316 Days, 15 hours, 29 minutes and 24 seconds until the 2012 Ironman World Championship!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
LAVA Magazine
We recieved our new copy of “LAVA” magazine in the mail yesterday. It is the “2011 Hawaii Ironman Commemorative Issue”. James was flipping through it, and guess whose name appears on page 141? If you guessed my favorite Ironman, you are right! The page is a page of congratulations for the “Mark Allen Online Team Kona 2011”. It has james listed, along with the other Mark Allen racers. It says “Ho’omaika’I ‘Ana” (Hawaiian for Congratulations). Then it states “Congratulations to all the Mark Allen Online athletes who competed in the 2011 Ironman World Championship”. I am so proud of him!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Ironman Awards Banquet
On the Sunday after the Ironman, James and I attended the “Ironman World Championship Awards Banquet”. I have to admit, after the welcome banquet, I was not expecting much as far as the food went. I was very pleasantly surprised that the food was much better at this banquet. James was just excited to be there!
Little “Hula Girls” that performed at the banquet
This is a picture of the view above where I was sitting. When the awards part of the ceremony got too long, I tried to see what it would look like if I placed the camera in my lap and took a picture. The result was pretty cool, I thought!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
So, what now?
So, what happens now? All those months of training and sacrifice are over. The race is done. The Ironman has been conquered!
Does life go back to normal? You may go back to your “normal” routine, but inside you are different. Ironman and Kona have a way of creeping into your soul. I did not even run the race, but will find myself daydreaming about the time spent there. I cannot imagine how it is for James!
In the days immediately following the race, everywhere we went people were congratulating James. How did they know he had run the race? He still had his armband on, and the “finisher” t-shirt kind of gave it away!
The question everyone asks is if he would do it again…IN A HEARTBEAT! Like I said, Ironman gets into your soul!
Thankful
This year I am thankful for a God who loves me, a nice cozy home, a husband who works incredibly hard so I can stay home with my boys, the chance to cheer for James at the Ironman World Championship, a healthy baby who gets mad when Elmo doesn't answer him on his phone, and a healthy 1st grader who dresses like a Native American to celebrate Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
More to be Thankful For!
I am thankful for a husband who works extremely hard, so I can stay home with the boys!
After all the post race necessities (food, massage, etc.) we went and retrieved James’s bike from the transition area. Then, we headed out into the crowd of spectators.
The crowd was going crazy! It was awesome how they cheered for every racer that came through!
We still had a mile walk ahead of us. We really wanted to stay until midnight and watch the final runners come in. Unfortunately, by this point in time James was starting to feel a little sick, so we made the trek back to the hotel.
James was cold, so they gave him this “metal” blanket. It was almost like a huge piece of foil, but softer. Many a drunk made an “oh so original” comment of “nice cape!” as we pushed the bike down Ali’I Drive!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
After the Race
After watching James cross the finish line, we fought our way through the crowd to get to him. To say that we were proud of him, would definitely be an understatement!
It is difficult to describe the emotions you feel at a moment like this. I usually feel like crying (in a good way). The rush of adreline keeps you going until you can get your arms around your loved one. Then, it starts to feel surreal. Am I really here? Is this just a dream? For me the excitement kicks in, and I want to tell him all about my race experience! “Sure honey, you just did 140.6 miles, but I saw Craig Alexander win the race, and I saw Chrissie Wellington on the bike! And guess what? We got locked out of the room and Rylan was in there sleeping and it took the security guard 8 minutes to get there and unlock the door and…what? You need some Powerade and a massage? You’ll be alright…but listen to this! Aaron got a pearl from an oyster, an Australian woman stole our beach towel, I heard there were dolphins on the swim course…alright, alright, I will get you a Powerade and find the massage tent!”
Aaron takes a different approach to the whole “finish line experience”. “Daddy! I love you! You are the best Daddy ever! Can I go play in the sand? I’m bored! Mommy, I am hungry! Why are the athletes the only ones who get pizza? Can’t I have a piece? Can I go play in the sand? Can I have some of Daddy’s Powerade? Why is the massage taking so long? I’m still bored! And, I am still hungry! Can I go play in the sand?”
So, you can see that Ironman is a “family experience”!
Roll On!
