the gun fired into the air and it was time. all the training, the pain, and the sweat i put in for this day was finally here.
swam the 2.4 miles in 1:05
rode the 112 miles
topped off the day with a marathon
as i made the final turn towards the finish line, i was truly elated. there it was, what i have dreamed about for so long. the past 12 hours of pain disappeared as i heard my name and my body crossed that sacred line. johnny little, you are an ironman!
i met up with my family/support crew, took some photos and wanted to eat something. as we strolled back to the house, the medal around my neck warranted countless congratulatory comments. i did my best to explain to my family all of the details from the race (i'm certain they had no idea what i was talking about, but they listened or pretended to listen intently). we ate, showered and went back to the finish line to cheer on the final finishers. it was there, where i started to realize what i had just done, what i had just completed.
as we high-fived the finishers making the final turn, you would see these absolutely spent, tired bodies, completely rejuvenated as they set their eyes upon that finish line. smiles returned to beaten faces, backs were straightened and feet found their swift steps again. it's magical to see. quite unreal how a simple line along the pavement could yield such a reaction.
the next day, with my legs up for the long ride back home, my sister sent me an email.
A proud sister's response :)
Ironman
x
Ironman
Jul 29
 | | |||
Johnny,
Johnny Little, you are an ironman! Seeing you cross that finish line w your dream becoming a reality and knowing you were crossing for us, your family/support crew, filled my eyes w tears. In that moment I realized why you wanted/needed to do this...you had to do something greater than who you are...you had to make what most people see as impossible, possible. And the amount of strength and courage that took is awe-inspiring. I couldn't have been happier as I smiled through my tears. And in that moment there were a few things I wanted you to know...
Regardless of you crossing that line, I love you-I always have and always will. Regardless of you crossing that line, I'm proud of you-I always have been and always will be. In my eyes, you have always had strength, courage, determination and no matter what life has thrown at you, you NEVER give up! Yesterday didn't make you an ironman. The thing is Johnny, you've been an ironman since the day you were born and I am honored and blessed to be your sister. Thank you for taking me on your journey and no matter how hard it may be at times, I will always be there cheering you on because I BELIEVE in you-I ALWAYS have and ALWAYS will!
Enjoy this moment...you deserve it!
W all my love,
A very proud and impressed big sis
Sent from my iPhone
Johnny Little, you are an ironman! Seeing you cross that finish line w your dream becoming a reality and knowing you were crossing for us, your family/support crew, filled my eyes w tears. In that moment I realized why you wanted/needed to do this...you had to do something greater than who you are...you had to make what most people see as impossible, possible. And the amount of strength and courage that took is awe-inspiring. I couldn't have been happier as I smiled through my tears. And in that moment there were a few things I wanted you to know...
Regardless of you crossing that line, I love you-I always have and always will. Regardless of you crossing that line, I'm proud of you-I always have been and always will be. In my eyes, you have always had strength, courage, determination and no matter what life has thrown at you, you NEVER give up! Yesterday didn't make you an ironman. The thing is Johnny, you've been an ironman since the day you were born and I am honored and blessed to be your sister. Thank you for taking me on your journey and no matter how hard it may be at times, I will always be there cheering you on because I BELIEVE in you-I ALWAYS have and ALWAYS will!
Enjoy this moment...you deserve it!
W all my love,
A very proud and impressed big sis
Sent from my iPhone
her 'response' brought me to tears. see, i left four letters on race morning for my family. i wanted to express to each of them what they truly meant to me along this journey. and that was her response.
1. my brother-in-law, training partner and co-creator of aluminum boy, brandon.
2. my sister, 'team manager' and best friend, sara.
3. my mother who has believed in me when so many wouldn't.
4. my fiance, my partner, roselle.
to say i was simply moved by her words would be an understatement. little does she know that i have read this note just about every day since i first received it. and in the months that have past since i crossed that finish line, her letter has helped me to understand what i had done.
don't get me wrong, i was super excited to have become an ironman, but it took some time for it to sink in. my journey to get to that finish line started out a year earlier when i began in the sport of triathlon. i started telling friends and family that i will be doing an ironman. from that i would have to explain what ironman was, and normally was met with 'are you crazy'? but, i set a goal and had to complete it. nothing was going to stop me. then, may 4th, 2013 happened...
for those who have followed this blog before, know that my face met the pavement and i broke some teeth, my jaw and needed stitches on may 4th. from the moment i sat up on the road, examining my bike, i thought about that finish line. how am i going to pull this off? i can't eat whole foods for 4 weeks?? what am i going to do?
as i sat on our couch with my jaw just wired shut, i figured that my goal wouldn't happen this year. there's always another time, another race... but, i was angry and frustrated. if i could have yelled and screamed, i would have. instead, i spent the night sulking around. the next morning, roselle asked if i looked over my bike and how bad was it. i went out to the garage, put the chain back on, tried my best to polish out the scratches and, to my surprise, realized that it wasn't bad at all. after cleaning it, i brought in inside and set it up on the trainer. should i ride? my body felt fine and i worried that if i didn't get right back on the bike, i never would. (to this day, i still think about the crash) so, i climbed aboard and pedaled away. within a day or two, i re-wrote my training plan and set course again for lake placid. running was quite difficult, but doable. swimming was out of the question. but, even though i was wired shut, i kept plugging along toward that finish line.
Roselle Delos Santosposted toJohnny Little
reasons why you are already an Ironman in my eyes:
1. not more than a month ago your jaw was wired shut
2. you endured not only my cooking but my cooking in a blender and/or softened
3. sleepless nights in discomfort and pain only to wake up and stick to the training regimen
4. you were back on the saddle, proverbial and literal, after 3 days to overcome the fear that would consume the best of us
5. you moved forward when most would step back
You have 2nd degree burns and priceless experience and knowledge to take onto your next feat. I can't wait to share the moment with you when Mike Reilly says Johnny Little from Sparrowbush, NY in July. May you always remember all the above in the meantime. I love you infinitely.
1. not more than a month ago your jaw was wired shut
2. you endured not only my cooking but my cooking in a blender and/or softened
3. sleepless nights in discomfort and pain only to wake up and stick to the training regimen
4. you were back on the saddle, proverbial and literal, after 3 days to overcome the fear that would consume the best of us
5. you moved forward when most would step back
You have 2nd degree burns and priceless experience and knowledge to take onto your next feat. I can't wait to share the moment with you when Mike Reilly says Johnny Little from Sparrowbush, NY in July. May you always remember all the above in the meantime. I love you infinitely.
roselle wrote this to me via facebook and i used #5 as my mantra from that day forward. any low point in training and even on race day, i repeated that line over and over again.
it was the journey that brought me to that finish line. the ups, the downs. it's truly remarkable what it takes to cross that finish line. for me, it was an ironman, but that line could be just about anything in life. and when a bump in the road knocks you off course, just take a moment to right yourself and keep moving forward.
define your line, then cross it.
