Number 3 Ironman done!

Ironman Tahoe 2013

Done and done...another ironman under the belt for Tay.  I was hoping that the 3rd time would be the charm with him not feeling like absolute crap afterwards and during the run but....

THE SWIM

The morning started off beautifully!  The weather the day before was beyond awful!  Horrible rains, winds, and coldness and it was super scary knowing the boys were racing the next day.  The weather finally cleared up in the middle of the night and turned for the way better.  The morning was still really cold but Tay and Jake bought these slippers that saved their feet because the sand was so cold.  People were kneeling on the ground because their feet were so cold.  My feet were freezing!  I had on two pairs of socks and tennis shoes but I kind of accidentally stepped in the water and got wet so the toes went numb. My hands were freezing from trying to take pics and text people all morning.  With that set aside the scenery was unbelievable!  The water had fog covering it, the mountains in the background were snowcapped and the entire view was surrounded by water and huge huge pine trees.  It was a photographers dream.  The outside temp was 34 degrees but the water was 60 degree so the swimmers were in heaven in the water.  Both Jake and Tay loved the swim.  They loved every minute of it.  It was so cool to watch in this mystic background but I was also ready to go get feeling back into my feet :)  I didn't really get to see them before they started but I saw them when they finished.  (Tay didn't see me though...he just saw Kacey).  It is always such a relief when they get out of the water.  This is what I would think would be the worst part because of how cold they would be.  They luckily were able to go into a tent and completely change into warm clothes (while basically standing butt naked right next to hundreds of other men) So intimate :) but at least it kept them warm and made transitioning to the bike not as painful.  They both had about 15 minute transition times but they were much needed.

Tay swim: 1:13

Jake swim: 1:17

THE BIKE

We got to see them in their bike gear head out onto the course. Once they headed out we found Kacey's parents and went back to the hotel for breakfast and to warm up.  It was nice to finally thaw out my limbs.  After that we drove out to the mile 45 spot to watch.  The ironman tracker was semi helpful but was also not working amazingly.  The weather turned out to be beautiful!!!  It was sunny, no wind and about 60 degrees!  The athletes (and spectators) got so lucky! It was gorgeous! We watched for quite awhile and almost missed Tay because he blended in so well with his black outfit. Sadly I didn't get a picture but he at least saw that we were there.  About 20 minutes later we saw Jake passed us.  They both looked great and were in high spirits. One loop down and 2 1/4 left to go.  We had to go get some snacks (spectating is a rough sport) and potty stops and then we headed to Truckee which was the only road we could take to get to Squaw Valley.  We were barely moving!  Everyone was on this tiny road making our way to the run/ finish area.  We decided to pull over on one of the hills they climb because we didn't know if we would see them again on their bikes.  We were standing at about mile 87 on a part of the course that they had just climbed a ton and then had a 4 mile climb ahead of them.  It was the perfect spot though because they were going slow.  Tay was flying on the bike. He went from 771 overall to 260 overall on the bike.  He past so many people!  He looked great when we saw him but he was starting to tank at that point also.  He was so sweet when he saw us and pulled over and gave me a kiss.  Brownie points for that one.  We then waited for Jake for about 30 minutes and Jake looked good too.  His first question was "how far ahead is Tay?" and we lied.  After we saw them we headed to Truckee.  It took so long to get there!  We totally missed Tay on the run transition but got to see Jake. 

