Ironman Fever, IM Louisville Underpants Recap & Spectating

This weekend was AMAZING!  I had such a blast with the Ironman in town.  It is going to be hard for this post to be organized since my head is still spinning and I am super exhausted.  I am so tired and all I did was watch, not even compete!  Also, my house looks like a tornado has hit it from the neglected mess everywhere, and my car sounds horrendous.  As soon as this post is done, it is back to being responsible.  Also, if being responsible means missing my long swim this morning, then I guess that will have to do. 

Saturday morning was the Underpants Run.  I woke up early to take the kids on a real 6 mile run on Commerce Parkway out towards La Grange.  We got a little later of a start than I had hoped, but were able to get home, showered, and changed for the underpants run, pick up Ryan in St Matthews (who had just finished a ride and was waiting there for us), and get to the underpants run.  Here is my photo for Team Aquaphor. Didn't I say it was going to be awesome?  Also, I was very excited about my new pink test shoes!

Ryan and I:

Ryan actually knew a lot of the guys down there from the VO2 rides.  Here he is with his friend Dan in a luchidor mask from Mexico.  NACHO!

We did a group shot with the ladies from the Monday Mayhem Ride

Here is the big group of the Landsharks.  I was surprised we didn't win for largest group.  That was why I was there!

Me and Rhonda, who is getting ready for her first Ironman.

A group of ladies in tutus.  I am glad I went ahead and did my own thing and skipped one of my own tutus.  I think I would have looked silly being a lone tutu when they had the cute coordinating outfits.

Dan on the course

Rhonda and I on the course.  Ryan took a shot of both of us from behind, but I looked a big jiggly, so I didn't want to post it :) 

We walked around a bit afterwards.  We had paid for parking and all, and transition was just opening up for people to rack their bikes.  It was very exciting to be down there.  The swim was in the Ohio River. 

The kids had a birthday party so we rushed back for that, and then I was able to indulge a bit in some pizza for dinner.  Yum.  After our long day, we slept in a bit on Sunday, and I spent some time making a big breakfast for the kids and getting ready for church before I headed out to the bike course.  It was very close to my house, only a few miles away.  It was really hard to take pictures of the people I knew on the course because they were going so fast.  I saw a few people I knew, including Rhonda, which was great because her chip didn't read over a mat so everyone was worried about her, and she had weird splits once she did get a reading.  I saw someone from TIA, but I am not sure who, because it wasn't Mark or Chad.  It may have been Alan.  I think I saw Chad, and I did see Chad's dad for sure on the bike.  I missed finding Amy on the course spectating.  She was very close to me, though, in Buckner, because she was near this penatlty tent!

I went into La Grange too and took a few pics.  I couldn't stay long because I had to head back to take the kids to church. 

After church, I packed the kids up and took them down to the finish at 4th Street Live.  As we arrived at the finish area, we had just missed Chad and heard them annouce Mark.  I dashed over to see him and his family in the chute.  

Alan was also finishing up, and I couldn't quite locate him.  I had my massive stroller, so it made moving around in the conjestion difficult.  I was able to situate myself on a corner where the kids could see from the stroller and I could see both the finish and the halfway point on the run.

I saw Becky at this point, and was able to run with her a bit.

I also saw Rhonda and did the same.  I wish Rhonda's second pic wasn't so blurry.  She had a walk interval that was scheduled for when I saw her, so I walked with her.

On the way to grab Rhonda, I saw my friend Dave from MI.  I went back and hung out with him for a while.  He made Chad and Dicron head signs.  Those were pretty fun, and everyone got a kick out of those. 

We hung out with Dave for a while.  It was going to be a while before anyone else we knew would either finish or come through the halfway point, so much so that I knew we wouldn't see anyone before the kids had to go to bed.  Keira needed a bathroom, so we went in search of one.  Then the kids complained they were hungry, so I bought them cowbells.  It actually worked too.  I think they were just tired and bored, especially because Keira complained about needing to use the bathroom while we were still in the bathroom.  She was just in complaining mode.  Since we had the bells, we headed back over where Dave was, and low and behold, we found Chad!  He had an amazing finish time of 10:07:06!

I finally had to pry myself away from the excitement and take the kids home.  It was so much fun.  Soren didn't want to leave, but Keira was exhausted and hungry, and we both had to get up early tomorrow.  I was super tempted to go back and see others finish, but by the time I got home, fed the kids, and got them in bed, everyone except Chad's dad had finished.  I tracked him online, and eventually went to sleep.  I woke up to see that he had completed it 16:23:50!  I am so happy for him and really wish I could have been there to see it in person.  Amy posted this to f/b last night.

It was amazing to see so many incredible athletes out there.  I really REALLY want to do this too.  I teared up on the bike course.  I know I would have cried at the finish watching Dicron and the final others crossing the line.  Darn being a responsible parent!  Ryan and I had a discussion last night, and I think St George 2016 is realistic and doable.  It is in May, and on a Saturday for 2012, and as long as it stays that way, I just might be ready because Soren will be in school.  The course looks amazing, and we will be able to make a wonderful vacation out of it.   It seems so far away, and I would love to do Louisville before we leave, so that may still be an option in 2015, but I am not sure.