When we arrived in town, Tom's mom and Nolan stayed at a perfect place to spectate while I went with Tom for body marking and to drop off the last of his gear that he would need on race day. The energy at such an early time of day was amazing. The announcer, Mike Reilly, was already speaking words of motivation over the energetic music.
Finally it was about 6:15 am and Tom and I said goodbye for the day. I went back to our spectating spot to watch the pros begin at 6:30. It would be another half hour before the other 1,700 athletes would start. All athletes at the exact same time, from the exact same spot in the water. It would be a "brutal start" if you were in the middle of all the swimmers, is what I was hearing from spectators who have either completed Ironman Kona or who knew someone who has already competed in the race. I wondered where Tom was out in there in the ocean but I trusted that he and Bryan had found good spots and that they were focused and ready for the cannon. BOOM! Although I knew it was coming I still almost dropped my phone from which I was trying to video. Good thing the camera was hanging from my neck...
The race was underway. After watching until we could no longer see swimmers, we headed to the beginning of the bike course which would be our only chance to see Tom on the bike. The full 112 miles were outside of town. We would have about one hour and five minutes until Tom was out of the water. He exited the water after 1:09 and he was right on track to meet his time goal. We saw him round the first corner of the bike out in his bright yellow helmet and bright green jersey. It was a matter of seconds that we could see him as we shouted "Go Tom! Great swim! Looking good!" Now he was gone on the bike course. This is when my five hours of worrying would start. I have heard of many stories of the bike course and I also thought about the unpredictability of what a 112 mile bike ride could bring. What would the possible 40 MPH head winds be like? Would Tom's bike handle the conditions? Would there be any crashes on the course? But I just tried to put that aside as we walked 1.5 mile back to our condo. This was the first race where we would actually have time in between Tom sightings. We would not see him again until mile 2 of the 26.2 mile run. Miles two and seven would be on Ali'i drive, right past the condo complex where we are staying.
Surprisingly the five and a half hours passed quickly. It was 1:30 pm and we were outside of our complex cheering on runners. Most pros had passed as we could hear screams of spectators about a half hour earlier. We waited and finally saw the bright green jersey and the white compression socks coming up the hill. Tom was looking amazing at mile two.
He continued to look strong when we saw him again at mile seven. Our friend Bryan was also looking awesome at both miles two and seven. After they both passed, we heading out on our second 1.5 mile walk into town of the day. As beastly hot as it was, I knew our second walk would be nothing compared to what the triathletes were feeling. We walked alongside runners for the entire 1.5 miles. The energy at the finish once we arrived was incredible. We found a spot along the barricades and waited for Tom. His goal to finish was 9:47. It was about 4:35. I was wondering how the 19 miles since I had seen Tom were going. I was able to track him on my phone but the updates were not coming through after mile 17. Based on how he looked earlier and his consistent pace, I hoped we would see him soon. It was 4:40, 4:41, 4:42, 4:43, 4:44 and then 4:45. I knew in just a few minutes I would see Tom. Then suddenly seconds later he was running past and I almost missed him because I was texting my cousin to see if he would video the finish on his phone and then send it to me! Tom was about about to finish at 4:45 pm. His total finish time was 9:45:57. I don't think he has ever been as exact as he was today about his finishing goal. He was actually a minute early. Given the conditions I was absolutely astonished at what an amazing race he had! I was beyond proud. Although we did not have a spot close enough to see him cross finish line, I could hear Mike Reilly say "Tom Maliszewski from Rochester, MI, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!" Saturday was the fourth time I have heard Mike say that but I knew today was completely different for Tom. It was not just another Ironman, it was the World Championship Ironman, which Tom had aspired to complete since he was a child. I cannot even imagine the feelings going through Tom as he crossed the finish line. I know I could not believe my ears. The Kona finish is something I have only ever witness on television.
Finally we were able to meet up with Tom. He barely looked like he had been through 140.6 miles of swimming, biking and running. I looked far worse than he did ;-). We joined him in the finishing area and we were able to play on the beach with Nolan, which Nolan was asking to do all day long. I am also so proud of Nolan and his ability to help be so supportive. He was very tolerant of all the standing around and waiting. I know that he was so proud and happy for his Daddy as well.
Around 7:30 we began our final 1.5 mile walk back to the condo for the day. Then, at 10:00 pm, Tom and I headed back into town (by car this time, thankfully) so that we could watch the final finishers. Although I respect every finisher, the final finishers and challenged athletes are really the athletes who inspire me. I was very excited to see Scott Rigsby cross the finish line. Finally we heard Mike say that he was about five minutes away. I had my phone ready to video and Tom was ready to take pictures. Scott is a double-amputee. Watching him cross the finish line was truly incredible. We were among hundreds of people cheering him on. I thought it would be a true honor to meet Scott someday...
It was 11:59:30, just thirty more seconds until 12:00 am, the 17 hour limit of race completion. Three of the finishers in the 80+ age group crossed the finish line in the final minute. With about ten seconds left we heard of the runner coming down the finishing straight. She had about ten seconds to finish to be considered an official finisher. My stomach was starting to knot up and my heart was pounding for her. Would she cross the line in time? The massive crowd was cheering along with Mike Reilly. She crossed the finish... four seconds too late. My eyes welled up with tears as they are now while I write. She was an Ironman in my mind but she was not an official finisher. She still had a smile across her face even though she had to have known that she missed the cutoff. If you watch the video, the announcer still says her name but she did not hear the words "You are an IRONMAN!"
The closing performance began as two men danced around with torches lit with fire on both ends. There was still so much energy at the finish. After the performance the finish area cleared out surprisingly fast. There was so much preparation leading up to the big day and then it was all over in a second. The crews were already beginning to take down the course. By the next morning, there would be barely a trace of the World Championship Ironman race.
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