Ironman Texas

My dad and two brothers competed in the Ironman this Saturday. For those you you who don't know, the Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and then finishes with a 26.2 mile run. My brother Mark had already completed an Ironman previously, but Daniel and my Dad had "only" done half Ironmans. Even though I was feeling pretty sick, I wanted to go cheer them on so as soon as Tom got home on Saturday, I drove out to the Woodlands for the event.

The Ironman is expensive. It costs over $600 to enter and the training takes up a lot of time. So much time, in fact, that my mom and sister-in-laws wore these shirts the day of the race:

The Ironman officials are very strict. If you do not finish each portion within a certain amount of time, they will pull you out of the competition...all that time and money wasted. My sister saw one swimmer reach shore just seconds after the cutoff time and they pulled her out and wouldn't let her finish. Pretty intense, right?

My brothers finished the swim and bike portion faster than expected. And each time we saw them on the run, they were smiling and looking great. After their last loop, we headed over to the finish line. We expected to see them within the hour, but no one showed. Meanwhile, my mom gets a call saying my dad passed out during the run and is in the med tent. So, she headed over to the tent and we continued to wait for my brothers to finish. An hour passed and still no boys. Finally, 1.5 hour after we expected them, they went running by. Daniel seemed in great spirits, but Mark looked a little out of it. Apparently, 6 miles to the finish line, Mark got really sick and couldn't keep anything down. He was on the ground and the medics kept coming over to him, but if you get any medical assistance you are pulled out of the event. So, Mark and Daniel kept fighting them off. The medics were getting ready to override Mark's decision so he staggered a few feet down the road and hid behind a bush. Daniel stayed with him for the next 45 minutes until he recovered enough to finish the last few miles.

My dad ended up with IVs in both arms and an EKG. I am proud of my dad for finishing the swim and the bike. And I am proud of my brothers for finishing the Ironman by 8:00. However, I think all three of them are COMPLETELY INSANE and I hope they have it out of their systems because it is REALLY STRESSFUL being a spectator at these things.