My husband is doing the Lake Placid Ironman next weekend (wish him luck!). If any of you have ever been to an Ironman, the emotions run high. The competitors are usually type-A personalities (i.e: my husband), people who have been through hell and back (a disease or a handicap), or 'normal' people that train and want to finish (and when they do - a lot of crying goes on).
It is very nerve-wracking for the spectators. You are always on the look-out for the person that you are cheering-on. My husband usually tells me, "I'll be out of the water by this time, off the bike by this time and I should finish by this time". Well!! They never really start on time, so his times are always off - hence, a lot of worrying goes on.
He wakes up at around 4am so that he can eat and digest the 'protein cake'. I always make sure that I know what he is wearing so that I can somewhat easily spot him in the crowd. The hardest is when he comes out of the water. I usually have my daughter on the look out for him and I'm holding the camera. In Monaco, she was the picture taker and I was the spotter. Once, I told her that he was out of the water and to get ready to take the picture, she froze and got all teary eyed - suffice it to say, I had to take over! There is a wonderful picture of him in Don Fink's book, "Be Iron Fit, 2nd". Don Fink is his trainer.
He will then go - swim, bike and run (a marathon). It will take him about 12 - 13 hours. Yes, you read correctly. He will exercise for that amount of time - straight! A lot of people say, "Why?". Hey, I ask myself the same question! He loves it. It's his passion... and being 'mid-life', I'm happy that his (other) passion is swimming, biking and running ;)
If I have inspired anyone - here is the Ironman address:
http://www.ironmanusa.com/
