Tina Reeder, You are an IRONMAN!

It’s 3:00 am, 3 days after IronMan and I can’t sleep!  I think I am as excited right now as I was the moment I crossed that finish line and still wonder if it was all a dream.  I remember making the goal to complete an IronMan.  It was 2005, after I finished my first triathlon.  Sherri and I did an Olympic Distance in Disney World and I was immediately hooked.  God birthed in my heart at that finish line to do an IronMan.  So many similarities with that first finish and the finish in Panama City Beach this past weekend.  My biggest struggle with both is the confidence I could do it alone and cross the finish line alone.  The night before the race at Disney in 2005, I remember struggling with even doing the race because James would not be there.  At the time we were separated in our marriage and I felt like I couldn’t do it without him.  Sherri and I planned on doing the entire race together but got separated on the bike.  We ended up running together but it was at the finish line that God showed me that all I needed was Him.  There we were just He and I crossing that finish and I felt His presence like never before.  “Just you and me Jesus, just you and me”, I repeated as I crossed.  My parents and Avery were there right after to congratulate me but for some reason I knew God wanted it to be just He and I.  Fast forward to November 5, 2011 as I finish IronMan Florida and there I was again, separated from James but this time he is in heaven and all I want is to finish with God.  My entire race was “just me and Jesus” and it was glorious!  I sensed His presence is such a great way.  Here’s the recap of my race experience:

I started on the swim, excited.  I looked up to the sky as I stood on the beach waiting for the signal to start I said “this is gonna be so much fun!”  What I didn’t expect was the fear that I had to overcome almost the entire swim.  The swim is my favorite of the three sports, the one I enjoy the most and can relax with the most but not today.  Maybe it was the schools of jelly fish I swam through (which bit my foot) or the unnecessary fear that I would make the cut off time.  Not sure.  But when I exited the swim, I was not happy, feeling like I fought a tough battle out there.  I resolved to focus my mind on the bike since I couldn’t change the swim, all the while disappointed in my swim finish.  I found out later that it was 11 minutes faster than last year.  The enemy was already trying to discourage me on what would be my greatest adventure with God.  Through transition and on to the bike, I started my plan of 15 mph average and a beep of the watch every 20 minutes to remind me to take my nutrition.  And that’s exactly what I did.  The first 50 or so miles were a head wind and I found myself discouraged as I averaged less than 14 mph.  But I resolved to put my head down, stay in my aero bars and push through it, praying the entire way.  I never lost focus and continued my nutrition as planned and then came the glorious tail wind and I felt like I had wings!  I took advantage of the turn in the course and pushed even harder to make up for the previous head wind.  I only stopped 2 times in the 112 mile course for the potty and to get more water.  My goal was to beat that 3:30 pm time cut off at mile 88 which ended my race last year.  Funny thing is, my race number this year was 488.  God reminded me of that during the race and I had to chuckle.  He had already decided I was going to beat that “bad 88” by giving me the winning race number!  I battled in my mind though, asking God to give me the strength to push through.  When I hit the 88 mark, I celebrated and told the volunteers at the aid station what had just happened.  They cheered louder for me and kept pressing through.  At mile 100 was a bridge.  I climbed it like a champ.  When I reached the top and looked over at the water below, my heart was filled with love for my Savior.  The sun seemed extra brilliant and I felt the warmth of His arms hold me at the top.  I hug from my God. “Well done daughter, you are doing great, I am with you”, I heard Him say.  I flew down the other side of the bridge with the tail wind behind me at 26 mph.  Simply amazing!  The last 5 miles were the most grueling of all as a finished into a head wind but the pain quickly disappeared as I made the final bike cut off 30 minutes earlier than expected.  There was my precious Avery waiting for me at the bike finish.  As the volunteer grabbed my bike to rack it for me, I hugged Avery and we both cried.  I had felt like I finished the race at that point and told the Lord that I was ok if we wanted to stop here.  He had done more for me at that point than I could ever ask for!  But, He said “no, you’ve got 26.2 miles to run”.  So into transition I went.  Time to work the plan, 15 min miles of run/walk and keep up with my nutrition with my watch beeping every 20 minutes.  Again, I never lost focus despite the intense cramping that brought me to a slow walk at times, I kept pressing though and finding strength that could only come from Him.  Something happened at mile 13 that I can’t explain.  After making the first time cut off and seeing Avery and all the FCAE people from Tallahassee cheering me on, I started to run and didn’t know how.  At one point I felt like my lower body was not my own.  “Lord, how am I running right now?” I asked.  It was there that I felt His power pushing me toward that finish.  My greatest experience with Him was at about mile 20.  I was power walking alone and looked at my watch to calculate my time.  The reality hit me…it was 10:00 pm!  I had 2 hours to finish 6 miles.  I was going to finish this thing!  I got so excited!  I started telling everyone I saw on the street, spectators, police officers, other athletes…”I have 2 hours to do 6 miles, I’m gonna finish this thing!”  Everyone was celebrating with me.  It was nothing short of amazing.  Then the still small voice..”Daughter, you have persevered through every time cut-off today.  I am so proud of you.  This time cut-off you won’t have to sweat.  It is my gift to you, take your time, enjoy these last two hours.  I am with you and we will finish just you and Me”.  I cried knowing God was with me and I could feel Him closer than I have ever felt Him.  I enjoyed the last 6 miles trying to run and power walk.  I had to constantly change pace to help deal with the muscle cramping in my back, legs and side but still keeping a joy like I have never had before. 

Coming to the end of the race, I could see the lights and hear the crowd.  There were a few people walking the opposite way on the course reminding me I was just a few hundred yards away, but I didn’t need their encouragement anymore.  I knew I was going to finish and that God was with me.  As I entered the chute, I found enough left to run again.  There were hundreds of people lining the finish, I wanted to celebrate with each one of them and share the joy God had given me.  I just kept looking up and repeating “thank you God, thank you”.  I had so much gratitude toward God at that moment I thought I would explode!  Then…the voice I waited 16:43:27 to hear, the announcer said “Tina Reeder, you are an IronMan”.

Tina Reeder

BIB	AGE	STATE/COUNTRY	PROFESSION
488	44	Deerfield Beach FL USA	Teacher

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
1:54:09	7:52:59	6:30:01	16:43:27	2335	118

LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
SWIM SPLIT 1: 1.2 mi	1.2 mi (53:19)	2:45/100m
SWIM SPLIT 2: 2.4 mi	1.2 mi (1:00:50)	3:09/100m
TOTAL SWIM	2.4 mi (1:54:09)	5:54/100m	2398	118
BIKE SPLIT 1: 55 mi	55 mi (4:08:30)	13.28 mi/h
BIKE SPLIT 2: 95 mi	40 mi (2:31:49)	15.81 mi/h
BIKE SPLIT 3: 112 mi	17 mi (1:12:40)	14.04 mi/h
TOTAL BIKE	112 mi (7:52:59)	14.21 mi/h	2382	118
RUN SPLIT 1: 5.75 mi	5.75 mi (1:23:53)	14:35/mi
RUN SPLIT 2: 13.1 mi	7.35 mi (1:47:15)	14:35/mi
RUN SPLIT 3: 18.4 mi	5.3 mi (1:11:56)	13:34/mi
RUN SPLIT 4: 26.2 mi	7.8 mi (2:06:57)	16:16/mi
TOTAL RUN	26.2 mi (6:30:01)	14:53/mi	2335	118
TRANSITION				TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE				12:00
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN				14:18