Ironman

As many of you know, Wayne did his Ironman on March 1, 2008 and he did it in 11 hours and 34 minutes, which is really good for a first timer! The days started out beautifully, with a clear sky and glassy water on Lake Taupo. Before the race started, a Maori group did the Haka to send them all off (which always gives you the chills) and led the swimmers off in their Waka (war boat). A helicopter was flying overhead to get aerial footage. He did his swim in 1.05, (after getting kicked in the head hard in the water) and transitioned very quickly. Then on to the bike- the weather turned rainy and windy, which was hard on the supporters let alone the competitors! We all had shirts on that said "Go Wayne you biscuit!" (because he always calls people biscuits if they've done well) and hats that said "Iron-Mate 08" with "Witness the fitness" on the back. It was so much fun, and we had about 15 of us there, running around all day trying to catch him somewhere on the course to cheer him on. He's been working toward this for 10 months. I was surprised at how emotional the whole thing was. When he finally crossed the finish line I (Keri) just burst into tears when I saw him- you're just hoping they'll do as well as they hoped and also hoping that the ambulance you can hear down the road is not for him! It was an amazing experience!