The start of the race is something to behold. The ocean really turns into a sea of arms and legs - somewhere in the neighborhood of 9,000 limbs swishing around. I did not have a good view of the start so as soon as they hit the water we headed to the turn around point so we could see Jason and Ben on the beach before heading out for the second loop. Both made good time and looked really happy as they headed back out. Ben's one question..."How far ahead his he?" :) Jason made it out of the water for the second loop and to complete the 2.4 miles in 1:26:11, 15 minutes ahead of his goal. This began his faster than expected performance.
One of the funniest parts of the race is that when the swimmers hit the beach they have to remove their wet suits. Now, of course ironman provides the participants with assistance. The people who help them remove the wet suits are called strippers...so when they get out of the water there are strippers waiting on them. It is hilarious to watch them pull these people out of these wet garments while trying to save as much time as possible.
Then, they run up the beach to a transition area in a tent; put on their bike gear; get all their swim gear back in a bag and head out to their bikes. We ran also, hoping to catch Jason leaving the transition area on his bike. By this point (about 8:30am) Eli is done. I am running through crowds of people in bright sunshine and he completely passes out on me and would remain that way for about 45 min. He looked absolutely precious even if it was only because he had been pushed way past his limit.
We were able to see Jason and Ben leave the transition area and begin the bike.
No comments:
Post a Comment