Our Journey to the Ford Ironman World Championships - October 10, 2009

Hello everyone - I am now finally sitting down to write about the incredible experience we had at the Ironman in Kona, Hi this past October 2009. It is waaaayyy past due. So sorry.
Well, here he is. My Ironman :0) Sporting a "Team Pena" jersey in this photo, Jose is making his way up Alii Drive in Kona, Hi on the run portion of this very epic race. Little did I know the stories I would hear after he finished about all he endured on this very hot day, but I expected there to be some "stories" as at this point, he was already over an hour "behind schedule". In passing he said to me: "I'm hurting , I'm having a terrible day!" Not knowing anything about what had happened and in what condition he was really doing this, I just blurted out my usual: "Come on honey, you can do it!" "You look great!"...Wooooo Hooooo!!! .....You know, as an "Ironmate" my job is to keep being positive and to keep encouraging and I am pretty good at that! :0) So, he kept going and we kept making our way along the course to see him several times. The kids and I were sporting our "Team Pena" Livestrong shirts and kept busy chalking up some parts along the course with our "slogans" of encouragement for "Iron Daddy". We were just super proud.
I have to say that as a family we had worked up to this event for so long and couldn't believe it had arrived. Every morning we had to pinch ourselves that we were actually walking amongst all of these fantastic athletes and amazing people that had gathered here for this event. It is true what the movie says: "They are all here for 1700 different reasons" From the pro's like McCormack, Lieto, Potts & Wellington to John and Mary Ann Blais, parents of John Blais, whom completed this race back in 2005, while battling ALS - Everyone has a purpose in Kona. We felt very privileged to be amongst all of them and our purpose was to enjoy it and for Jose to finish the race. Now for a recap of each portion of the race:
2.4 mile Swim - Instead of starting kind of on the side to avoid the mass swim frenzy at the start, Jose worked his way up to the very front of starting line. He felt good and was confident in his swimming abilities. Probably also very excited that he was actually there. His swim was going fantastic untill about 1 mile into the swim. He all of a sudden got cramps in both legs. He is not sure what caused this cramping, but it immediately caused him to slow down and try to "stretch it out". Now, as you can imagine, that is not easy to do in the ocean with some 1700 athletes all around you trying to get by. After having his goggles kicked off by another athlete and swallowing large amounts of salt water, he was finally able to regroup and make the turn back to the pier. It was a scary moment for him as in Kona you do not have your regular wetsuit to help you stay afloat, so a lot of energy was spent trying to get throught the cramping moments while keeping his head above water. His swim finish was 1 hour and 33 minutes. Extremely disappointed he exited the water to head to transition for the Bike portion of the race.
112 miles Bike - The kids and I worked our way to Palani Drive where we could see all the athletes come through on the bikes headed out for the long ride across the lava fields to Hawi. I remember constantly checking my watch, wondering what had happened to Jose. He should have been by already. I might have missed him. But, I was also able to see them come back the same way and head onto King Kamehameha Highway, so if I had missed him on the way out of the Transition, I was surely still in time to see him come back around the first little loop. It was an extremely dangerous situation there. There were so many people trying to cross the road where the athletes were zooming through on their bikes. At times I had to hold my breath. Especially when someone in their car somehow ended up in the middle of this road trying to cross it. There is nowhere to go....The crowd just gasped and yelled "biker coming!!!" as they were trying to escort this guy out of there. It was crazy and I took a step back expecting there to be a horrible accident right then and there. There were many close calls in those few minutes. The one fall we did witness was between two athletes whom got caught in each others bikes...they skid clear across the road, but were able to get back on and continue the race. Not without visible injuries, but I think they weren't feeling them yet. They just went on. Everyone gasped, cheered, had their hands in front of their mouths like OMG...this race is defintely not without danger. Finally, I spotted Jose coming down the hill on Palani Drive. He saw us and to me he looked really strong. I heard later it was the opposite. He had already dropped his bag of enduralites (salt tablets) coming down that hill and had felt extremely "strange" coming out of the water. From there on things just started happening. On the way to Hawi on the King Kamehameha Hwy he got his first flat tire. He stopped to fix it and a few minutes later continued the ride. Shortly there after, he lost his calorie drink. Man, this was not good. No enduralites and no calorie drink, only water/gatorade at this point. He decided he could make it to the half way point in Hawi (about a 50+ mile ride) and there he would gather his special needs bag which had a new calorie drink and additional enduralites. He really needed that to endure the extreme heat on this portion and so items would would help get him back to Kona (another 60 miles) But, shortly after losing the calorie drink, his other tire blew out. He told me that mentally at this point, he was really struggling. Tears were running as he struggled to fix his 2nd flat. He was lucky he had brought along 3 intertubes, which is very unusual. After finally making it to Hawi, completely "empty" because of no salt tablets and calorie drink, he was desperate to get his special needs bag. Looking forward to getting something in his system to get him back to Kona. But, unfortunately, they had lost his special needs bag and the only thing they could offer him was gatorade!!! This was terrible. He got impatient and decided to go for it. Return with just the gatorade and try to make it back. The way back was hard and many things go through your mind during those long hours. It took him 6 hours and 32 minutes to finish the 112 mile ride. It was brutal, but he did it!!
