OneHandedBlogger

On Life with One Hand by Keiron McCammon

  • Work
  • Triathlon
  • Media
  • About
You are here: Home / Archives for 2023

Archives for 2023

Hot, Humid, Hilly, and Windy

January 22, 2023 by keiron Leave a Comment

Thank you! I couldn’t have done it without you. It got pretty dark by the back end of the run, both actually and metaphorically. The cloud obscuring the full moon plunged all of us stragglers heading down to the Energy Lab into near blackness—lack of street lights and a pot-holed road don’t make a great running combination.

There are no spectators on this part of the Ironman course, just an occasional athlete appearing out of the gloom on their return leg from the turnaround, a glow stick around their neck dimly lighting their way.

I passed a sign stating that competitors continued at their own risk—as if someone would read that and decide to not proceed.

Why was I putting myself through this again?

It’s Kona, the Ironman World Championship, I kept reminding myself. A once a lifetime opportunity (for me, at least). I can’t not finish!

I swear the only flat section in Kona is the swim. When you combine the never-ending rolling hills, a climb up the side of a volcano, with temperatures touching ninety-nine degrees Fahrenheit (37°C), eighty-plus percent humidity, and a relentless wind that always feels like it’s in your face, it makes for a relentless grind. A fifteen-plus hour relentless grind, in my case.

As I resorted to power-walking the last thirteen miles of the run—the hill on the Queen K highway that just kept going and going, runners snaking into the distance, finally got the better of me—I knew I was in for a slog.

The course at Kona is distinctive in that the swim and bike are an out and back; usually, the swim at an Ironman would be two or even three loops (likewise for the bike).

Seeing buoys stretching for one point two miles into the distance brought home how long a swim it is. Driving our rental car to the bike turnaround at Hawi took well over an hour. For the first time, one hundred and twelve miles was starting to feel a long way.

But the run course, well, that’s a labyrinthian route. It heads off in one direction through the town, to a turnaround, then back towards Kona, a climb up to the Queen K, and then along the highway to a turnaround that loops back along the Queen K before dropping down to the Energy Lab and another u-turn that brings you back up to the Queen K and the last leg back to town for the finish.

Driving and riding parts of the run course had failed to bring home the near-constant rolling hills and climbs I now faced.

My usually good spirits had gone the way of the dodo. As night descended, it became a battle of sheer willpower to put one foot in front of the other. Yet, I couldn’t let all of you down, everyone that has supported me over these last three years. All of you that were following my progress live through the tracker app. Justin, who had flown to Kona to volunteer as my handler. Kerry, who was patiently waiting at the finish line.

It’s in these moments that we’ll do more for others than we’d do for ourselves. If it’d just been me racing out there, I’d have packed it in at mile twelve on the run, sat down on the side of the road, and called it a day. But it wasn’t just me racing out there; all of you were with me in spirit. I couldn’t let myself down; I couldn’t let you down.

So, when I finally heard those immortal words, “Keiron McCammon, you are an Ironman,” from the voice of Ironman, Mike Riley (who retired last year), I knew it wasn’t just me who was an Ironman. You, too, are an Ironman.

It’s been a decade-long dream come true, and thanks to all of you, I raised $140,600 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. That’s $1,000 for every mile of the race!

Thank you, I couldn’t have done it without you.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
Keiron McCammon

Get Updates

Archives

  • January 2023
  • October 2022
  • June 2021
  • October 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • July 2016
  • January 2016
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • August 2014
  • May 2014
  • February 2014
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • May 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • November 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • March 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006

Copyright © 2006–2023 · Keiron McCammon

 

Loading Comments...