Feature Story

This past year, Shelley Steinle, 46, trained for two ironmans, but only completed one. Although she did not finish both, she still had life changing experiences.

Everyday, Steinle would workout with her training team, Go Mitch Go, to be ready for her races at the end of the year.

An ironman is a 140.6 mile race that consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and finishes with a 26.2 mile run (or a marathon), and Shelley was signed up for a race Chattanooga in late September and race Panama City Beach(PCB) in early November.

"I like the exercise, and I like to push myself, and I like to work for something that's not easy," Steinle said.

The day of the race in Chattanooga started at 4:30 am to get ready for the race at 6:00 am with the swim. Steinle headed to the transition station where all of her nutrition for the races are located, where she goes to grab her bike, and where her clothes are ready to change into.

"I felt more prepared for Chattanooga," Steinle said.

She was ready to became an Ironman. For her to pass the finish line and hear the words "Shelley Steinle, you are an ironman."

Steinle had a big fan club there with her for the race. She had her four kids, Josiah, 23, Anna, 20, Noah, 18, and Autumn, 15, and her brother and his family, Ben, Julie, Mark, 20, Carrie, 17, and Emma, 16.

"I was so excited to see mom rock it out and officially become an ironman," Anna said. "She had been taking so much time and putting so much work into it all, and it was really exciting to see her finally doing what she put all of the work into."

Shelley finished the swim with a time, and saw a glimpse of her kids as she got out she saw her fan club cheering for her. She then headed over to transition to switch to the bike.

"When we saw her at mile 50 she was in such a good mood, and I honestly wasn't worried at all," Anna said. "She didn't even look like 1 ounce of tired somehow."

The fan club had some time to take a detour until Shelley's next check point and stopped at Starbucks.

"I was at mile 60 going through a water stop," Shelley said. At mile 60, Shelley crashed her bike and landed head first on the ground, giving her a DNF (did not finish).

"I was really scared, because when we got the call they didn't even tell us like anything that happened," said Anna. "I mean I didn't know how bad the fall was, and I knew mom was gonna be pissed because she didn't even get to finish. I mean she wasn't even allowed to."

Shelley, who was taken to the hospital right away, had million thoughts and emotion going through her head.

"I felt sad. I felt disappointed. I felt like I failed. I felt angry too," Shelley said.

Shelley had a gash on her head that required stitches, and scratches on various parts on her body. She also had a concussion, and could not remember what happened and how she fell.

"She was in such a bad mood," Anna said. "I mean I totally expected it, but it was just really awful to see her so beaten down."

"I was upset that I wasn't there, yeah," Shelley's training coach, Steve Blackmon said. "This does happen, I just was not expecting for it all to happen to anyone I've been training."

A week later, Shelley posted on her Facebook about accepting her crash. A woman replied to her post and said she had seen her fall. She had not just passed out. She was going through a water stop, and there was water all over the ground that made her bike slip and curve, and she was thrown over the handlebars.

Later that day, Shelley explained the story to her mom on the phone, and as she did, she remembered everything.

"I felt overjoyed that I remembered and didn't just pass out," Shelley said. "I was so grateful that that girl saw me. I cried."

"It was great to know what the problem was so that now we could fix it," Blackmon said. "Shelley needed to identify what was wrong, and then that's where I came in. We focused on really being aware of your surroundings on the bike to avoid this stuff as much as possible."

One and a half months later on November 6th, after lots more training with her coach, Shelley was ready to do her race the next day and finish strong.

"I didn't want to fail again," Shelley said.

However, instead of turning that into fear, she turned it into motivation.

"I mean what [was] the alternative?" Shelley said. "I mean really. That's what I tell myself."

The day of the race was here, and Shelley with her fan club, this time just her children, headed over to the race.

"I was scared yeah," Anna said. "I mean I knew mom was ready, but I just didn't want her to DNF again, because then it would just be ten times worse. I mean I don't think she would try again."

Shelley completed the swim in 1:26 hours and headed on to the part that feared them all, the bike.

"I just really, really wanted her to get on and off as quick as possible, because I already knew she would ace the run," Anna said.

Seven hours and fifteen minutes later, Steinle came off of the bike, and headed for the run.

"I felt so great once she was off," Anna said. "Everything from here would be okay and it was such a relief."

"It was great to be there and see BAM [Shelley] so strong throughout out her race," Blackmon said. "I didn't doubt that she wouldn't pass the finish line this time around."

A couple hours later, Shelley neared the end of her race. Nearing the point to gain the new title of an ironman.

After 13 hours and 33 minutes of non stop racing, Shelley crossed the finish line.

"I felt awesome, happy, relieved."

Shelley's experiences with her ironmans have made her continue want to do them. She in fact is signing up for one in Spain for the year of 2016.

"I think it helps you know that nothing is guaranteed," Shelley said."You just do your best and wait for the outcome."

Shelley has gained many new thoughts from her experiences, and she is very thankful she went through all of them. Ironmans are her passion, and she will continue to grow and learn with every one.

"The training and the race are very symbolic of life," Shelley said. "Life is hard, but it's rewarding, and you don't know what to expect. Sometimes, you don't get what you want, but you wait, and then it's always worth it."

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