I’ve got stud genes

So, I believe I mentioned before that my Dad is a triathlete.

Well, he is now an IronMan three times over. I guess the two IronMan races he’d done previously didn’t bring on enough pain. This one did.

To put this in perspective, let’s keep in mind that his first ever Iron distance triathlon, the CaliMan 2004, was at the age of 50. Ouch! This picture makes him look more like 30, though. I guess triathlon IS good for something.

From the race:

That’s a little more accurate. A lot of pain and perseverance and a little help from a few of his (many) fans!

The following year, he got hit by a truck. I’m not kidding… I wish I was. Three weeks before his IronMan, he was riding his bike in the hills and got pwned by a pickup truck. This was the result:

I’m told the photo doesn’t do the damage justice. He had a fractured skull and still looks a little funny, years later (just kidding, Dad!). Anyway, the race directors wouldn’t let him participate without a swim cap, but he was determined to compete. Come race day, he looked a LOT better.

I guess faster healing is yet another perk of being a triathlete.
He beat his previous time, even with this (major) set-back.

Clearly, my dad is hardcore.

My brother is one of his bigger fans and talked him into choosing Nevada’s Silverman for his next conquest.

As if it isn’t bad enough to do a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run… in a ROW… Silverman features 9,700′ of elevation gain on the bike and 3,800′ on the run. And as a special surprise, a grueling wind gave the lake whitecaps and added over an hour to his bike ride.

He and his friend both survived the day and my dad even won 2nd place in his age group, with nice swag and a trophy to show for it. Um… more genes, please? Thanks.

You can read his comments and see some more pictures here.

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