I am Ironman

Last weekend my parents made the 25+ hour drive to Utah to grace us with their presence and we were able to head down to St. George to watch my dad do the St. George Ironman! The course was pretty brutal, starting with the 58 degree water and continuing and ending with hills and wind. Too bad I didn't sign up for this one or else I would have killed it! No wait, I mean it would have killed me. My dear friend Brish and her bro Austin were there, as well as Otto. It was a much needed vacation for me, so I had a blast! There was the sweet nectar of life (aka marshmallow popcorn), the Free Willy VHS, and I finally learned what happened to Selena (she died. Who knew?) And of course, the main event was fun and inspiring. For reference the distances are: Swim, 2.4 miles; Bike, 122 miles; Run, 26.2 miles. Note to everyone: don't ever watch an Ironman in person because next thing you know you'll be training doing a 90 mile bike ride on a Saturday morning wondering how you got yourself into this mess. Trust me. Here are some pictures to show you just how awesome it was.

We went for a hike a couple days before. You know, to get the muscles loosened up.

The Little One was there too.

Don't worry, it may look like a hot desert, but it wasn't. Except when we were in direct sunlight. At high noon.
Brish and Austin on the shuttle bus to the swim start. About 5:30 AM.
My dad had gotten us a good spot to watch the race. Thanks dad! We knew there was a reason we brought you along.

Before he left dad said that he wished I was doing it with him this time too. Sweet, loving words from a father to his daughter? Maybe. But let's not forget that misery loves company.

After waiting until the very last minute to begin putting his wetsuit on and stressing my mom out, he finally was ready to go. I'm not sure what that gang sign means or where he picks these things up, but I don't think it's something nice. Yeah well... right back at you dad!

The athletes funneled out of of the swim start entrance in a continuous flow for 15-20 minutes. And just when I thought no more would keep coming...
WHAT THE...?? How did he sneak in there?
The swim start was between the big red buoy on the left and the smaller orange one on the right, so everyone had to swim out to there and tread water until the race started. Chaos ensued. Haha, I just noticed that sign that says "Iron Tuna."

Andddddd... Go!!!!
The athletes are in the water to the left of Brish's head.

Me and my boo.
This is just for reference, it was taken a couple days before the race. They have to go out and around this big rock.

Do you see him? This is after the swim in completed, in preparation for the run. They didn't make the tents big enough, so everyone had to change outside. Everyone was pretty good about it, except the one man who thought it was ok to completely take his pants off and gross everyone out.

Brish will do anything for attention. C'mon, have some class.

Fast forward about 6 hours and here we are volunteering in the women's change tent helping the women change from their bike to run clothes. More nudity, but this time it was expected.

And lastly... some pics of my dad on the run. He is the one in the discrete neon yellow. Regrettably, we have no pictures of him on the bike or at the finish line. My bad. It's ok, he's done 20-something of these, he didn't seem to mind too much that there was no documentation.

After a day of scouting triathletes, it looks like our number 1 prospect for Brisha's future husband turned out to be Austrian Michael Weiss, the winner of the St. George Ironman. Does he speak English? Who cares! When you speak the international language of love you don't need to. Congratulations to Michael and to Brisha, I wish you many years of happiness.