Gary has been training for months and months for his first half ironman event...a 40th birthday present to himself. He has been a slave to the pool, bike and road and i have been so proud of his dedication, determination and enthusiasm for the event. The half ironman consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run (half marathon). We all know that Gary is an awesome cyclist and has been for the entire 18+ years that I have known him. What really amazes me is that after being told by a doctor in town that he should not attempt to run and having knee surgery years ago, he has trained for a half marathon and done so with speed. I quickly learned that I could not train with gary on the runs while I was working up to my half marathon. He was being nice to run with me but it was not doing him any benefit.
Gary turned 40 last week on the 13th and we loaded up for New Orleans on the 15th. The girls stayed behind with my parents and this came at the end of my 2 weeks in between jobs, so perfect timing all around. We made it to New Orleans and noticed the strong winds upon arrival. On Saturday we met a friend of mine from Deloitte, Kathleen for brunch. So great to catch up with her. She, too, commented that the winds were unusual. We got to the race site, Gary checked in his bike and then headed out to see the waters of Lake Pochatrain. It was rough and choppy and scary he said. Turns out this was only foreshadowing the decisions the race officials would make the next morning.
We enjoyed a nice dinner with all the race teammates from Memphis and turned in early as 4am comes oh so early in the morning!! We were up and dressed and headed out to transition so Gary could go through all that was needed to prepare for the race. Not too long after we made it to the transition area did the race offical make the announcement that there would be no swim. NO WAY!! All those hours in the pool...practicing in the wetsuit and becoming very quick in the pool for naught. Gary was a wreck. I got back to the car to text his swim coach Lesley. She had already heard. I tried to encourge Gary but I could not truly understand the flow of emotions he was going through. He took his time getting back out to transition....the race would be delayed and they would start the bike in numerical order by waves. After the initial shock wore off or at least waned, Gary got his race game on and I was so excited for him to race. I think I texted Lesley about 50x that day giving her the best updates I could. She could see live results online but it was slightly delayed.
Gary did so well. While his bike time was slower than anticipated, the wind was brutal but he did very well. His run was awesome. I could not be more proud of his finish time. He would have made it under the 5 hour goal he set for himself had he completed the swim. In fact, he would have crushed it. Now for the journey to find another 70.3 to complete so he can say he did the entire race and not just 69.1 of it!!!
So proud of my husband for his early morning training sessions, great attitude and determination to finish this race with an amazing time. You are my hero!!
Gary turned 40 last week on the 13th and we loaded up for New Orleans on the 15th. The girls stayed behind with my parents and this came at the end of my 2 weeks in between jobs, so perfect timing all around. We made it to New Orleans and noticed the strong winds upon arrival. On Saturday we met a friend of mine from Deloitte, Kathleen for brunch. So great to catch up with her. She, too, commented that the winds were unusual. We got to the race site, Gary checked in his bike and then headed out to see the waters of Lake Pochatrain. It was rough and choppy and scary he said. Turns out this was only foreshadowing the decisions the race officials would make the next morning.
We enjoyed a nice dinner with all the race teammates from Memphis and turned in early as 4am comes oh so early in the morning!! We were up and dressed and headed out to transition so Gary could go through all that was needed to prepare for the race. Not too long after we made it to the transition area did the race offical make the announcement that there would be no swim. NO WAY!! All those hours in the pool...practicing in the wetsuit and becoming very quick in the pool for naught. Gary was a wreck. I got back to the car to text his swim coach Lesley. She had already heard. I tried to encourge Gary but I could not truly understand the flow of emotions he was going through. He took his time getting back out to transition....the race would be delayed and they would start the bike in numerical order by waves. After the initial shock wore off or at least waned, Gary got his race game on and I was so excited for him to race. I think I texted Lesley about 50x that day giving her the best updates I could. She could see live results online but it was slightly delayed.
Gary did so well. While his bike time was slower than anticipated, the wind was brutal but he did very well. His run was awesome. I could not be more proud of his finish time. He would have made it under the 5 hour goal he set for himself had he completed the swim. In fact, he would have crushed it. Now for the journey to find another 70.3 to complete so he can say he did the entire race and not just 69.1 of it!!!
So proud of my husband for his early morning training sessions, great attitude and determination to finish this race with an amazing time. You are my hero!!
all checked in and ready to go!!
this is AFTER the swim was cancelled...trying to be happy!!
off on the bike...they started 2 at a time by age group waves 
all smiles on the run....that was a GOOD sign
at the finish!!! awesome job!!!!
gary and jeff at the finish line
all smiles at the finish...so proud of gary!!
my iron man!!
1 comment:
You must catch me up on Kathleen. Haven't thought of her in years. Go Gary!
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