26.2 mile Run - We finally saw him again at the Run portion and were able to see him many times during this part. (see photo above). The run took him 4 hours and 13 minutes. It was extremely tough as at this point he was already very dehydrated. But finally after 12 hours and 33 minutes he crossed the finish line on Alli Drive. Over 2 hours later than he would have wanted to finish, but it is really amazing he was able to even finish the race in the condition that he was in. We were so happy to see him and so extremely proud of him. It has been a long, long day, but so memorable for all of us. The funny part to mention is that his last mile in the marathon, he ran a 6:49 minute mile. I guess he was ready to see us and come home!! Finally, those words......JOSE PENA FROM ESCONDIDO, CA ......YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!! Woooo Hoooo!!
But....It wasn't over yet.....After meeting each other in the family meeting area, we worked our way back up Allii Drive (again) to go back to our apartment. It was a slow, long walk. My stroller broke along the way (it has endured quite a bit that day) and Jose told me everything what had happened that day. I couldn't believe it!! I guess that is why they call this the toughest & hardest race. You never know what the Kona Gods can have in store for you on that day. They are tough!!
When we returned back to our apartment, Jose relaxed on the couch. But, pretty quickly after we got back, he started getting weaker and weaker and felt very bad. I ended up having to call 911 and after a long wait, the paramedics finally arrived at our place. They ended up taking Jose to the hospital and so, again, I had to take the kids, whom at this point were sooo exhausted, in our rented Jeep into the mountains to follow this ambulance. It was way past midnight at this point. I lost the ambulance but finally was able to find the hospital. It was in the middle of nowhere and I couldnt' see anything because there was no street lighting and it had started to rain. The further up the mountain I went, the harder it began to rain....it was nuts!! Finally, there is was Kona Community Hospital. We found there were quite a few athletes there from the race. One lady was completely hallucinating.....pretty weird...Jose's Dr. told us he was extremely dehydrated and that he needed to stay for observation. He was going to be receiving quite a few IV bags and we would most likely be able to pick him up again the next morning. So, this sucked. I was so worried about him, but I couldn't let the kids sleep on the ER Guerney's all night and we decided it would be best for me to take the kids back to the apartment and come back the next day. It was now around 2am. One lady was kind enough to help me take both kids back to the car. (they were completely passed out) And so off I went, back down this mountain, in the pouring rain. After about 10 minutes I realized I had taken a wrong turn. I was lost!! All I could see was rain in my headlights and lots of "jungle"....god, where was I? I could not turn around because I ended up on a narrow road and so drove untill I got to a house with a very small turn around portion on the road. Perfect. It was a good thing that I could not see much, because after I had turned the car in reverse and tried to make my turn back I saw a huge "drop". I slammed my brakes and I can't tell you how scared I was. My heart was pounding!! Both kids in the back sleeping and I was about to drive off the road...nice.....I quickly gathered myself and reversed again to then make my way back to where I really needed to go. I was soooo glad to be back in Kona...god...that was scary. I had mixed emotions. I was worried, I was sad...and I was TIRED....Jose and I talked several times on the phone to make sure he was okay. I finally fell asleep. I think it was around 4am. The next morning I called and we were able to pick him back up around 12 noon. Thank God!! He was going to be okay. I don't know what it is like to do an Ironman, but I think we all completed one that day!! Hahahaha...
The next few days we were able to relax, talk about everything again and just reflect on what had all happened. It had been an experience of a lifetime!! Despite the setbacks and the scare to the hospital, we would love to be able to come back to Kona. It has defintely become one of our favorite spots!!
My most memorabel/touching moments:
Meeting Jon and Mary Ann Blais. I ran into Mr/Mrs. Blais several times during the race and afterwards. They were such a joy to talk with. I admire them for their dedication to their foundation and their mission. That they honor their son in the most effective way they can. Spreading the word and awareness of the illness he had. If you want to learn more about the Blazeman Foundation for ALS, you can do that by going to: http://www.waronals.com/
Further, the volunteers and the families supporting their athletes. Moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles...they were really amazing and just loved watching their faces as soon as "their guy or gal" came into sight...they would go crrraaazzyyyy...!!
Then, finally, the challenged athletes whom completed this enormous challenge and just fought to the very end. Watching them approach the finish line in their wheel chairs or with their prostetic leg is something that still, when I think about it, brings tears to my eyes. They looked sooo happy!! Everyone would yell for them. Gosh, what do we have to complain about? You should've seen these guys!! All of these people are just unbelievable and true fighters.
There is so much more I can write about and perhaps I will do more little blurbs here and there, but, as I have said before, this was something that will stay with me forever!! And I wonder if we will ever make it back to this race again?