The Day I Became an IRONMAN: The Finish Line

My dream.....it was coming true.  My IRONMAN finish line was here.  I chose to give the finish its own blog because it was simply its own experience. It was 2 minutes of my life I will never forget.  I remember everything.....every face.....every feeling.  It was magic in every sense of the word.  It was my moment and it was perfect.

In the year leading up to this moment, I had dreamed the finish and how it would play out a hundred times.  In all of them, I had this perfectly cheesy smile.  I was gonna stop and walk and hug everyone, but then the time came and nothing I had dreamed could have compared.

I passed that "To Finish" sign and a wave of deep emotion hit me.  My joy played out in raw tears.  Rosario, my fellow teammate saw me and ran the 100 yards to the finishing chute.  I couldn't contain my tears, "I did it."  I told her.  "I really did it."  I was simply overwhelmed and my tears kept coming.

My emotion surprised me, but frankly, I had surprised me.  My emotion came from this overwhelmed place.  You see, in all of my reading, prepping and planning for the marathon I had held onto one big reality--Not many first-time IRONMAN racers run the whole marathon.  In fact, countless articles and athletes confirmed.....you should absolutely plan on run walking the marathon.  So I honestly will tell you that I planned to have to walk.  I just told myself to run until I absolutely needed to.

And there I was.......at the finish having run the whole marathon.  I had planned to let myself walk but I just never needed to.  The body will achieve what the mind can believe.  I believed I could be one of those rookies that could run it all and I DID!

I ran into that finishing chute a new woman.  I had found someone on that course  who was more capable than I ever thought and that person I discovered was ME.

Bethany, You are incredible, You are amazing, You are strong, You are an IRONMAN.

I was able to get my tears in check and be fully present for the victory of the finish.  I came around the chute and raised my arms.  I stepped onto that black carpet with the red Mdot logos.  The bright lights seemed to spotlight just me and I had my moment.

I felt everything and reveled in it.  I flew under the finish arch, let out a victory cry and heard those sweet words.....

Bethany Longmire, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

I came to a stop even though my body would have continued and rushed into my coach's arms.

"Bethany!  Do you have any idea what you just did?!?" She cried. "Did I come in under 12 hours?"  Her smile said it all, "Not just under 12 hours Bethany, you crushed it in 11:20!"

What????

I looked down  at my watch in disbelief 11:21:22 it read.  I screamed and hugged Dawn with every ounce of joy I felt.  We did it!  Together.  She always believed in me and I had proven her right.  I will never forget it, or her in that moment, or us in every moment that led to my successful finish.  What a year it had been.

My dream became a reality and I made my first mark on the IRONMAN world.

There is a quote in the TRI world, "The sky is not the limit.....I am."

I am an IRONMAN and this chapter of my life has only just begun.