Wes did not have such and easy road to get to the Ironman. Nothing serious or health issues but definitely some hiccups along the way. Back in September he competed in his first triathlon and had a little panic in the water and then had a flat tire. A few weeks ago, he did another triathlon where his wet suit choked him and another flat tire in really cold weather. He had a good race a couple of weeks ago so I think that was a confidence booster for him. He left for Coeur d'Alene last Tuesday and on Thursday his bike was stolen. He was checking in for the event, parked among all the other competitors and someone cut the lock and took his bike. Needless to say he was pretty devastated. The police got on the trail and they, thankfully, found the bike at a pawn shop on Friday afternoon. It was a little banged up but luckily the bike shop there was able to help him out with the repairs and he was able to ride his own bike in the race.
We met up with him Saturday afternoon when we got into town and walked around the park where the event was centered and then took him out for some spaghetti. He was definitely more solemn than usual and we could tell he was nervous and excited all at the same time. I don't think it had quite sunk in that the next day was the big day.
We arrived at the event Sunday morning and it was a beautiful but chilly morning at Lake Coeur d'Alene. Here is what we came to see:
Athletes making their way onto the beach
2,500 athletes!
The professional start was at 6:25 am and Wes' start was at 7:00 am. Off they went in the water.
When we talked to him after the race he said it took him about 20 minutes to gain composure and actually start breathing because it was so crazy jumping in with that many people.
We meandered around and headed over to see him at the bike transition. When we saw him, he told us he had lost his heart rate monitor/watch in the water so his girlfriend gave him hers. Luckily he had a time but never ended up registering his heart rate so after a year of training to his heart rate, he had no idea what he was at the whole race.
We got to see him a couple of times on his bike and it was so fun cheering for him and seeing him and you could really tell he loved seeing us too. That is the amazing thing about these races is that the athletes don't care who it is cheering for them so we just cheer for everyone. They love the encouragement, obviously.
While he was off on the bike in places we didn't see him, we headed out to lunch which was delicious. It was a place that had been featured on {shocking, I know} Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It was called Capone's and is sort of a pub/bar with delicious food and about 41 beers on tap. Crazy.
This was by far the best pizza I have had in a really long time. Flavorful yet light crust. Yummy but not overpowering sauce and really fresh meat.
After we had replenished our stomachs, we headed back to the race and waited for him at the bike to run transition. He did not look quite has happy when he came in on his bike as he had when we saw him before on his bike. But off on the run he went.
We relaxed a little at this point and even took naps. Hub and I set off to find some ice cream and then saw a street where we thought it might be possible to see him on the run so we walked up there. The volunteer told us it was about mile 14 or 15 so we posted up to wait for him because we could see online that he hadn't checked in at mile 12 yet. We saw him and here is the point it got a little interesting. I ran out onto the street to give him a high five and he said, "It might be awhile, I think my left foot is broken." Well. Awesome. You still have a little less than half a marathon to run and your foot might be broken. We just cheered him on and he kept going.
We watched a lot of people finish and that was such and amazing part. I can't even imagine the feeling you have as an athlete when you cross that finish line.
We finally got to see our guy and he looked like he could laugh or cry.
He was definitely a little dazed. Said he didn't know what he was feeling. He had a couple pieces of pizza and stumbled around until we got him in the car. He still doesn't know about his foot. He told us the bike was hard and killed his legs for the run. But he did it and he finished. That's all that matters.
Wesley, I am so proud of you and it was an honor to watch you accomplish your goal yesterday. You are such a dedicated athlete and I can't wait to watch you for many more years. You have such a drive when it comes to athleticism that has always shined through in your personality as well as on the field, pavement, or in the water. I love you!
2 comments:
isn't it just amazing? we watched my roommate last year. it was so inspiring (though not convincing enough to make me actually want to to do it myself...ha!)
What an awesome accomplishment!!!
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