Things I don't love about this picture - kind of couch potato-y.
Things I love about this picture - out of the whole house they choose to play their Leapsters next to each other, and they both have their beloved blankets.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Caught?
My caption of this picture: "Logan just dumped out yet another bottle of shampoo and
turned the water on without any worry of the consequences."
Logan's caption: "Uh oh"
Ironman: Chapter 3
With Derek out of the water and on his bike the fun could start. We headed out to the bike course to see him. The bike course is 112 miles. After going into town for 20 miles, the athletes start a 45 mile loop they do twice. This has some massive climbs - one almost a mile long called lovingly The Wall. We camped out at mile 66 and waited for Derek. There he was - flying by, and smiling! The wind continued throughout the bike, and though he expected to have a 6 hour bike, the wind slowed him down to 7 hours.
We were there at T2 when he got off his bike and onto the run. He said as he transitioned he didn't know how he'd be able to pull off a marathon. Physically spent and emotionally drained. But he just started - one step at a time. As he passed us he said, "Here goes the death march." He tried to run a few times, but the cramping would begin, and he'd be back to walking. Due to the tear, he couldn't put weight on his right leg. He walked a very quick 15 minute mile and kept clicking off the miles. The run course was awesome for specators - it was an 8 mile loop they did 3 times. And it would be down a street, back up the same street, over 2 blocks, and down and up again. We could see him many times throughout the race.
We also saw Brady and Doug - still running, still looking great. Doug caught Derek on Doug's last loop, and Derek's second loop. Doug walked with Derek and they were able to swap war stories of their day.
Then Doug was off to the finish line. Derek kept plugging away. He was getting closer and closer. As the sun began to set Derek had to come to grips that he was going to finish in the dark. That was never in the plans. As we thought about his pace we knew he would have about an hour of wiggle room before the midnight cutoff, so we felt great as he kept on walking.
After Doug had finished, he crossed the finish line, and kept on walking. Back to the run course. Back to Derek. He started walking with him. Again. After doing his own Ironman. 140 miles isn't enough for some people! He ended up going 8 miles with Derek. 148 miles in one day for him. How Doug had it in him to do that I'll never know, but I'll always be grateful. It was great to get the fatigue and pain off Derek's mind by talking to his friend.
At 11:00 that night, Derek was minutes out from the finish. The excitement of Team DK was palpable. We could see him coming! As he came down the chute we were simply beside ourselves. We felt like we'd just completed the Ironman! He summoned his courage to run the final bit, and finish looking amazing. He finished under the bright lights and we could see him get his medal on the jumbotron. I videoed it on my phone and Derek's sister Angey is on it screaming, "They just medaled him!!". We all felt like screaming, and crying, and sleeping.
After finishing he headed to the massage tent to get some much need work done. We gathered his gear, his bike, enjoyed the last few minutes of our Iroman experience. As a hobbled Derek walked the block to our truck, he kept saying, "How did Doug do that??"
All in all about 500 athletes didn't end up finishing, due to that relentless wind. That gave the race a 29% Did Not Finish rate- one of the highest in Ironman history. The pro woman who won said she's done 44 Ironmans and never done one this hard. In her interview at the finish line Mike Reilly asked her about her swim, she said "I thought I was going to end up on an episode of Lost".
It's an emotional thing - to be done with something you've really put your heart and soul into. It's humbling to have an amaing support team - wherever they were. It's scary to have such a rough experience in the water, and then it's faith-promoting to be blessed enough to finish your day. It wasn't the race Derek envisioned, by a long ways. He thought he'd be around 12 hours, he was 16:03. But Derek worked incredibly hard, reached his goal, and became an Ironman. My absolute favorite part of watching an Ironman is the finish line when Mike Rielly, announces the finishers. All day I heard him say, "Come on home, You Are an Ironman!". All day I kept saying, "I just want him to say 'Derek, you are an Ironman". Turns out we were all screaming way too loud to hear what he said. But to Derek I say I couldn't be prouder - and you are an Ironman.
