Written By Christy Shea Griffin:
I am privileged to contribute to Rachel's blog the story of the day she completed her first 140.6 mile race. Rachel trained so hard for this triathlon, and being there to see her bring it through the finish line was so awesome. At the end of this long day, Marc, dad (Mr. Griffin) and I (Christy..Rachel's sister-in-law) decided we could call ourselves "Iron Cheerers" because cheering for this race was quite an endurance sport for us as well. . Hope you enjoy reading about this amazing day from our "Iron Cheerers" perspective.......
Our day as Iron Cheerers started at 4am as we prepared to cheer Rachel on for her first Ironman...Cozumel 2014. It was going to be a long day, and we knew we'd have to pace ourselves well. As we gathered with fellow Iron Cheerers, we quickly realized we had already forgotten one of the most essential cheering props....a "GO RACHEL" sign. Quickly we had to improvise. I used my emergency Spanish to get an open Souvenir Shop to give us a cardboard box from their recycle bin which was perfectly sturdy for a sign. Then I perused the crowd for writing tools and found a little girl coloring. She was four years old and willing to share her markers with me. Perfect! "Go Rachel Griffin" sign!- CHECK!
About an hour and fourteen minutes later, Rachel emerged from the ocean.....she ROCKED the swim! Waving our sign and yelling her name, Rachel was psyched to see us right there in the front row of the Cheerers. We looked like professionals! Then we put into action our calculated plan to make sure we got to see Rachel as many times along the course as possible. "Go Rachel!" we screamed as she zoomed passed us on the bike. She was easy to spot with this black and gold knee brace on and hot pink athletic tape on her legs.
We were energized by how strong she looked each time she passed. In between the second and third loop we found a hotel lobby to nap in....a huge MUST for Iron Cheerers to sustain their energy. After seeing Rachel dismount from the bike, we knew the race was far from over still.
We refueled and hydrated at one of the bars along the course, then we got to see Rachel embark on her 1st ever marathon. This would be her hardest leg. "How would her knee hold up? Was her nutrition enough?" Mile 7: Here she comes and she looks so great!....despite knee pain and feeling exhausted, she was so positive and was smiling ear to ear.
She even thanked US for coming out to support her. There was still about 19 miles ahead of her. It was getting late and we began to fade as cheerers. "How is Rachel still going? WE are exhausted!" THEN, there was a problem.... The tracking app showed that Rachel never passed the 12 mile marker. She should have DEFINITELY passed mile 12 by now! "Was she ok? Was she hurt? Did she need to go to the medical tent?" We were trying to stay hopeful. Maybe the app was wrong. We kept our eyes peeled for Rachel from the terrace of this bar overlooking the running course. We cheered on EVERYONE. "Way to go guy with the yellow shirt on!" "Awesome job runner with the sombrero on!" (yes, he really was running with a sombrero). Still no Rachel. Our Iron Cheering started to become more like Iron Worrying. I kept cheering nonetheless. "You go girl with the white shirt and visor". And then this girl looked up at us and it was Rachel!!!! It was RACHEL!! OMG! Mile 19!...She was not injured! She was smiling and happy, Rachel said her knee was killing her but she was doing alright! We were back in the game as Iron Cheerers! We knew that if she could keep up her jogging/ walking regimen, she would surely finish! Now we had to prepare for our Cheering finale....so we rushed to find our place to cheer Rachel to the FINISH! As she came into view, getting closer to the final turn towards the finish line, tears of joy welled in our eyes . She crossed the finish with a huge jump in the air. "Rachel did it! She really DID IT!" Rachel Griffin... YOU... ARE..AN IRONWOMAN.
Marc, dad and I couldn't have been more proud of you at that moment. (But surely not as proud of you as your mom....who was with you the entire race : ) It was a long day for us Iron Cheerers - cheering, tracking, doing calculations to know when to look for you along the course, and even carrying around a bottle of champagne ON ICE for you to have after you finish. We saw the sun rise and sun set.....and it was all worth it! You inspired us all that day.
And as you inspired/ recruited Marc to join you in the Ironman journey for 2015, I hope to recruit more friends and family to join me and dad in the intense but rewarding role of "Iron Cheerer"....August 2nd, Boulder Colorado!!
PHOTOS:
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