It was long hours and hard work on the road, but also a lot of fun with good people. We did manage to have some fun, along with all the work. I roomed with Christi - the girl I was shadowing - for the entire trip. We're a great match and had good times together. Not to mention, she's quite an athlete so kept me motivated to exercise and eat right throughout the entire trip. Actually LOST weight on this business travel -- that's definitely a first for me!
Before race day, we had one night out which started with a VIP pasta dinner, cruise on the lake, and then a night on the town with fellow workers. Here are a few pictures:
If you ever feel like you're lacking in motivation to get healthy, simply go watch an Ironman race!! Really incredible what these people have done. But honestly, watching those finishers come in in the last hours before midnight definitely had me saying "man! I could do this!" :) But truthfully... I don't think I have the commitment to the training in me. It's a major life change to train for one of these things.
Here are some pics of Ironman Race Day in Coeur d'Alene, ID:
Looks like Gatorade is a sponsor :)
Transition
Bike Transition
Our Coeur d'Alene Merchandise Store.. this is where I was everyday
The Professional Start... about 40 competitors for this. They start 30 minutes before everyone else.
The Pro swim start
Lifesavers and refs in the water
Hundreds of fans for the 7 am start!
The famous "voice of Ironman" Mike Reilly, and the local race director Andy
The Age Groupers lining up to start
Helicopters overhead
You could feel the nervousness in the air!(I love my all access pass!) I was just a few feet away
1000s of swimmers
One of the lead runners at Mile 1
The winner - 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run
The home stretch at just before midnight. The stands were packing with cheering fans!
The final official finishers with just a minute and a half left. All competitors have to finish before midnight (17 hours) for their time to be official. Otherwise, you get pulled off the course.Here's a video of the final finisher... sorry... you have to turn sideways to watch. Can't figure out how to turn videos coming from my camera :)
It was quite an experience and I did have a great time. More to come whether or not this becomes my full-time job!
1 comment:
It looks like you had a great experience, Those people must be a little crazy -- it makes my body to hurt even to think about it. MOM
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