Some of you have been asking about James rolling across the finish line. Here is the reason why…
Even before James’s beloved grandmother passed away from ALS in May, he had always said that if he ran the Ironman, he wanted to be a “Blazeman Warrior”. The Blazeman Foundation for ALS raises money for the war on ALS, in memory of Jon Blais. In 2005, Jon was diagnosed with ALS. In October of that year, he became the only person with ALS to ever finish an Ironman, and he did it in Kona! I am not sure about the direct quote, but Jon Blais had said something to the effect of “I will finish if I have to roll across the line!” When he finished, he got down on the ground and “log rolled” over the line.
Jon Blais passed away on May 27, 2007. James’s grandmother passed away from this terrible disease exactly 4 years later. In October, James dedicated his Ironman race to her memory.
Throughout the years, it has become a tradition for Blazeman Warriors to “log roll” over the finish line of their races. The log roll is used as a symbol of hope in the war on ALS and also a way of raising awareness about ALS. That is why James rolled over the finish line.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Finish Line!
Smiling big as he approaches the finish line!
In the “Blazeman Warrior” tradition, James rolled across the finish line!
I have to apologize about the blurred pictures. It is difficult to take a good picture when you are jumping up and down and screaming your head off!
Well, the moment we had been waiting for was finally here! Since April 15, our family had given it’s all to reach this goal. We ate, slept and lived Ironman for almost 6 months! It was more than worth it to see James coming up that road and crossing the finish line!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Finish Line Frustrations
Doesn’t Aaron look like he is having fun? Ha! Ha!
One of my big frustrations on race day was the fact that the online athlete tracking system was messed up for those of us in Kona. Every time I would try to track James, I would receive a message to “go to a desktop computer”. Well, believe it or not, I had not carried my desktop to Kona with me! And, our hotel did not have a business center where I could access the internet. Therefore, I was stuck receiving updates from friends and family on the mainland!
A miscalculation of James’s finish time had me rushing my dad, Aaron and Rylan down to the finish line. We had not eaten dinner yet, and we grabbed a sandwich on the way. We got down there, and Rylan decided that he was not having any part of it! He did not want to be in the stroller, but we could not let him out to crawl around. He screamed and fussed, until finally, my dad took him back to the hotel. (Again, I was so thankful that my father was there! I don’t know what I would have done without him. Probably broke down and cried!)
By this time, we realized that James was going to be a little while longer than we thought. Aaron and I did not want to take a chance on missing the big finish though, so we stayed near the finish line.
As the time for him to finish drew closer, Aaron and I fought the crowd to get right up near the finish line. Aaron was a trooper, but it had already been a long day and the crowd and the noise is not a lot of fun for a little guy!
Chrissie Wellington
As James was heading out on the run, the first place woman was coming in. Now, Chrissie Wellington is not your ordinary woman. Fans of the Ironman will tell you that she is a BEAST! She won the first Ironman World Championship she ever competed in (2007), and the second (2008) and the third (2009)! Chrissie did not compete in 2010 because of illness. She broke the course record in 2009 and was just a minute shy of her own record when she finished this year!
As if all this was not remarkable enough, Chrissie Wellington almost broke the course record for the Ironman World Championship this year, after ending up in the hospital after a bike accident 2 weeks before the race! Is this woman human? That is a question many have asked! She is undefeated at the Ironman level.
Another Reason I am Thankful!
I am thankful for the freedom to worship where I choose on Sunday! I am also thankful for all those who have given their lives for me to have this freedom!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
James heading out on Ali’i Drive for the run! He is about a mile in and looking good! Still smiling! After heading out for a 4.5 miles, the marathon looped back around and again went past our hotel. By then, the children had gotten bored and my dad had taken them back into the hotel. I can’t believe the other part of my cheering section abandoned me and left me to watch for James’s return all by myself! Actually, I totally believe it! Ironman really is a sport for grown-ups.
Just a few more miles to go!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thank You, Veterans!
I am thankful for all my grandfathers and a grandmother, numerous uncles and an aunt, 2 brothers-in-law, too many friends to count and my awesome husband, who have all willingly served our country so my boys can grow up free!
Happy Veteran’s Day!
My Favorite Veteran!
