IRONMAN

I woke up the morning of the race so nervous. Jason was very calm. I thought of all the things that could go wrong and all the time and energy and money and sacrifices that we had both put towards this one race. I just wanted it to go well.

Starting line. It was overcast and cool and rained on and off, but Jason vastly prefers that to heat.

It's hard to see, but there are tons of athletes who aren't even in the water yet. Crazy!

There was a roughly translated line one of the brochures that said something to the effect that the athletes would set the water to boiling. A very appropriate description.

Swim 2.4 miles: Check!

Jason did so much better on the swim than he expected that I almost missed him. Here he's setting off on the bike. I saw him halfway through the second loop and couldn't stop smiling once I knew he'd conquered the hills...twice!

Bike 112 miles: Check!

Loop 2 (of 4) of the run. I started crying at this point because I knew for sure he was going to finish. And I cried again when he crossed the finish line. But I also cried when he finished his first sprint triathlon in 2007, so I'm just a crier.

Run 26.2 miles. Check!

Finishing chute.

Congratulations, Jason. I could not be more proud of you!!