The last 4 months have probably been among the most profound 4 months of my life. When I qualified for Kona at eagleman I knew I was on my way back, but I had no idea that I would surpass my much younger self as an athlete. I also had no idea what sort of sacrifice and heartache I was about to encounter. During one of the last days of school my friend Charlene called in the afternoon to tell me that my athlete and good friend Stu had been in a bad crash and was being transported to Burlington for care for a major head injury. Stu has been a big part of our life since he started bringing his bike to Kevin our first summer at Faust and we were instant friends. He was involved in so much within our community that he would often invite us along bringing our family new experiences and friends. The weeks leading up to the crash Stu had finally found his stride again in training and it looked like he was going to be able to fill in his M dot tattoo all the way. You could see it in his eyes and in his tone that the week before like it finally clicked-weight was down and bike and run speeds were going up! I was just getting into Ironman training at this point and it was fun to be sharing my journey with Stu.
We were eating dinner when we got Char's call and spent the next few hours waiting while she handled information coming in and sending information out like a veteran air traffic controller. The next morning she made her first of many trips across Lake Champlain to be by Stu's side. She and her daughter Michele became rocks for the rest of us as the dr's realized Stu might not pull through. Training during this time was such a mix of emotions. This was supposed to be Stu's final push before Ironman and what the hell was I thinking getting out there on my bicycle. I would be running along at tempo pace and think of Stu and then burst into tears. Other days I would be out and the wind, the road, everything would feel perfect and I knew he was with me.
The night that he passed there was a huge thunder and lightning storm. Ruby and I were at his house with his grandchildren and this storm just tore across the north country. I knew it was Stu, he wasn't
the type of person to keep things quiet or small. The next few days training was my quiet time to try and figure things out. What would he want me to be doing. How could I continue on without fear? By that weekend I finally got off my spin bike and got a 100 mile ride in, in perfect conditions. Char, Kevin and Julio had to keep reassuring me that training was safe and would be what Stu would want me to be doing, so I went about it to the best of my ability.
Ironman Lake Placid was approaching and the Westchester County crew converged at Faust to support my good friend Ed. The week was full of errands and bike shops and training, but the whole time Stu was on our minds. A local athlete, Wesley Wilson, heard his story wanted to do something special and offered to get Stu to the finish line by wearing his road id. Wesley had also taken his health by the horns and lost over a hundred pounds to get to the finish line of Ironman Lake Placid and felt and immediate bond with Stu's family. On race day, I was waiting for Ed and Irongramps
Bob Tebo to come by the horseshow grounds when I looked up and there was Wes! I thanked him for
what he was doing for Stu and the McCulloch family and gave him a hug and watched him run away
with tears in my eyes. Stu brought the athletes near perfect conditions for the run Wes and Ed had a great race and Bob even qualified for Kona!
After the excitement of Lake Placid training got easier and longer and much more intense. Julio was throwing workouts at me that I never could have imagined I could complete as planned, yet somehow my legs were knocking them out! After Noga and I went 1-2 at the Fronhofer tool triathlon and we made sure to give Coachulio props, I couldn't wait to test things out at Timberman. Timberman was an important test for me because I had raced well there in 2009 when I was prepping for Clearwater. The trip to NH was a lot of fun with Kevin and Ruby and we may have even bought a new truck on our way to the race! I put in some great long rides followed by some intense runs and swimming, well I had been swimming. Race day went off without a hitch-good swim for me, solid bike and a
1:27 run gave me the top age group spot, 5th over all and an 8 minute improvement on the course!
Not bad considering I had a taken on a business and a couple of extra dogs and a much busier Ruby
in the 4 years since I had been there last!
The next few weeks of training were filled with disbelief that my body could be handling the workload so well, but I figured my guardian angel, my patient family and friends, and very wise coach had a lot to do with it! I was able to run a half marathon PR with no taper and I was chomping at the bit. When I was doing this in my early 20's I definitely didn't give enough credit to the athletes training and competing and managing full lives with kids and spouses. My family, especially Ruby, sacrificed a lot this summer and usually did so with at least a forced smile. We didn't get as many days at
camp with grandma and grandpa and my sisters as we had hoped for, but every time we called they understood. My dogs loved easy run days and I think Chance and Freckles even enjoyed a few tempo days! My girls at Faust definitely picked up the slack in terms of cleaning and motel and Ruby management. When they both went away toSt. Lawrence I was a little lost until reinforcements swooped in! Getting here an racing to my full potential has definitely been a team effort! Thanks to my managerial staff (sisters willing to fly to paradise) I went into race day more peaceful than I've ever gone into an Ironman and really ready to celebrate all the hard work and celebrate Stu and of course my Q. During the rough patches I thought of everyone who has supported and cheered me along as I try and set a good example for my daughter and my students so crossing that finish line 10 minutes faster than I hoped for was a pretty nice reward! Mahalo, Amy
