Day 1 – Ironman and sightseeing….
October 23, 2007 | Category: Uncategorized
On the first morning we were in Hawaii just happened to be the Ironman race. For those of you who are not familiar with this type of tourture, this is what the race consist of. First, they dive into the ocean for a swim of over 2 miles in open water. As a former swimmer myself, I know how difficult open water swimming can be. Then, after the swim, they hop on their bikes for 114 miles (not on flat terrain either, Hawaii is all hills), then after the swim and bike, they put on their running shoes for a full on maraton of over 26 miles.
The spot that passed closest to my parents house was around the 30 mile marker for the biking so we cheered them on for a while in the morning. Then, later that night, we went into Kona where the finishline was and watched people finish. We had dinner basically right on the finish line so it was really cool to watch. Some people are just so incredible to be able to do this. Here are some examples of exceptional Ironpeople: A blind man (he had the help of a guide, a double amputee, a 78 year old man, many cancer survivorsm and a guy that the doctors said would never walk again after a car accident.
At the finish line, about 300 meters out, family members were able to join their racers to celebrate the victory and run across the finish line with them. We saw some really touching finishes, dads running with new babies in their arms, moms running with their kids, spouces holding hands as they cross the finish line. What I realized is this race is not just about the sacrafice that the athletes make, but just as much the loved ones that sacrifice so much time away while their mom, dad or spouce is away training. What an experience this was to witness! I think the winner came in just after 9 hours, and the race closed at the 17 hour mark. We watched people during the 15-16th hour of the race. Can you imagin racing for 16 hours?
After we watched the biking of the Ironman, my parents took us sightseeing around the Island for the afternoon. We saw some cool waterfalls, a black sand beach with surfers, we 2tracked down a valley that almost gave me a heart attack, and saw the city of Hilo. On the way home, we took the “saddle road” which made me pretty car sick becuse of all the hills and lack of pavement.
Akaka Falls, so beautiful!
This rusted out car was at the bottom of the valley, they aparently took a wrong turn and tumbled hundreds of feet to the bottom of the valley. This validated my white nuckles, heart palpitations, and all the holding my breath I did on our way down. Give me a break, we did this excursion with a baby! Good thing my Dad is an expert tour guide.
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4 Responses to “Day 1 – Ironman and sightseeing….”
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Hi, I’m Emily.
October 23rd, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
looks like fun, how cool you got to see the ironman!!! Those waterfalls bring back good memories from when I was there, fun times!!!
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October 23rd, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
glad you had fun! keep posting pictures
ill come to indy as soon as i get a chance…we are traveling with swimming so much so im really busy. i leave thursday for iowa.
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October 24th, 2007 @ 12:27 am
Wow, sounds like an amazing experience and a filled day! I think being a mom is kinda like the ironman…except it’s not over after 16 hours.
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February 20th, 2012 @ 9:19 am
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