We were there at T2 when he got off his bike and onto the run. He said as he transitioned he didn't know how he'd be able to pull off a marathon. Physically spent and emotionally drained. But he just started - one step at a time. As he passed us he said, "Here goes the death march." He tried to run a few times, but the cramping would begin, and he'd be back to walking. Due to the tear, he couldn't put weight on his right leg. He walked a very quick 15 minute mile and kept clicking off the miles. The run course was awesome for specators - it was an 8 mile loop they did 3 times. And it would be down a street, back up the same street, over 2 blocks, and down and up again. We could see him many times throughout the race.
We also saw Brady and Doug - still running, still looking great. Doug caught Derek on Doug's last loop, and Derek's second loop. Doug walked with Derek and they were able to swap war stories of their day.
Derek in blue, Doug in white
After Doug had finished, he crossed the finish line, and kept on walking. Back to the run course. Back to Derek. He started walking with him. Again. After doing his own Ironman. 140 miles isn't enough for some people! He ended up going 8 miles with Derek. 148 miles in one day for him. How Doug had it in him to do that I'll never know, but I'll always be grateful. It was great to get the fatigue and pain off Derek's mind by talking to his friend.
At 11:00 that night, Derek was minutes out from the finish. The excitement of Team DK was palpable. We could see him coming! As he came down the chute we were simply beside ourselves. We felt like we'd just completed the Ironman! He summoned his courage to run the final bit, and finish looking amazing. He finished under the bright lights and we could see him get his medal on the jumbotron. I videoed it on my phone and Derek's sister Angey is on it screaming, "They just medaled him!!". We all felt like screaming, and crying, and sleeping.
All in all about 500 athletes didn't end up finishing, due to that relentless wind. That gave the race a 29% Did Not Finish rate- one of the highest in Ironman history. The pro woman who won said she's done 44 Ironmans and never done one this hard. In her interview at the finish line Mike Reilly asked her about her swim, she said "I thought I was going to end up on an episode of Lost".
It's an emotional thing - to be done with something you've really put your heart and soul into. It's humbling to have an amaing support team - wherever they were. It's scary to have such a rough experience in the water, and then it's faith-promoting to be blessed enough to finish your day. It wasn't the race Derek envisioned, by a long ways. He thought he'd be around 12 hours, he was 16:03. But Derek worked incredibly hard, reached his goal, and became an Ironman. My absolute favorite part of watching an Ironman is the finish line when Mike Rielly, announces the finishers. All day I heard him say, "Come on home, You Are an Ironman!". All day I kept saying, "I just want him to say 'Derek, you are an Ironman". Turns out we were all screaming way too loud to hear what he said. But to Derek I say I couldn't be prouder - and you are an Ironman.
Ironman St. George finishers: Brady, Doug, and Derek
looking a bit better the next morning
Ironmen and Ironmates: Amy & Derek, Alison & Doug, Andrea & Brady
At home waiting for him.
*This was an Ironman post, and anyone who made it to the end is an Ironman reader in my book!*
Ironman: Chapter 2
Here we were - the week of the race. The 3 guys headed down to St. George on Wednesday. We rented a house for the 3 couples to stay, "Athlete's Village" as it was quickly dubbed. They needed to sleep in their bed a few nights, they needed to feel settled, they needed to check-in, get their gear to each transistion, and they needed to rest. Andrea, Alison, and I headed down Friday morning. I had my kids spread out from hither to yon, so I could spare them going to St. George. Megan and Lance (Derek's brother) got my boys, and Toby (my sister's husband) got my girls. We were off . . .
Friday, Team DK began gathering from all corners. My parents came, my 2 sisters, Jen and Allyson, came, Derek's parents, and Derek's 2 sisters, Angey and Rainie, all covereged in St. George Friday night. They came with posters, cow bells, sidewalk chalk, ribbons, and mounds of support for Derek. I got us all matching t-shirts that said, "Derek is our Ironman on the front" and "Team DK" on the back. We proudly sported our shirts Saturday, answering many questions about who is Derek, where he's from, how many he's done, etc. With our group of 9, we stood out. Derek could find us - which is exactly what I wanted. At one point on the bike course, he spotted us before we spotted him.
