Jeff signed up for the St. George Ironman in the fall of 2010. He was dead set on fulfilling this goal he has had for quite some time. At the moment he signed up, I felt great anxiety for him; this quickly went out the door with life's other happenings! He trained and trained, but not as much as he would have liked due to the weather, time and an injury. Jeff had injured his shoulder at work a while ago and had not been able to train for a few weeks. As we got closer to the date of the race we both got a bit anxious. I always knew Jeff would do this and do it well. Jeff is a machine and pushes himself beyond all expectations. As we got to St. George on Thursday and Jeff started the process of signing in and getting his packet and bags ready, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. He was having some major anxiety! He settled down and was feeling better about all things the day before the race. I knew at that point that he would definitely finish this race no matter what!
The day of race the kids and I took the bus out to the start at Sand Hollow and were not able to find Jeff, so we just found a place on the rocks to watch the group. It was fun to watch the pros and all the other amazing athletes start the swim (fifteen minutes apart). There were so many that you could not imagine the sight! We saw Jeff as he came out of the water and got to hoot and holler for him, but once he took off on his bike we never saw him again all day until he crossed the finish line at 10:00 at night. What a LONG, stressful day. I knew it was excruciatingly hot and we saw ambulances coming and going quite often for people with dehydration, heat exhaustion and injuries. I just kept thinking about him and praying that he would be okay.
I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished. Jeff is an IRONMAN and always has been!
Jeff by the Ironman support vehicle.
Jeff on the Ironman support scooter!
Here are some of the athletes getting in the water and getting used to the cold!
This is a picture of the pros getting ready to start.
The sunrise the morning of the race.
Lexi and Tanner
Some spectator all dressed up! Umm....okay!
Jeff just after coming through the finish line!
He finished in 15 hours and 16 minutes!
Way to go Jeff! You are an IRONMAN!
Jeff a few minutes after finishing and he is smiling!!
Tanner and Lexi are pooped!
4 comments:
A smile?! That is so not what my face would look like. Awesome job, Jeff!!
WOW, Jeff!!! Absolutely, and IRONMAN!!!
Congrats on no more braces! And Congrats to Jeff! What an amazing accomplishment and experience.
I forgot your blog went private so I haven't been over her in awhile. :) Jeff is AMAZING! I don't understand how people can even do those races. Awesome.
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