At first, Dr. Paul Bikhazi appears the same as many of his colleagues at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland.
The trusting brown eyes, the white lab coat, and that blue polka-dotted tie with the top button fastened.
What his patients don’t know is what happens when Bikhazi, 47, undoes his tie.
The Ear, Nose and Throat specialist is more than a doctor. He’s an Ironman competitor.
“I was in a state when I was trying to get more physically fit and active,” Bikhazi said. “When I turned 40, I had always been active, but I felt like I could be in better shape.”
Bikhazi competed in his first triathlon in 2009, two months before taking part in his first Ironman event: an Ironman 70.3, or a half-Ironman, in Lake Stevens.
The weekly routine is a little more strenuous than most are used to. Bikhazi said he typically swims at least five days a week for an hour at a time, rides 150 miles and runs 20 miles.
His biking loop — he lives in Kirkland as well — skips through Redmond, Eastlake and Sammamish, past Cougar Mountain Wildland Park and back through Bellevue. He then reaches Kenmore before returning home.
Seven years later, Bikhazi is somewhat of an Iron Veteran, having competed in 18 Iron Man events and a handful of world championship events.
Bikhazi took part in the 2016 World Championships over the summer in Queensland, Australia. He and his family made a vacation of it, taking in sights in and around Sydney before heading north for the competition.
He also competed in the Iron Man 10.3 Superfrog on Sept. 25 in Imperial Beach, Calif., finishing sixth in the 45-49 age group.
His finish was enough to qualify for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Competitions are about more than just Ironman for Bikhazi, though. He’s also a founding member of Iron Heart Racing, which has spread to 49 states and 19 countries in the last several years.
“It serves to provide cardiac awareness,” Bikhazi said. “Even though [Ironman] is an endurance discipline, there are those who have gone through it with cardiac diseases. To overcome that and continue racing shows that, even though people have different medical limitations, you can still be very active.”
Bikhazi plans to compete in one or two Ironman events before taking on Chattanooga.