I feel very humbled when I think of the outpouring of support Derek had. Not only did he have family there, but he had people supporting him wherever they were. His brother Lance and his wife had our boys, and Toby had my girls. Toby was Mr. Mom that weekend because Jen had come to St. George. Tate, Chris, and Paul, my 3 brothers-in-law were also Mr. Mom that weekend to allow Derek's sisters to come. We had people emailing and texting all day asking about him and pulling for him. It is in no way an understatment to say he probably wouldn't have made it out of the swim if it weren't for this support. To all of you who watched kids, and thought about him that day, I say thak you. Thank you.
Saturday morning - everything you can do is now done. The months of training, eating right, getting your gear to Utah, getting it to the right spot - it's all done. It comes down to one day - your day. Derek certainly had a terrible night's sleep. Everytime I woke up he'd be pacing or on his laptop. Finally it was 3:00 am and time for him to start the day. He went off to the finish line where they bused the athletes up to Sand Hollow Resevoir for the swim. It was when Derek got off the bus he realized he'd forgotten something - his wetsuit.
The athletes began the long walk down the ramp into the water. I love thinking about the thousands of hours these 1800 athletes have put into training for this one day. All of their hopes and dreams were happening. This is the moment they'd all dreamed of. It was all coming to fruitition. It was a beautiful morning, great weather conditions, thousands of spectators cheering them on - at the end of this day they were going to be called an Ironman.
They headed down the ramp, the national anthem was sung, the professionals were off, and then the cannon blew. The race had started. It's amazing to see 1800 swimmers all start at the same time. I imagine it's less amazing to be one - and be kicked, and grabbed, and swam over in the chaos. But they were off. Fifteen minutes into this swim the wind started. It picked up fast, and stayed. The newspaper the next day called it a tempest. Where did this wind come from?? I'd watched the weather for 10 days - it was supposed to be under 10 mph - and this wasn't that. The wind was strong and we started seeing the havoc it created. Kayaks were capzing and rescue boats were pulling people in - by the dozens, and dozens. Athtletes were already back on land - telling everyone how horrible it was out there - they couldn't see the bouys, they couldn't see where to go, they couldn't breathe - it was horrible out there. People were holding on to rocks and bouys waiting to be rescued, but the boats would have to pass them by because they were full. Many wondered if they'd cancel the swim - but how do you call back 1800 swimmers? I'm sure that if the wind had started 15 minutes earlier, the swim would have been canceled, it was simply very dangerous to have swimmers out there. I feel very fortuante that no one lost their life out in the water. All in all, 300 swimmers weren't able to finish. As the swimmers would come out of the water Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman, would tell the athletes, "I know, that was a rough swim. But look forward, and have a great race."
Derek had told me when to start looking for him - 8:15. So we were looking, and looking. We knew he'd be behind his goal because of the wind, but we checked every swimmer that came out of the water. Doug came out first - looking great. The wind had not be been a problem. Then Brady came out - looking great too. Now . . . where's Derek? We waited and waited. 8:30, 8:45, 9:00. He should've been out of the water by now. He's a strong swimmer, and the wind shouldn't have slowed him down this much. By 9:00 it was evident something was wrong. What, I didn't know, but definitely something. He had either had a leg cramp - which plagues him, or the wind had been too much. Is there anyway we could have missed him? Not likely, with 9 of looking for him, but perhaps. Andrea went to look for his bike -still there. I honestly hoped that his bike would have been gone. I would rather have missed his transition than know he was still out in the water. 9:15. Andrea tells me she's going to check the medic tent. As bad as that would have been, it would be better knowing where he was. I kept thinking, "This has got to be a dream". I mean, this is Derek's day. He can't have it end now. The other nagging thought about his absence was the ticking clock. Athletes have 2 hours, 20 minutes to get out of the water. If they don't make the cutoff, their day is over. No bike, no run. You're simply done. So I'm watching the clock thinking if he's still out there, he has got to beat this 2:20 cutoff. The clock was ticking, getting to 2:18, 2:19, and then the dreaded 2:20. I was crushed. I was still waiting for Andrea to get back to see if he was in the tent when I see him come up the ramp. HALLELUJAH!! He was safe, he was upright, and he made the swim on his own power. Now to the incessant clock: Ironman's rule is that if you are standing in the water before 2:20 you're ok. We were at 2:22 by the time he'd gotten up the ramp, where the timing strip was, so it's possible to have a time over 2:20, but still be under the cutoff - so had he made it?? YES!! They were pulling timing chips off those who hadn't made the cutoff, but the official made a call about Derek and he had made it.
