So as some of you know Jared is training to do a Full Ironman event next year. He has been working hard for over a year already. He has been in different tri's all over and other running and/or biking races too. He wasn't planning on doing a Half Ironman this year, but then his company was a sponsor to one and was giving away free entries in a lottery...he entered and won! So about a month before the event that he wasn't really training for he found himself in it!
He did AWESOME!!! I was so proud of him! He got his goal time and looked great at the end - he wasn't like collapsing so that was great :0)
He completed a 1.2 mile swim in Lake Michigan, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run for a total of 70.3 miles in 5 hours and 15 minutes! - STUD.
Now I was at the event and let me tell you...I need to start training to be a spectator at these things...I'm not lying. Here's how my day went:...let's start with the night before actually:
The couple nights before Jared's Triathlons he sleeps in our spare bedroom in the basement so that he can get some good sleep.
7pm - Jared feeds Tenley...
7:30 - Jared packs up his stuff for the next day,
7:45 - Tenley starts screaming (mind you Tenley does not cry a lot, much less scream so this was very odd for her)
8pm - Jared comes to say goodnight to me, while I have Tenley who is still screaming.
9:14pm - Tenley finally stops screaming bloody murder!
10pm - I feed Tenely her last meal of the day and put her in PJ's instead of her usual swaddle so that I don't have to wake her up in the morning and un-swaddle her to get in the carseat.
1:30am - Tenley wakes up crying (you should know that I typically have to wake Tenley up at 7:30am to eat in the morning so this is totally not usual)
2:30am - See above
3:30am - See above - I finally decide that she doesn't like to sleep not swaddled at night so I say screw it and swaddle her up
6am - my alarm goes off - I need to eat and be in the car in 20 minutes with Tenley
6:26am - in the car with a happy baby - SUCCESS!
7:30am - get to race I have about 20 minutes to find Jared get the keys for the other car for other non important reasons
7:32 - pull Tenley out of her carseat, into the frontpack, pack a small bag to carry on my back with diaper, wipes, spit rags, and clothes for Tenley - (this also is when Tenley usually gets up to eat so I am praying she stays sleeping cause we are in a time crunch and I can't feed her right now) - I throw a blanket over her to try to keep her quiet and happy - and warm - it was chilly
7:36 - man tells me I have to walk about a mile or so down the road to where the race is starting...I start speed walking with Tenley on the front, small backpack on the back - my back starts killing me..I hate the frontpack.
7:45 - make it to where Jared is ... Have to go to the bathroom - somehow manage to go with Tenley still on my front and backpack on my back.
7:47 - Say good luck to Jared and get his phone.
8:00 - watch Jared run out to go warm up in the water - find a nice place in the sand on a small hill in the sand grass stuff to feed Tenley.
8:03 - just when I get situated and bags all off of me and Tenley feeding I realize that I have Jared's phone but I did not get the car keys! - So I leave everything except Tenley and run down the beach to the water and start flagging down Jared
8:06 - Jared informs me that he did in fact put the keys in my backpack when I wasn't looking...now I walk back up to my perch in the grass to watch them take off
8:10 - re-situated now start to feed Tenley.
8:20 - The Race Begins! I am sitting in the grass in the sand and trying to take pictures while feeding Tenley - and this is not with a bottle!
8:28 - realizing that Tenley might not be done eating quite yet, but Jared is a fast swimmer and no one else is left on the beach and I have to make it to the end of the swim to take pictures and cheer him on. - Make Tenley stop eating, load her in the carrier, put the backpack on, make a deal with Tenley that she doesn't spit up on me in the next 30 minutes and then she can all she wants - she seems ok with this.
8:30 - begin speedwalking down the beach (there is no hard sand left at this point since I am literally the last person walking - soft sand = not good for speedwalking while carrying a child) Start to eye the group in front of me and make it my goal to catch them...while keeping an eye on the swimmers - I have to get ahead of them!
8:40 - still speedwalking - Tenley is keeping her end of the deal - I am passing people at an incredible rate and sweating - this is my own personal race!
8:56 - we made it to the end of the swim a few minutes ago and here comes Jared! I take pictures and watch him run up the beach to the transition area...
8:57 - I think I can make it to the transition area if I run...Right now! - Start Running as fast as I can holding Tenley in her pack - backpack bouncing around wildly on my back.
8:59 - Make it up the beach, now I am running along side the transition area - Jared is running in the transition area to his bike - I am taking pictures and running and holding Tenley - Jared gets on his bike and takes off.
9:02 - I stand in bewilderment - my first deep breath - I have about three hours until Jared is back again. Ask the man how I get back to the cars...he says "OH BOY" and let's me know it's about 1.5-2 miles back there. Tenley and I take off for the cars.
9:30 - we make it to the cars - I get out the stroller HALLELUJAH! unpack my backpack and repack a bag to carry with us the rest of the day. Then head over to the other car - I get some wheat thins and an old gatorade that happens to be in the car - in my rush this morning I forgot to pack myself food/drink.
9:50 - I change my clothes cause it's getting hott, Tenley gets her first diaper change of the day...WHEW it was a full one! and she get's some clothes on instead of PJ's.
10:20 - It's about time to feed Tenley again I do - she spits all over - awesome, but at least she kept her end of the bargin with my spit-up deal I made her earlier
10:59 - I sit still
11:00 - My dad and Di and Cabo get to the race with food for me! HOORAY!
the rest of the afternoon went much better we ate, watched Jared fly by on the bike, and wandered around a little.
While we were waiting at the finish line we saw one guy who looked pretty old finish his 300th Triathlon! It was pretty cool. I love the finish line at races - you can just tell people have given it their all and then you have the people sprinting in, and also the people who look like they think they are sprinting but you could walk faster then them at that point - it's just awesome watching people accomplish things like that.
We finally made it home that night and we were all exhausted. I slept on the couch for like 1.5 hours, Jared napped for a while too, Tenley was out cold. Jared went to bed early and I stayed up to give Tenley her 10pm feeding again...however she wouldn't wake up. I tried blowing on her face, playing with her feet, telling her to get up and I got ...NOTHING. So I swaddled her up and she just kept sleeping till morning.
The moment I put Tenley down I felt like someone should have given me a medal - like they get at the end of races - or a tshirt or something...I made it - my own triathlon of sorts. Tenley deserves one too, I mean who likes to sit in their poopy diaper for an extra hour or two, and not get fed when they are supposed to...what a good little baby - she's a trooper! :0)
So Yes Jared did it, it was AWESOME and we are so proud of him! but also... Tenley and I Did It! It was exhausting and I had not been training for this, so I am going to start doing sprints in our backyard with Tenley in the frontpack...at least that will get me a little more prepared!
Everyone keeps asking how Jared felt afterwards and if he was sore and all those questions...which is great I am glad they are concerned, clearly they do not know what it is like to be a dedicated spectator at these events or they would have asked me the same questions :)
I am starting my training for the Full Ironman Spectator job this week...it gives me about a year to prepare...I should be able to do it!
Before The Race!
Jared's start (notice the grass I'm sitting in - this was taken while feeding - not bad)
End of the swim after my trek down the beach
Here is comes (yellow hat on the right)
He's out of the water
This was taken while running with Tenley along side of the transition area!
Getting on the bike (i'm walking at least at this point)
There he goes (white helmet towards the top of pic)
Tenley looking at the trees from her carrier while I walk the 2 miles back to the car
Grandpa & Tenley
Finishing!
CROSSING THE FINISH LINE