I do not think that anyone who knows James would think of him as “disabled”! In fact, a lot of people (myself included) think that what he can do is pretty amazing! Firefighter? Check! Paramedic? Check! Ironman? Check! But, the U.S. Army says that he is a disabled veteran.
In 1993, James joined the Army immediately after graduating from high school. It was not too long after that that he was injured in a parachute accident. The doctors put him back together (one of his feet is more metal than bone!) and said he would not run again. The Army labeled him “disabled” and sent him on his way.
God’s plans are bigger than ours, and had James not been “disabled” and awaiting his retirement from the Army, then he would not have met a certain college freshman in front of her dorm, on a cool October night! He went on to marry her, have two wonderful boys with her and eventually end up at the Ironman with her!
This Veteran’s Day, I want to say “Thank you!” and “I LOVE YOU!” to my favorite veteran, and my favorite Ironman!
Happy Veteran’s Day, James!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Run Begins!
After beating his bike goal of 7 hours by about 5 ½ minutes, James was ready to conquer the 26.2 mile run! By this time, things had heated up in Hawaii! The pros were duking it out at the finish line, and the stream of people running up and down Ali’i Drive was getting longer and longer!
Iron Family
Race day is often an endurance event for the Iron Family! It means extremely early mornings, lots of walking, even more waiting, and tons of nerves! I sometimes wonder who is more nervous on race day, James or me? I can tell you that in Kona, it was definitely me!
We were so blessed that my father was able to come to Hawaii with us and help take care of the boys. I honestly don’t know what I would have done if he had not been there! It was a long day, that would have been so much longer had I not had help!
After watching Craig Alexander cruise to the finish in barely over 8 hours, we walked back up to our hotel. The great thing about the Royal Kona Resort, is that the run passed by there twice!
Poor little Rylan! He did not know what was going on and he just wanted down to play! His nickname is “Monkey”, so his shirt says “Tri Monkey”.
Aaron gets bored watching races (especially one as long as this one!) His shirt says “Tri Kid”.
We jokingly called my dad our “Panny”. That stands for “Paw Paw/Nanny”. So, of course, he had to have a “Tri Panny” t-shirt!
World Champion!
As we were waiting for James to come back in from the bike, the 1st place finisher came running down Ali’I Drive. The crowd was going crazy as Craig Alexander came running past to win his third Ironman World Championship!
Aaron is a big Craig Alexander fan. He says “His last name is my middle name!” While I would have liked to see an American win, it was cool to see him break the world record that had held since 1996! 12 seconds put him into the record books. His race time was 8 hours, 3 minutes and 56 seconds. Fans of the sport are just waiting for the day when someone finishes the race in less than 8 hours! (The original first place finish time was 11 hours, 46 minutes, 58 seconds back in 1978. I was 2 ½ yrs old at the time!)
Another record was set since Alexander was the first person ever to win both the half and full Ironman World Championships in the same year! He had won the 70.3 World Championship in September, in Las Vegas. He is also only the fourth person in the history of the race to win it 3 times!
It was an amazing experience to be there and watch him already starting to celebrate as he knew the win was coming!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Thankfulness
I am extremely thankful for 2 healthy sons and their daddy who works so very hard so I can stay home with them!
Friday, November 4, 2011
The Race Continues...
While we all think James is awesome, we also know that he is nowhere in the league of the pros when it comes to triathlons. He is a man who participates in Ironman races for the pure love of the sport and the fellowship with other athletes. So, we knew that if we timed it right, we could see some of the pros finish the race, and still make it back to our hotel to watch James go out on the run.
So, after Aaron had bought his pearl, and Rylan had taken his nap, we headed down Ali’i Drive to find where the action was!
Searching for Pearls
So, what does an “Iron Family” do while their loved one is out on the bike course? Some stay out on the course and cheer for the bikers. Some head back to the hotel for a nap. (That was Rylan’s choice!) Some go and take in a movie. Aaron decided to go pearl shopping!
There was a cool little shop on Ali’i Drive where you could buy an oyster. Then, the sales lady would open it up for you and hopefully you would find a pearl!
She had to search around in it, but sure enough, there was a beautiful, big, pearl! Aaron was excited as she pulled the pearl out! She cleaned it up, put it in a nice little bag, and gave us instructions on how to keep it looking beautiful!
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