He got out of the water looking a bit like a drowned cat, but the relief was evident on his face. 300 yards into the swim his leg had cramped. Not being able to stop it, the cramp tore his muscle. Now he had almost all of the 2.4 mile swim ahead of him and a calf muscle that won't stop cramping. As he fought against the waves, that were pushing him backwards, he knew that the swim would not be the only killer of the race. His run was ruined now too. He's cramped enough to know that he'll be fine on the bike, but his body won't let him run. As he was faced with the decision of what to do, and looking at the chaos around him, he had to tap into a type of mental strength I simply can't imagine. He thought about his training, and Team DK on the beach, and simply dug deep enough to say, "This is still my day."
Relief for all spread over us as we saw him get on his bike and pedal away. We were all quite worried that this day was going to have a very different ending. Hugs were piled on me, and we couldn't stop smiling that he was on his bike. No doubt a miracle that he was still on this journey.
Friday, Team DK began gathering from all corners. My parents came, my 2 sisters, Jen and Allyson, came, Derek's parents, and Derek's 2 sisters, Angey and Rainie, all covereged in St. George Friday night. They came with posters, cow bells, sidewalk chalk, ribbons, and mounds of support for Derek. I got us all matching t-shirts that said, "Derek is our Ironman on the front" and "Team DK" on the back. We proudly sported our shirts Saturday, answering many questions about who is Derek, where he's from, how many he's done, etc. With our group of 9, we stood out. Derek could find us - which is exactly what I wanted. At one point on the bike course, he spotted us before we spotted him.
Saturday morning - everything you can do is now done. The months of training, eating right, getting your gear to Utah, getting it to the right spot - it's all done. It comes down to one day - your day. Derek certainly had a terrible night's sleep. Everytime I woke up he'd be pacing or on his laptop. Finally it was 3:00 am and time for him to start the day. He went off to the finish line where they bused the athletes up to Sand Hollow Resevoir for the swim. It was when Derek got off the bus he realized he'd forgotten something - his wetsuit.
At 4:56 a.m. Andrea, Alison, and I all got this text from him: Is anyone awake?!!! Me: I am. Do you need something?
Then he called. It would just be really great if I could bring his wetsuit to the start. I can't imagine the panic that went through him. I assured him I could get it to him with plenty of time. The girls and I got out of the house a little quicker than we'd planned to get him his wetsuit. After parking and being shuttled to Sand Hollow I got off the bus, and found a very anxious Derek inside T1. He had plenty of time to get it on, and calm his nerves. His day was back on track. Team DK was there, and Derek got very emotional as he saw so much support for him.The athletes began the long walk down the ramp into the water. I love thinking about the thousands of hours these 1800 athletes have put into training for this one day. All of their hopes and dreams were happening. This is the moment they'd all dreamed of. It was all coming to fruitition. It was a beautiful morning, great weather conditions, thousands of spectators cheering them on - at the end of this day they were going to be called an Ironman.
They headed down the ramp, the national anthem was sung, the professionals were off, and then the cannon blew. The race had started. It's amazing to see 1800 swimmers all start at the same time. I imagine it's less amazing to be one - and be kicked, and grabbed, and swam over in the chaos. But they were off. Fifteen minutes into this swim the wind started. It picked up fast, and stayed. The newspaper the next day called it a tempest. Where did this wind come from?? I'd watched the weather for 10 days - it was supposed to be under 10 mph - and this wasn't that. The wind was strong and we started seeing the havoc it created. Kayaks were capzing and rescue boats were pulling people in - by the dozens, and dozens. Athtletes were already back on land - telling everyone how horrible it was out there - they couldn't see the bouys, they couldn't see where to go, they couldn't breathe - it was horrible out there. People were holding on to rocks and bouys waiting to be rescued, but the boats would have to pass them by because they were full. Many wondered if they'd cancel the swim - but how do you call back 1800 swimmers? I'm sure that if the wind had started 15 minutes earlier, the swim would have been canceled, it was simply very dangerous to have swimmers out there. I feel very fortuante that no one lost their life out in the water. All in all, 300 swimmers weren't able to finish. As the swimmers would come out of the water Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman, would tell the athletes, "I know, that was a rough swim. But look forward, and have a great race."
