My brother James has this 140mi triathlon bug… otherwise known as the Ironman. He completed his first Ironman in Canada last year and he wanted to compete in just one more. An Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mi run. Crazy, yes? James lucked out and got an entry into the inaugural Lake Tahoe Ironman (Ironman entries are in HIGH demand!) so he jumped at it. He lives in Denver, so he has no trouble with altitude. But still. Ironman races are pure madness.
I loved reading James’ race report of his Lake Tahoe Ironman… go check it out!
James, by the front door, aka his “office” for the weekend… preparing all his fuel, gear, bags for transitions:
Carb-loading the night before:
This has to be one of my all-time favorite shots… here’s James, the day before his race, “resting”:
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Race Day!
Lots of cheering squads!
The c-c-cold 2.4 mi swim at King’s Beach:
112 mi bike (up some CRAZY steep hills!) – James with his buddy Josh Hickey:
Lastly, a full marathon:
Mom and Dad watched 7 grandkids so Lauren, the devoted Mr. Garland and I could volunteer at the bike-to-run transition area at Squaw Valley… Jeff helped with bike handling, Lauren worked at the finish line, and I helped in the women’s change tent.
Me with my women's change tent crew: I met some wonderful women in that huge tent. Athletes would come in after finishing their grueling 112mi bike, change into their running gear, then quickly head out to run a marathon. Wow!
Lauren and me, volunteerin’:
Grandmom and Brookie waiting for James at the finish line:
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“James Sullivan, YOU are an Ironman!!!” the announcer boomed.
James finished!!! Oh my goodness. From 6:40am until 8:30pm… Over 13 hours… and he was one of the faster athletes! Talk about endurance!
And I think he had to train for his finish line leap:
Too much energy. That guy needs to go run another marathon.
Lauren got to put James’ medal around his neck at the finish line! So cool!!
James stops to say hi to his son Carter (who promptly offers a glow stick):
Post-race celebrating:
What a treat it was to be able to see my brother finish his second ironman, volunteer in this amazing race, and to do it all with our family.
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