Tay 6:14

THE RUN

 After that point it wasn't going to be til mile 18 that we would see Tay.  The tracker was showing that he was doing 11-15 min miles at a lot of points so I knew he was in trouble. He tends to get sick on the run which is so unfortunate because the run should be his strong point but he can't even show that up because he gets so sick.  We camped out at the resort at mile 18/ 26 to wait.  Got some lunch and hot steamers and hung out to watch everyone.  We saw Tay after he should've been there but he was still moving.  Jake was coming up right behind him.  Jake was moving well and Tay was having a really hard time.  We gave him a jacket and a sandwich and he kissed and gave me a hug but he said he had never felt that awful in his life.  He still had 8 miles to go.  That's not an easy feet.  We went back to the car to warm up again. With the sun starting to go down and it started to get pretty cold again.  Then we went and camped out at the end of the finish line and just prayed to see our boys.  I knew Jake was going to finish before Tay but I was hoping they would be somewhat close.  Spectating brings on so much anxiety!  If they aren't where they are suppose to be at the moment then you think they fell, got a flat, are sick, etc and you just pray that they are going to turn the corner and you will see them.  Seeing your athlete is the best feeling ever!  Kacey and I anxiously waited for Jake and Tay.  Jake came in strong and finished in 12:18.  He was sweet and hugged Kacey on the side and ran through with so much accomplishment behind him!  Tay came not too long after (bet felt forever) at 12:32.  He actually looked decent when we saw him but he felt like crap!  

Tay 4:43

THE AFTERMATH

After finding the boys I could tell Tay wasn't in a good place.  He kept bending over and apparently had thrown up a few times on the run.  He couldn't keep anything down.  As we went to get the bikes he walked into a porta potty and just vommitted his guts out!  It was so loud and sad to listen to.  Kacey's parents, Kacey and I were just dying for him.  Felt so bad.  He was so not doing good.  I wish I would've gotten him in the tent to get an IV because he needed it!  But he just wanted to get home.  We got in the car back to hotel and had to pull over a few times to have him throw up again.  It was awful and to hear  and see him. Kacey's parents were so sweet and kept saying he needed a blessing.  We got him back to the room and stripped down and laid in bed.  We knew he needed liquids in him so Kevin (Kacey's dad) got him gatorade, water and a popsicle that saved him.  He was able to sip and keep it down (after he had thrown up one more time in the hotel).  At 12am (right when I laid down to bed) he decided he wanted fries so we got room service and they hit the spot after dumping an entire bottle of salt on them.  He woke up at 5:30a.m. not being able to sleep anymore and starving.  He went up to the Regency breakfast (because he had hook ups we got to have free breakfast every morning, $129 rooms instead of $400 and 50% all food at hotel) at ate a ton and came back a new man.  He fell back asleep til 8am.  

We are now on our way home.  I'm SO SO SO proud of these boys! That course was so hard!  Stats said that 25% of people DNF'd.  Tahoe had the highest average finishing time ranking it the hardest of the hardest ironman courses out there.  Tay and Jake both said they wouldn't do that course again.  Looking at the profile it didn't appear that bad but Tay said it was WAY harder than SG! The bike climbs were beyond brutal with a 11% grade at one point and the run was way harder than they thought it would be.  Tay claims he won't do anymore ironman's until he figures out why the heck he gets so sick.  

These boys are amazing and what they did yesterday was incredible.  Most people will never do that in their lifetime.  I'm so proud of Tay and his hardwork and dedication and what he can pull out even with not training as hard as most people.  He's a freak of nature!  He's an athlete!  Watching him makes me so proud.  Watching him also honestly makes me said I can't do this stuff right now because I miss that euphoric feeling.  I know it sounds crazy but watching an ironman makes me want to do an ironman!  I know most people think I'm insane for saying that but after I get this stress fracture taken care of I just might have to do an ironman.  

It has been such a fun vacation with the Andersons and Kacey's parents.  I would go to Tahoe again in a heart beat but maybe not for the race :)  Jake and Kacey will always be some of our best friends.  Kacey's parents were beyond nice and fun to be with.  They were so funny.  Kit acted like she was our age and a friend.  Kevin paid for our dinner and was just so beyond nice!  We had a blast with them and just hanging out with the Andersons.  Good times, good friends, good scenery, good hotel, good food, good relaxation, and good race (for the most part) = a great trip!!!!

 

After eating a popsicle, sipping some gatorade, resting and eating fries he seemed to perk up.  I'm so proud of this ironman!  I can't believe he ran as well as he did with how sick he felt! I don't think I could've done that!  He said that he hadn't spent so much money to get there and time invested he would've just quit.  So glad he didn't!!!  I love this man and his ambition and will to muster through things that I never thought he could!  

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