Derek had told me when to start looking for him - 8:15. So we were looking, and looking. We knew he'd be behind his goal because of the wind, but we checked every swimmer that came out of the water. Doug came out first - looking great. The wind had not be been a problem. Then Brady came out - looking great too. Now . . . where's Derek? We waited and waited. 8:30, 8:45, 9:00. He should've been out of the water by now. He's a strong swimmer, and the wind shouldn't have slowed him down this much. By 9:00 it was evident something was wrong. What, I didn't know, but definitely something. He had either had a leg cramp - which plagues him, or the wind had been too much. Is there anyway we could have missed him? Not likely, with 9 of looking for him, but perhaps. Andrea went to look for his bike -still there. I honestly hoped that his bike would have been gone. I would rather have missed his transition than know he was still out in the water. 9:15. Andrea tells me she's going to check the medic tent. As bad as that would have been, it would be better knowing where he was. I kept thinking, "This has got to be a dream". I mean, this is Derek's day. He can't have it end now. The other nagging thought about his absence was the ticking clock. Athletes have 2 hours, 20 minutes to get out of the water. If they don't make the cutoff, their day is over. No bike, no run. You're simply done. So I'm watching the clock thinking if he's still out there, he has got to beat this 2:20 cutoff. The clock was ticking, getting to 2:18, 2:19, and then the dreaded 2:20. I was crushed. I was still waiting for Andrea to get back to see if he was in the tent when I see him come up the ramp. HALLELUJAH!! He was safe, he was upright, and he made the swim on his own power. Now to the incessant clock: Ironman's rule is that if you are standing in the water before 2:20 you're ok. We were at 2:22 by the time he'd gotten up the ramp, where the timing strip was, so it's possible to have a time over 2:20, but still be under the cutoff - so had he made it?? YES!! They were pulling timing chips off those who hadn't made the cutoff, but the official made a call about Derek and he had made it.
He got out of the water looking a bit like a drowned cat, but the relief was evident on his face. 300 yards into the swim his leg had cramped. Not being able to stop it, the cramp tore his muscle. Now he had almost all of the 2.4 mile swim ahead of him and a calf muscle that won't stop cramping. As he fought against the waves, that were pushing him backwards, he knew that the swim would not be the only killer of the race. His run was ruined now too. He's cramped enough to know that he'll be fine on the bike, but his body won't let him run. As he was faced with the decision of what to do, and looking at the chaos around him, he had to tap into a type of mental strength I simply can't imagine. He thought about his training, and Team DK on the beach, and simply dug deep enough to say, "This is still my day."
Relief for all spread over us as we saw him get on his bike and pedal away. We were all quite worried that this day was going to have a very different ending. Hugs were piled on me, and we couldn't stop smiling that he was on his bike. No doubt a miracle that he was still on this journey.
Ironman: Chapter 1
Derek has been doing triathalons for years now. It started years ago when my brother talked him into doing one in Burley. This was his first one, Olympic size, and a big deal. He trained hard, and did great. For several years he kept doing smaller sized tri's, and really began enjoying them. He found it to be very motivational for him to get exercising.
Four years ago he made the jump from Olympic tri's to his first half-Ironman. This was a big jump. Our first experience with the Boise Ironman was realizing that this was the big leagues. This was definitely not put on by the local YMCA, but Ironman was a brand, and very professional. He did the Boise Ironman 70.3 3 years in a row. After the half became do-able, the full became something not as far out of reach as he'd always thought. Somewhere between these half Ironmans doing the full landed on Derek's Bucket List. Both of us thought that some time down the road, a ways down the road, he would do a full Ironman. Sometime when our kids weren't so little, and training time wouldn't be so hard to come by. But 2 good friends sped that timeline up.
