Ironman Arizona

Man I love the Ironman. It sometimes just grabs hold of me and wake me the heck up like never before. I blame the damn finish line and the cascade of emotions that occurs as a year's worth of emotions and training come to one final 30 second stretch. for a few the day goes as planned. For most it becomes plan B then C. For some the day falls apart and the victory comes in an entirely different form.

For some, like Rudy Garcia..... I don't even to continue with that. If you know the story of Rudy then you know exactly what I mean. I know that you know that we know what he knows.

The Ironman is not easy. It's a privilege and not a right.

we dropped Curt off at the race at 5am and came back to the hotel. The plan was to take the metro down sometime after the start. I am sensitive to Luc's age and his interest in all of this. I won't be one of these parents who forces him to be there all day. But this morning he surprised me.

"Mom we have to go because we have to help Dad." I didn't know what to say.

30 minutes later I had coffee in hand, we joined Rich and were watching the swim from the bridge. Ironman Arizona is the most spectator friendly swim ever. The water was cold, 64 degrees. Perfect for us northerners. Not perfect for the 50 folks who didn't make it out on the bike due to hypothermia.

Somehow I spotted Curt..... I know this man anywhere. I can spot him a mile away in ever discipline. He looked great. after we sent him on the bike we parted ways with Rich for a bit and stumbled on a great discovery.

The Kid Zone. It was the first of it's kind, a concept developed by a local woman who saw the need for families to be cared for at the Ironman. for a pretty good price (not cheap) you enjoyed a VIP tent. It included 3 meals throughout the day, buffet style, coffee, drinks, snacks, a kids area where there were DVD's, a nap area, toys and crafts. Couches, flat screen TV's with streaming Ironman TV from the course. Laptops everywhere for checking in on your athlete. Come and go as you please, real bathrooms (not porta potties) and clothing check. First class all the way!

I balked at the price at first, but it was worth every single penny. Luc made friends...... he got to play, watch a movie, he at well at an Iornman. I met some really nice folks as well. I was sitting on the couch with one older man and we were watching Jordan Rapp as he led the race. We began talking and I commented on his bike fit, how he seemed to be born on the bike and his helmet seemed to blend into his bike.

"He's pretty good." he said.

"I think it's his day." I said. Then he told me he was Jordan's Dad. He was really proud. He was really nice.

After our break at the VIP tent we headed out to the bike course. We saw our friends and athletes come through and they all looked great!

We caught Curt a few times on the run. He was having GI issues. Coming into this race I knew his nutrition plan. It worried me but it has always worked for him. The difference today was it was hotter. I will explain more about this later..... but he gutted through it.

He came down that finishers chute with a smile and high five-ing the crowd. I love when he breaks loose and does stuff like that. The Ironman is like this. It's fun. It's high five-ing, it's a celebration of life no matter what the time.

Luc was so completely into the finish line antics I was amazed. Dancing his little self out!!!

Curt's happy with his efforts, he admits it was hard. really hard. The Ironman is hard. I am so proud of him!

Afterwards we sat at the VIP tent and enjoyed the heaters, the food, the couches and the people. It was a good crowd there at IMAZ. It was fun, it was relaxed, it was special.

More to come gang! Time for some rest!