you are an IRONMAN!

Matt does not like unfinished business. his dream was to be an ironman. so he had to try it again!

over thanksgiving we went to cozumel, Mexico for the Ironman triathalon.

2.2 mile swim. 112 mile bike ride. 26.2 marathon run. all must be done in under 17 hrs.

He did it! at the end of the race they announce every one's name and say "You are, brief pause, AN IRONMAN! the man had a british accent and i have been saying it to matt for days, You are an Ironman!!:)

the number
delivering his bike for the race the next day

we met some friends from matt's work there, mark was doing the race too so denise and i spent the day together, waiting and watching.

and so the long day begins...
mark and matt nervously waiting til time to go
the whole island welcomed the race
this is the mass getting to the water for the race
the swim was held at chakanaab park. a natural ocean park. they have trained dolphins who put on a show while the swimmers got ready.



matt is in the blue jammers walking to jump in the water
in the blue on the left
and they are off... the dolphins and the racers 2.2 miles

matt said there was something in the water that was like a little jelly fish, they stung you and it felt like a little shock. they all came out with red dots all over and they started to itch later.
i ran over from the swim to watch him get on the bike
he's out of the water in 1 hr. 20 min. and ready to go for the long 112 mile
looking good in his hawaii jersey

we took a bus from the swim area to a VIP tent. we bought tickets which was worth every penny. there was a tented area with tables, food, water, and shade. it was very hot!
from the tent we could go to several places to watch them go by on the bike. ESPN was watching too along with many local news stations and sports channels.
denise was a good buddy for the day it would have been lonely without her.
there are several disabled triathaletes which just amazes me.
matt is done with the bike and ready to run. it is so hard because running is matt's strongsuit but after over an hour swim and 7 hours on the bike moving those legs isn't so easy. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches keep him going along with the food they have on the sidelines, bananas, coke, water and powerbars.
on the left is the VIP area, on the right is the general viewing. there were over 2,000 competitors and probably 3-4,000 people watching.
it gets dark early there, around 5. they have until midnight to complete the race. the pro's will come in sometime around 8 hours everyone else will come in anywhere from 12- 17 hrs.
we positioned ourselves on the marathon route, there was a loop so we got to see them twice. it is really helpful when they see you it is a little mental boost. it had gotten dark so long ago and matt lost all concept of time. when he saw me he said what time is it, i said you have 4 1/2 more hrs. and he was so relieved. he thought it was around 11:00 p.m. and you have to finish by midnight. i told him he had plenty of time to do the 16 more miles he had.
we were so thankful for our waiting area. we had a bathroom, couches to watch the action from and drinks all day.

we saw mark a little bit after matt had come by and told him to catch up to matt so they would have each other. he did and they walked for a while together. it is exhausting, physically and mentally. mark had a lot of goals in his head and was getting frustrated when he wasn't meeting them. matt's goal was to finish an ironman. they talked about that when they met up and i think mark felt better.

Here he comes!! looking a little tired but so happy to turn that corner to the finish. i was on the bleachers screaming!!!

they are shown on the jumbotron crossing the finish line.
he did it! MATT BISHOP, YOU ARE ~ AN IRONMAN!!!!!!!
mark followed, again Mark Macfarlan, you are an ironman!



i couldn't get a picture of them on that side of the finish line but we will be able to get it from the race photographers.

his final time was 14 hours and 50 min. that's a long day!
i am so proud of him. he is always pushing himself to go farther in everything he does. he had a dream and realized that dream. he was exhuasted afterwards and so ready to go back to the hotel and start an IV. the benefits of being a C.R.N.A. Mark was able to get one too.

you can see the next day the hurt in everyone and matt feels great!

afterwards he said he was done and would probably never do another whole but some more halfs. i told him i knew that he would just want more and would want to do it again.

yesterday, 6 days later he was online checking out where the next ones were! i am really hoping he gives it a break for now. it is a huge time commitment and i have missed him!

he will always be my ironman !