Trying a Triathalon!

I'm not sure when the idea entered Mike's head, though it was probably quite some time before he ever verbalized it to me, but earlier this spring, he made the solid decision to train for a triathalon. Initially, he thought one in Duluth in August would be perfect, especially since he'd have all summer to train for it. Then we did the math and realized the "supporting party" of this duo would be around 37 weeks pregnant by that time.....so he reconsidered and found one in the small town of Morden, Manitoba.

The big day was last Saturday. It.was.Awesome.

Mike's alarm was set for 4:45 a.m. Thankfully, my parents were able to camp right near the lakeshore which meant the girls stayed in the camper with them and avoided the 4:45 a.m. wakeup call at our hotel room! They were super excited for their Daddy, but they at least did sleep until 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. Go figure that my parents got to see Mike finish his first triathalon, and that Mike's parents got to see me finish my first (okay, only so far, but I like to think that's mainly because since then we've been having babies sort of regularly!) marathon!

By 7:00 a.m., Mike had finished his stretching and preparation and had already started his swim!

Don't they look like a massive school of fish swarming in the water? Note: Not one of them is dog-paddling. I was so impressed by these people!

The girls and my mom joined us on the lakeshore to catch the last of the 1.2 mile swim. We then ran up the bank to cheer Mike on as he started the 56 mile bike ride.

 Miss Mouse was so excited for and proud of her Daddy! In the picture below, Mike is out-of-focus right above Miss Mouse's head as she adjusts her sunglasses for a better view of her hero.

The best part of the day for Miss Mouse was that just before I took this picture, she shouted, "Go, Daddy!", and he heard her and turned around and smiled. He's never been able to hear her before when she's cheered for him. She was floating on a cloud all day! In fact, during the bike ride, we went back for breakfast at the camper, and Miss Mouse spent a considerable amount of time decorating a styrofoam cup that she was turning into a "prize" for Daddy when he finished.

See how he's speeding out of the transition area? Who could tell he just finished a 56 mile bike ride! I was so proud of my smart husband; what he's doing in the below picture is finishing up reapplying sunscreen! He still got burned, likely due to having repeatedly dumped ice in his cap to keep cool, but at least he did have sunscreen on twice (and didn't overheat thanks to the ice!). Yep, he made his wife proud! Not only am I married to an Ironman (none of this "half-Ironman" stuff....if you can swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 all in one setting - you are made of Iron!), but I'm married to a smart and sensible one, as well!

There he goes out for the half marathon, the last leg of the event. I think it was about 86 degrees during the run.

I'm sure Grammy will love being featured on the blog again (not really), but I had to include this picture showing what Sunny was doing during the last portion of her Daddy's bike ride and throughout most of his half-marathon. It's not that she didn't care, she was just that tired. Miss Mouse and Grammy are laughing about how Sunny has thrown herself backwards and yet is still sleeping, I think. Miss Mouse and I only left our post at the finish line to use the bathroom or to check on Sunny.

My husband, the Ironman!!! I thought he looked really good for what he'd just put himself through! The night before the event, he'd been visiting with a couple from Australia. They were friendly and fun to visit with, but the man, who was the participant in the event, seemed fairly horrified by Mike's plan for breakfast - peanut butter on a couple bagels and some bananas. The Australian man, who had grown up in Winnipeg, told us he was so relieved that their bed and breakfast was willing to cook him quinoa (keen-wah, for those who aren't familiar with this delicacy) for breakfast.

Having a bit of a competitive nature myself, I determined to see when the Quinoa King finished the event. At the halfway turnaround point of the run, he was ahead of Mike, though not by much. I told myself that the Quinoa King, having already finished ten or so triathalons, had the advantage and that if Mike came in close to him, it would be proof that Mike's breakfast worked just fine, thank you. Well, as it turned out, I was tickled pink that Mike passed him on the last 6.5 miles of the half marathon and finished before him. Teehee. I guess pb bagels and bananas really are a match for the illustrious quinoa after all!

And just to prove that Sunny did indeed somewhat participate in the day.....

Way to go, Mike/Daddy!