Well...the day was finally here. M has been training his booty off this summer and in the past few weeks for his first Half Ironman. Yes, a HALF IRONMAN!
Saturday we picked up his packet and I have to admit, it was exciting! Although I was a little nervous as I watched him sign his life away...
The morning of the race we woke up early. SUPER early! Like with a 3 on the clock. He had a couple of stops to make since the race was a point to point. Each time I watched him methodically go through his list of needs for each leg of the race.
Oh! Did I mention it was freezing cold outside?! Like in the 40s. We were so cold even with all the layers we had on and the blankets I brought along.
I was super lucky that I had a watch partner with me. My dad came along to help me spectate and I must admit...it was wonderful to have him there and spend the day together catching up.
After waiting around for what seemed like hours, it was finally time for M to race. He didn't get in the water for almost an hour after the first wave so it really did seem like a long wait. I have to admit, at that point I did not envy him at all. It was cold. Really cold. And he had to strip out of his warm clothes and climb into a lake. No thank you!!
He did great on the swim and came out ready to hop on the bike. This was the leg of the race we were a little worried about. It was still pretty cool at this point and we knew he would be wet, so we had to figure out what would be best for him to wear as he was speeding through the streets. He ended up with gloves and a shirt over his tri suit. It worked out perfectly!
While M was riding his brains out, my dad and I had a long wait, or so we thought. It took us an hour just to get to the transition area for the bike to run. We wandered around for a bit and then decided to eat lunch. My dad packed an awesome lunch for us! Salad with strawberries and candied pecans, cheese and crackers, water, lemonade and PIE! It was a wonderful meal, I only wish my stomach had been bigger.
Well this is where the day got a little off course for me. As I checked M's splits online the website made it seem like we would get a split on the bike. I kept checking and nothing. He wasn't registering. My mind raced! Did he have a wreck? Was he hurt? Was he walking somewhere? How would I find him? How long should I wait before I panic?! All of a sudden he came flying by me and then he was gone. Yes, I missed my photo op but I didn't care - he was safe.
Then there was the half marathon part. This is M's strongest leg of the race but could his legs hold up? This part was three loops so we got to cheer him on each time he passed by. He did awesome! On the last lap we ran in to see him cross the finish...
He did it!! All his long hours spent training paid off. The early morning workouts, the lunch hour workouts, the evening workouts...it all paid off.
All those hours for this medal and the ability to say he has completed a half ironman...
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