Maggie told me about this, is excited about it and I could not really say no. I thought about it and was like sharing my training, my goals, my plans, and my experiences about triathlons would be no problem! The hard part for me is sharing the reasons I am doing this, the MAC part of it. Until now, I have not written anything to be shared having to do with Mac for anyone else to see. SO.....let's get to the hard part of this....
Mac....well words cannot explain who Mac was to me or what he meant to me. He was a swimmer I coached; he was a friend, a brother, and a son. He was 8 when I met him and I instantly fell in love!! After not evening knowing him a month he was asking me to come to "redneck day at the farm" which I have to say after hearing stories of Lofley swimming in the river in his whitie tighties....I am glad I never experienced. But nevertheless, that first summer I was instantly taken in as part of the family....going on fishing trips, hunting at the farm, and other various experiences that my 3 families in Cairo instantly introduced me to. I could go on and on about the experiences I have had with these families in Cairo....but there are way too many....and probably way too many that the rest of the world should never hear about!! As far as Mac was concerned though.....he was just Mac. We could sit at the table for hours arguing over the stupidest things....and of course I was always right. :) He would make me so mad I would have to get on-line or call someone just to prove him wrong and he still would not give up!! Then the next day he would be the sweetest most amazing kid you had ever met. I remember one night being upset about some guy and him telling me that any guy that did not want to be with me was just stupid bc I was perfect....and then there was the time he brought me roses for Valentine's Day....what 10 year old boy really does that?? I mean...really?? The things I was able to do with him will never be forgotten....from fishing...to being there when he shot his first deer, him being there when I shot mine....fishing....him blaming my dog for breaking his arm :) good swims, bad swims, vacations, holidays, school awards, parades, I really feel like I got to be there for so much of his life, every aspect of it. I could go on and on tell story after story, but that would take forever and way too long. What I do know is that the day I got that phone call was the worst day of my life. We all lost someone we loved that day....but I feel like I lost so much more. There are only a handful of people that I can honestly say I believe hurt worse than I did that day. I still think of him every day, if I have to go on a long drive by myself I find myself in tears, I sleep with one of his babies every night, I look through my 100s of pictures of vacations with his family regularly. I hear people say they dream about him or they feel him. I have to be honest, I have had one dream, only one...and I can never say "I feel him" there. I talk to him a lot and a think about what he is thinking looking down a lot, but never "feel him" as people say. But that is ok, I know he is ok now, I know he listens to me, and I know I "know" him better than most.
So, there you are, that is what you get about Mac and my relationship with him. I started triathlons before Mac passed away, and I will continue them, and I will represent who he was and what he stood for. Last year two months after it all happened I competed in my first ironman (with 6 weeks of training) I wore a suit with Mac's name on it....and talked to him the whole time. I didn't see anything special, I didn't feel anything special, I did not ask him to, I just talked to him, just told him what I was thinking and how I was feeling. Well, that is become what I do. When I am on that road by myself....I can just talk to him. It was a great race and I loved it (although there were many times I thought what the hell am I doing!!!) Since that time I have trained and feel I have improved greatly. I won the last two sprints I have done. This past weekend I attempted ironman number 2....this one did not go so well. After a long hard bike ride and being dehydrated, I did not try to do the run. At this point, it was not worth putting my body through what was to come. I went and showered and came back to watch my two friends, Doug and Chris, finish their first ironman. It was great to watch these guys finish and exciting to know what they had just done. It was a grueling race, 91 degree temperatures, constant hills....almost a 50% drop out rate, and they did it. For me, it was a disappointment, but there is always another race. I will also be going down to volunteer at the Panama City race and to sign up for next year. With the help of a good friend, Scot Raab, we have already started a training plan for the coming year....one that will be what is known as "suckfest". I give it to anyone who trains for an ironman, it is hard, nothing easy about it, it takes a toll on the body, the mind, and the ones around us. It takes more time than imaginable. If you are doing it, be sure to thank your loved ones for the sacrifices they are making...because they too are sacrificing for you! I will share more about our plans when there are more details. I am excited for the coming year and the races that I have planned and to see what I can do. I am excited to get Bean Head doing tri's and to see what she can do! It is going to be a great year and to do it wearing Mac's name is just going to make it better.
Angie Leach
