The Cannons: Tay's an IRONMAN...again

ST. GEORGE IRONMAN

2012

All I have to say is this year was EPIC.

We started looking at the weather reports 2 weeks in advance and started worrying that it was going to be a HOT day. It started out saying it was going to be 93 and each day it got cooler and cooler. Weather was looking perfect. Maybe slight wind but nothing bad. The day before the race I headed down to meet Tay (I stayed a little longer because little Stockton got really sick and I couldn't leave him). We went to Sandhollow Reservoir to drop off bikes and do a "confidence swim". When we got there it was super windy and the water was pretty choppy so Cregg (tay's dad) and Tay decided to skip the swim. They were just grateful that it wasn't suppose to be windy the next day. We then went to T2 to drop off running gear and headed out for a late carb loading lunch at the Pizza Factory.

After we went and said hi to the SOJO group...the south jordan guys that were all doing the ironman. Tay didn't train with them a ton but he still stayed in touch with them and we all became really close as a group. It has been such a great group! A couple of the girls are already my good friends that I run with (Dawn Petitt and Katie Shoemaker).

Later that night we got to hang out with my sister in law Jenny and her cute little girls as Tay and his dad started to truly mentally prepare for what was ahead for them in 12 hours. We all started the day early at about 4am. Jenna Robles and I decided to drive out to the swim start and needed to give ourself time to find the back route so we started early like the guys :) We got out to Sandhollow about an hour before the start which was nice because I was able to see and talk to Tay and his group and take pics and see a few other friends I knew doing it. At this point the morning was seeming perfect...good temps, not too windy, and the atmosphere was so exciting! We watched the boys slowly enter the water and swim out to the start. It was so neat watching all this bright colored caps waiting for the gun to go off. And off they went at 7am and everything was looking good. Literally 5 minutes later the tables turned and these HUGE WIND GUSTS started coming in. Jenna and I headed to the finish area so we could have a good spot to see them come out of the water and with each minute that passed the more the wind picked up. We kept looking at each other and saying that this can't be happening and hopefully it will die down. It was the opposite...It kept getting worse. There were 40+ mile hour wind gusts and there were 4-5 foot water swells. After 7 minutes there were already rescue boats coming in with people. About 45 minutes into we see a ton of ironman walking towards us. They had taken one of the rescue boats in because they were either struggling so much or they got way to off course. Technically that was the end of the day for them. Poor Taylor's dad dislocated his shoulder when swimming into the way. It knocked his air back so hard and pulled his arm out.

It was truly scary to watch. I was genuinely concerned that there were going to be deaths. My friend Jenna Robles and I were standing right where the swimmers come out. When the time came up that we thought our husbands would finish we didn't see them and of course we knew they were going to do way worse with those winds. Well I never saw Tay come out and they never said his name so I was getting really scared. Jenna's husband, Dave, all of a sudden came walking towards us. He had gone too off course and was done with his race (mind you he has done 4 ironmen and done them well). That goes to show how harsh it was out there. Tay was wearing a Zagg jersey along with a bunch of South Jordan guys (and others) so I heard one of the ladies say they had seen a Zagg jersey head out and I knew Tay was one of the better athletes so luckily she had taken a picture and I looked at her camera and realized that is was Tay and he was on his way on the bike! I was so sad I didn't see him, but so thrilled that he was safe. I immediately started crying knowing nothing had happened to him!

We stayed out at the lake for a while after waiting for Jenna's sister to come in and the other SOJO guys. I missed Tay's first bike loop and ended up seeing him at mile 60. He pulled over and immediately wanted to know if his dad made it out. I had to tell him the sad news that his dad got injured and his race was over. I could see the beyond disappointment in Tay's face. It was so sweet how concerned he had been the whole time about his dad. He also had major back pain at this point so luckily I got a hold of my friend Dawn Petitt that was at mile 70 and she was able to give him ibuprofin...it was perfect timing! I was able to stay and watch a ton of the other bikers in this spot and did so for a bit then when and got lunch, showered and headed downtown to make Tay's transition. So relieving to see him come in on his bike and apparently the athletes said the bike was just as hard as the swim because of the winds going into gunlock. Tough tough conditions. Tay got his running gear on, got lathered up by the women and headed out on his run looking STRONG. As my cute friend Dawn kept saying, he looked like the Kona championship pro's with his giant smile and effortless stance. It was a great spectator course for the run so I saw him like 8 times on the run. He made it look easy and smiled the whole time...until about mile 17 and I saw him walk but that only lasted for less than a mile and he got a sudden burst of energy and took off. The rest was history. He was incredible!!!

Overall time: 11:43:50

Swim time: 1:17:42

Bike time: 6:29:30

Run time: 3:46:37

Rank: 135th overall and 25th in his division (he has some amazing competitors in his division because he really killed this course and I was shocked that he was 25th but he was totally happy with his time!)

He crossed the finish line and looked good. He walked to the athlete area and basically collapsed. He crawled over to me and we hugged and he literally couldn't get up. I went to the bathroom and got a call from my mother in law saying that Tay had gone to the medical tent. He went from bad to worse. He ended up in the medic tent for almost 2 hours with 4 bags of IV fluid and some anti nausea shots. It was due to heat and exhaustion. They weren't really letting family into the tent but I was able to keep checking on him and because Cregg technically was in the ironman he was able to go in so he could keep us updated. After almost a few hours we were able to take him home. He was sick all night and couldn't sleep. He literally slept from 2-5 but was better the next morning. He was barely even that sore! Crazy!

I'm so glad I was able to be down there to support him. I had a hard time leaving because Stockton got really sick before I left but I knew I needed to be there for Tay. He is so beyond amazing! IRONMAN is a crazy event and he did so well. I'm married to a machine! And the best part about it is he is so humble. He never brags or boasts. I have to do it for him. I cried multiple times throughout the day because I was so overwhelmed with how incredible he is and I also kept trying to imagine the pain he was in. I'm so proud to be his wife! He but so much hard work and dedication, early morning hours, even some late nights to train without interfering with our family. People always say to me that I must be so patient to let him do these things but honestly I want him to do them. He just wakes up early and by the time he is done with his workout I am just waking up :) It really didn't affect our family life and if anything makes it better because he is a more energetic and focused dad. He is such an amazing example to our kids. He always puts family first and that's why I love him!

CONGRATS TAYLOR J. CANNON! YOU ARE AN IRONMAN....AGAIN!!!