Sunday, September 2
Chris' race day!! We left the farm at 4:15 am because the road from the farm to town was going to be closed at 5:00 for the race since it was the race course. QLefty drove us and Ben there in his van, and the boys worked on getting prepped for the race.
The women had had great weather for their race the previous day, but the men didn't get as lucky. It was a little rainy all day long, with a constant drizzle. That made the bike course, especially, a little more dangerous as they were descending those massive hills at break neck speed.
QLefty and I gathered at the swim start and saw the boys off -- they went in waves of 10, every few seconds, to space it out in the water. When Chris went into the first waves, his goggles came off! Luckily, the went down around his neck and not into the water! He got them back on quickly and off he went! He had a solid swim leg with no issues, and Lefty was at the water to see him come out. He went quickly through transition one and I was there to see him start off on the bike course. He was looking strong!
Afterwards, QLefty and I walked a bit and then he had a meeting with a friend and I went to enjoy my free breakfast! It was delish, and the other spectators were so nice. Afterwards, I made my way down the shoreline to the viewing area to see Chris return on his bike -- I was able to get some good pics there. The bike course was extremely hilly and intense, so his legs were dead afterwards! I was so happy to see him off the bike and know that he was safe, with no bike crashes because of the wet roads. After a quick transition two, he took off on the run course. From my great viewing location, I was able to see him multiple times since the course was a loop. He had a great run, though it wasn't what he had hoped because of the large amounts of energy the bike course used. I was able to stand right at the finish line as he came zooming through the finish shoot, and he was so pumped to be finishing! He crossed that line as an IRONMAN CHAMPION!!! Only a select few can claim that, and he earned every bit of that title! So super proud of him! Chris knew that he wouldn't have a personal best on this course, and he raced it as his "victory lap" from the amazing effort that got him to that point. He was thrilled with the whole experience!
After the race, we all met up. Chris took his bike back to the bike transport tent, so they could get it packed up and sent back to the U.S. Then we had dinner on the Boardwalk, and Chris and Ben rehashed their races and told stories. It was so fun to hear about it all! What an amazing day!!!
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