Derek has 2 good friends named Brady and Doug. They are also triathletes and have done the Boise half with Derek. They have enjoyed countless hours swimming, cycling, and running together. And oddly enough the 3 of them are in our ward's Elder's Quorum Presidency together.
These 2 started talking about doing the full - Ironman St. George. They talked about doing St. George, for reals. And I think as far as Derek and I were concerned, we thought they should do it, for reals. Derek, not so much. Brady and Derek decided what we needed to do was to go to St. George last year and watch the race. Drive the course, scope it out - and then we would could make an informed decisison. So off we went, Brady and Andrea, and Derek and I. As Brady reminded Andrea and I as we were off to Tai Pan, this was a business trip - not a vacation. But don't worry, Andrea and I snuck in a vacation. We had a great weekend - watched the race from 7:00 am to midnight - and loved it. Watching an Ironman when you don't have an athlete in it is awesome! Just fun and still very inspiring. After we'd seen the course I thought that would make the decision easy - no way. This is the hardest course. Literally, it's between the St. George course and a course in Europe for which course is the hardest out of all Ironmans. The bike course is a killer, and then there's the run. Now, to our benefit, the run course had been changed this year because of road construction that made the run course considerably easier. The reason we would do St. George over an easier one is because it is one of the few in the US on a Saturday. Most Ironmans are on Sunday, so our options were smaller. So we came home from St. Georege and the talk began. Doug and Brady were in. Derek - on the fence. We came to the conclusion that if a full Ironman is on the Bucket List - you might as well do it when your 2 best training buddies are doing it too. So Derek was in. He registered for the Ironman.
Training began in November. To toot Derek's horn I have to say he was incredibly considerate of our family being involved with this. Almost all of his swims took place in the 5:00 a.m. hour. He was always out the door 2 hours before anyone else was even awake. He rode and ran during his lunch hour and was always home at night. Saturdays he would run and ride early - to be back before the day really started. He'd ride 100 miles and come home to a honey-do list, and do it. He never said (or probably dared) say, "I'm tired - I just ran 20 miles! I can't mow the lawn." He'd just mow the lawn. This impacted our family as minimumally as possible. Doing an Ironman is a family committment, but Derek really paid the bulk of the price by training when the rest of the world was still asleep.
To be more trained for the race Derek did Ironman California in March. This is a half Ironman distance, allowing to guage how you feel, to make adjustments, and to give your body a really good training day. So Derek, Doug, and Brady all wanted to do this race. Doug's wife, Alison, and 2 more guys from our ward all did the race too. This happened to fall during our kids' spring break, so we turned it into a family vacation - with 5 families from our ward (more like a ward vacation).
This deserves its own post, but lets be honest - that's not going to happen! So here's the highlights. We went to St. George the first day, so those who wanted to ride the bike course there could. This was great for Derek to be able to actually ride the course. It actually put his mind at ease, knowing he could do it.
The next night we were in Vegas where all of the girls went to Phantom of the Opera. Amazing. We spent 3 days at Disneyland - happiest place on earth.
Then we all headed south to Oceanside for the race. The 5 families all stayed in the same beach house - don't worry, it was quite big enough. Right on the beach - absolutely beautiful. We went to Seaworld, played at the beach and then it was race day. Oceanside was great - Derek had a great race, and his new personal best time for a 70.3.
We came home, had a few more weeks of training, and then it was here. Time for the race.
*After writing all this, I see this is going to turn into a chapter book -
so I'm going to do you a favor and end a chapter here. More to come . . . *
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Participation Mandatory
Background: My girls share a room, and my boys each have their own room. Emmy asked me a week ago why she had to share, and the boys don't. I told her that she and Bailey have the biggest room, so they have to share. The boys' rooms simply aren't big enough to share. She said, "Well give them our room then." Quite genius of her. So after mulling it around for a few days Derek and I decide the girl's got a point, and we're up for having the boys share for a while. Here's how that went down:
Me: Tyler, this summer you and Logan
are going to move into the girls' room,
and the girls are going to get their own room.
Tyler: I am not participating in that.
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