An Ironman Tale

Once upon a time there was a boy who decided to become a man...an Ironman:)

With the help of his brother and father he trained and trained and trained somemore....

Then on Saturday May 21 he swam 2.4 miles, biked 112miles, and ran 26.2 miles.

The End.

And here's my side of the story...

If you've never watched an Ironman I actually strongly suggest it.

Did I really just type that? Crazy right?

I suppose even for the most avid sports fanatic 13+ hours is a long time to stand around cheering only to see your favorite for a few split seconds. Still, I'm not sure I've ever seen anything so incredible.

As if the sheer physical endurance wasn't enough to admire, I also witnessed a man with only one leg completing the swim and then attaching his prosthetic leg for the bike and run as well as a blind woman running across the finish line! It was emotional to say the least.

Then there was the heartbreak of seeing athletes who didn't make the strict cut-off times, all their training for naught.

And of course the worry for my father-in-law in his 60s who, despite his fever, completed the swim and bike but passed out during the run.

And last but certainly not least, the light-headedness and feeling like I was gonna vomitt while waiting for my husband to cross the finish. I had flashbacks to his half Ironman.

In both events I spotted him with only 5-10 miles left and rushed over to the finishline only to wait and wait not knowing what happened to him. At the half I found out he was in the ER. Saturday was a much better ending.

During his last loop he slowed down significantly to stay with his brother who has an ironwill and refused medical help so that he could complete the race.

So all of my fears and worries were washed away with pride when I saw Daniel and his brother side by side come across the finishline. I'm so proud of my husband for accomplishing his lifetime goal and super proud of my husband for always putting family first, even in a race:)

And now the photographic tale of an Ironman spectator...

Are you still with me?

Guess it wouldn't be an Ironman post if it wasn't insanely long!!!!

Here's the boys at 5 am

I'm getting nervous just looking at them!

And here's Rosie and I crossing the finish at 5:30am.

Seriously I don't know what took the others sooooo long:)

Over 2,200 tri-bikes!

The Ironman wives.

Me, my MIL, and my sis-in-law

Our shirts say , "140.6 miles til I get my husband back"-Ironman widow

These brothers sure do love each other!

My sassy nieces

My partner in crime.

My parents, the saints that they are, came to help with the kiddos.

Good thing too. We waited at the finish line for 3 hrs!

Olivia kept us entertained:)

I'm so proud of my Ironman!