11-15-15

Me: 5:30am Ironman morning! 

November 15, 2015

Howard nervous & excited to race Arizona Ironman.

2700 competitors lining up for the 7am start. 2.4 mile swim in 63 degree water.

The bikes waiting for their 112 mile segment. The 55 degree morning with clouds looked to be the perfect race conditions.

And then the rain came. :-( Bob, Olivia, Wendy & I waiting for Howard to crest the hill on his 3rd & final lap on the bike (Howard like many others were getting very cold). The pouring rain that lasted for hours was not in the forecast so many athletes weren't prepared.

We had fun cheering for Howard and many other friends out there suffering. Out of 2700 who started the race…310 DNF'd (did not finish). We saw many pulled off the course with hypothermia.

The good news; the rain eventually stopped and it was lovely out for the run (but still quite chilly).

Howard had a PR swim & was a tough cookie to push through the bike (at one point he told us he was too cold to continue…but with a brief pep talk he went on). His first 13 miles on the run were good (he was always smiling!). The last 13 miles were about surviving. There was much walking but Howard kept moving.

A look down from Mill Ave bridge to a portion of the run course along Tempe Town Lake.

11:19pm and Howard crossed the finish line with his buddy Louis. Nice that they were able to do 22 miles of the run together! His official finish time was 16 hours & 19 minutes. I am so proud of Howard for becoming a 3X Ironman! He had some real obstacles this year with his work schedule conflicting with training plus several illnesses that set him back. It was a pleasure to experience this day with him & see him succeed in becoming a 3-peat Ironman!