Here at runladylike.com, Fridays are all about sharing the inspiring stories of fit people who motivate all of us to be better tomorrow than we were yesterday. My Friday FITspiration series profiles runners, triathletes and casual exercisers who are making choices every day to be as healthy as they can be – in both huge ways and through simple, small victories. Their stories are about the journey of transforming from ordinary to extraordinary each and every day.

“I made it through one of the hardest days of my life without taking the easy route. I did it. I overcame insurmountable odds and I knew it.” ~Jessica Van Orden

As we begin a New Year and think about all we want to achieve and what we are truly capable of, I can’t think of a better story to share with you than an awe-inspiring account of the determination a local Atlanta triathlete showed in finishing IRONMAN Cozumel in December … despite every possible challenge getting in her way. We are all masters of our own destiny. We all get to make the choice to keep moving forward or to quit. Jessica Van Orden’s story is one in which 95 percent of people would have thrown in the towel. She didn’t, and we can all learn from her journey.

Not the Race She Imagined
Imagine training for months for an IRONMAN. Grueling 6-hour bike rides on Sunday mornings. Long bricks (runs immediately followed by bike rides) that feel like a race in themselves. Too many early mornings and laps in the pool to count. Imagine feeling ready. Feeling excited to board a plane to Mexico to conquer 140.6 miles and celebrate your victory on the beautiful beaches of Cozumel.

Imagine your plane arriving safely being about the last thing that goes in your favor.

Jessica Van Orden arrived in Mexico on Thursday before IRONMAN Cozumel. Just a week earlier, she learned her roommate would not be attending and that she’d be racing alone. When she went to pick her bike up that afternoon from the transport service, one of her tubular race wheels would not hold any air due to the valve being separated from the tire. Being in Mexico, none of the mechanics spoke English. How do I fix my tire?!? Panic and anxiety began to set in. After finally managing to get her tire fixed, Jessica realized her phone was no longer charging. Only limited communication with friends and family would be possible from here on out.

On the morning before the race, the practice swim was cancelled due to the rough waters. Then, when Jessica went for a practice ride on her bike, she got caught in a downpour.

“I returned to my hotel drenched from head to toe. My bag check time was in 2 hours, so I wrung out my things and packed my bike and run bags. I left my bike shoes in the sun in hopes of drying them slightly before they had to sit in a plastic bag overnight.”

This is where her shoes would stay until after the race.

On race morning, the sun was shining and Jessica’s nerves began to diminish. “I was ready to rock it,” she recalls. “I held my own with a few elbows and lots of kicking and exited the water feeling good. I was actually really looking forward to a long beautiful bike ride.”

This is when everything changed.

When Jessica retrieved her swim to bike transition bag and dumped out her gear in the changing tent, there were no bike shoes to be found. They were still sitting on the hotel balcony, drying in the sun. Since the swim to bike transition was in a different location than the bike to run transition, Jessica didn’t even have access to her running shoes.

“I screamed at the top of my lungs. Quickly, a volunteer came over to me. I explained [the situation], and one of them offered me her size 5 sneakers.  While appreciative, my size 8 feet said no thank you. Tears started running down my face as I thought about all the work I put into this one day, just to have to walk away with a DNF [did not finish] because of my own stupidity. I finally got up and slowly walked to my bike hoping I would come up with some great idea. Nothing came to me but to ride as is and see how far I’d get. I had no expectation of finishing but I thought maybe I could get one loop in and see the course everyone told me was so beautiful.”

So Jessica mounted her bike. Barefoot. And began to ride with no shoes on clip pedals.

Overcoming the Odds
After about 20 miles and battling 25 mph headwinds, Jessica was feeling the pressure of every movement under her feet. She recalls knowing that she had to find something to put under her feet to shield her feet from the pedals.

“I stopped at the next aid station and pulled off 2 pieces of cardboard from a box holding water bottles.  As I was about to ride off with the two pieces resting on the pedals under my feet, the mechanic came over with some electrical tape. Savior! Those 2 pieces of cardboard got me through another 30 miles.”

There are 3 laps to complete to finish the bike at IRONMAN Cozumel. After the second lap, Jessica’s feet were raw and bruised. Her legs were tired and she had to ride nearly the entire time in the upright position.

“As the last few miles drew near, yet another person pointed out that I had no shoes. It took all my strength to not jump off my bike and beat him with it. But when he told me the time and I knew I was going to make the bike cut off, I smiled and finished the hardest bike ride I’d ever done.”

After giving her bike to a volunteer, Jessica sat down and cried in the T2 changing tent. She didn’t have any intention to actually run the marathon, especially given the state of her feet. She remained in the transition area for about 15 minutes before remembering a quote that inspires her:  “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

So after 112 miles riding a bike with nothing but 2 flimsy pieces of cardboard protecting her feet from the pedals, Jessica put on her running shoes and started running. In the pouring rain. Her feet were now soaking, in addition to being raw from the bike, and she had 3 out-and-back loops ahead of her.

She managed the first loop quite well, only having to walk for a few minutes.

“At mile 15, I felt a dizziness coming over me. I noticed that I was not running in a straight line anymore.  I switched to a walk again and looked around for any officials that might take notice of my unsteady state. I realized I should probably take a minute and try to get some more calories.  I found a granola bar and some Pepsi and sat on the curb for 15 minutes trying to get myself together. As the sugar energized my body, I made my way to the end of the second lap.”

Jessica found a man to run with for the third lap who kept her going. She felt like her feet were bleeding through her shoes. With a 10K left to go, Jessica still had an hour and 40 minutes before the cut-off time.  “No more breaks, just forward progress,” she thought.

As she made the seemingly impossible turn to the finish line after the day’s events, Jessica saw the lights and the people cheering but recalls hearing no sound.

“All I could think was how I couldn’t believe I was really finally there. I made it through one of the hardest days of my life, without taking the easy route. I could barely run but I tried to lift each foot off the ground to not be walking across the finish. I don’t know if it was anything more than a shuffle, but it took all my strength. I did it. I overcame insurmountable odds that day and I knew it.”

The Impossible Became Possible
Soon after the race, Jessica became a minor celebrity – the girl who finished an IRONMAN barefoot on the bike. The week after her race was filled with emails, phone calls, text messages and Facebook posts acknowledging her rock star status. She remembers replaying the day over and over in her mind to try to figure out what made her keep going.

“If someone asked me prior to the race what I would have done in that situation, I would have bet $1,000 I would have quit. As much as I would love to think I was just super strong willed, in reality, it was just living in the moment. Taking everything one step at a time and not looking at the end, but only at the next step in front of me. In triathlon, as in life, sometimes all we can or should do is look at how to put one foot in front of the other.  Not always at how to finish the marathon. And somehow, we still get there and maybe even enjoy each moment.”

When you feel like not doing a workout this year or hitting the snooze button on the alarm, remember Jessica and her will to accomplish her goals. Remember her riding 112 miles with no shoes. Remember her choosing to keep going in the rain. You are stronger than you think you are, and you are capable of doing more than you believe you can do.

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I’m looking for inspiring everyday athletes to feature in my Friday FITspiration series in 2014. Have you or someone you know done something remarkable in your running, triathlon or fitness journey? Is there someone who inspires you who you think would inspire others? If so, please send me an email at runladylike@gmail.com.

Do you think you would have had the determination Jessica showed to keep going? What inspires you most about Jessica’s story?