realization this was not the right bike for this race. With Randy's tenacity and grace he was able to navigate through his network and find an absolute miracle of an opportunity; in the local area, a 2019 Specialized Shiv TT bike was available. An avid bike collector Randy knew this was only happening because of divine intervention. He made the bike available for me to take to a local fitter, Mark Geraldo, of Ride Science, to get fitted properly. Upon fitting, we realized there were some technical difficulties. Mind you, please, this is all happening a week away from the race! We went over to Pat at Mission Cycles, and he was able to update the software, and I was on it!!!
Working on a new bike a week before race day, most would say, is nuts. Never change anything before race day. Well, my mind was made up, and I was able to ride the bike for about 20 miles before the race and be much more comfortable than my previous bike. It was amazing and a blessing. This was only the beginning of the excitement. As I was at Ride Science, I had been on the light table for the feet. It shows your arch in the foot. I had previously mentioned a bout with planters fasciitis from changing shoes a month earlier, and now I was fighting some issues. When we looked at my feet on the machine, it showed my right arch collapsing due to an injured metatarsal. I had been taking it easier the previous month due to an inflammation happening in my foot. I knew I had already made the decision to race. I went for a walk while Pat fixed my software issues; walking downtown in Traverse City, I stopped into Running Fit, the shoe store. I was immediately drawn to a pair of Adidas Bostons and knew beyond a doubt I needed this shoe as it was the one I was looking for before buying the shoes that caused the injury. Here we go, changing bikes and shoes before race day, breaking all the rules!
A Marine knows how to adapt, especially on the fly. OneMind, any weapon, these were my tools. It was time to go to work. I was ready to go. I gathered my things together the day before race day and headed down to Athlete check-in. I saw familiar faces and met with a local Athlete and lawyer, Fredrick Stig-Nielsen. With words of wisdom and encouragement for his first Ironman, I pointed him to the check-in tent. Linking up with Randy and his wife Elaine, giving hugs of celebration and community. It was a little bit of a party before the race with all of the excitement bubbling. The town began to flood with athletes from all over the country and world! I dropped my things off in transition and headed right down the street to have dinner with my Amber and the girls, my Mother and Aunt. It was a beautiful evening, and surprisingly I was able to get some rest.
The morning of the race was beyond perfect; I was able to drop my things off to Triathlon and go back home for my wetsuit and breakfast, to avoid the big anxiety of the crowds' anticipation, giving myself just enough time to get down to the swim start and mingle with the local athletes. I ran into Fredrik and waited in the swim chute with him as we talked through our excitement and race plan. Upon getting to the water, the music hit me, and I began to do a bit of a jig and dance before jumping in the Betsie Bay. Baptism! How absolutely blessed I was to have made it to this moment...I was in the water, and the cheers of the crowd began to drift. I was doing it; I was having my race.
I made it through the darkness of the water with relatively low anxiety and no real issues, other than the occasional thought of losing my watch or my timing chip, the other swimmers were courteous and gave space. I was almost out of the water; I could see land. Making it upon shore, I stripped my wet suit and began running to my bike. I pulled my goggles and swim cap off my head and pulled my arm through my sleeve. Intentionally leaving my swim cap and goggles. I felt something drop. I panicked for my new goggles I had just purchased the day before, another new thing before race day! Looking for them only allowing for seconds to search. Seeing nothing, I moved on to my bike. Transitioning over quickly grabbing my helmet, strapping it, grabbing my bike, and running with it as fast as I could though transition on this new super-fast bike. Hauling all over through my neck of the woods. It was a perfect course and an amazing day for a bike ride.
Upon coming back into town from the bike, I was met with the pain of my foot. But keeping my mind on the race and why I do these things. I do them to Honor my Brothers and Sisters. They gave me this opportunity to have this understanding of freedom. I put the pain aside and went to work on the run. I was blessed to see all of the athletes as they ran through the Betsie Valley Trail. It was a great day of celebrating everyone's hard efforts in training and finally showing up to such a gnarly race. I was able to make my run steady and stayed within my goal range. I came across the line at 5 hours and 25 minutes, running full stride across the finish line into the Arms of Josh Mills, the Mayor of our Town; he gave me my medal, and Kristine, his wife, gave me a much-needed water. When I wiped the sweat from my eyes, I saw my family. Amber and my girls Raya, Talullah, and Lilah, my mother and Aunt, a blessed Man I was. To be encouraged by this whole community, and to be blessed with this race of my dreams.
Randy opened up his bike shop to provide some much-needed recovery and respite. Allowing for myself to get a foot rub from myself and some rehydration. I gotta shout it out; my gratitude over bounds with joy and humbleness. Thank you to my local community for making this race a reality. For pulling together for me and supporting me. My undying loyalty to My Veteran Community and the efforts that each one of you makes to pursue their dreams. This is my why; this race was a testament to freedom. A testament of community. A Testament of the American Dream. Thank you all for being a part of my network. May you all be inspired to keep facing the day and whatever challenges are presented with a positive mind and achieve the things you never thought were possible. Many Blessing-Love y'all for Love Is Semper Fidelis. God Bless.
Written by: PFC Gerald Jennex' 01-'05, 3rd Battalion 1st Marines Infantryman
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