So yea, stripping is fun

So is cheering!




and the most fun is catching, especially when it's a Trisaratops!

What a fantastic race!

Trihubby and I had an incredible day that began at 5 AM heading down to Monona Terrace by six to watch the athletes assemble. We scanned the crowd for familiar faces and were warmly rewarded with a huge hug from Trisaratops and Iron Wil. The athletes will tell their own stories, this was their race and we were thrilled to be along for the ride. Stripping duty began at 7 am, shortly after the canon sounded the start. 2400 or so athletes churning the water for 2.4 miles. Two women, including Andrea Fischer bested the men by several minutes and were first out of the water. Contrast that with the sorry people hyperventilating in the ambulance only minutes into the race. A rep from Ironman North America told us some people just freak out and quit, that would be so tough.

We met up with Greyhound, who was just a great guy to hang around with- (what else can you say about a man who goes hunting for hot coffee and food for you in a sea of people-heart as big as his homestate) and headed out to Verona to watch the bikers come through on their first loop. By this time it was raining off and on, everything from sprinkles to full on rain. The wind was gusty, but not as bad as it could be, on the whole, everyone looked cold and cautious.



We reported to our run aid station, where I invented a full line of clothing made entirely of green Hefty bags. Watch for the debut on the runway next spring. Trihubby was not so enthused by my sense of style, but that didn't stop him from huddling with me and Hefty trying to get warm.

"You left The Tribe at home?" a voice soaked with indignation. (well that could have been the onset of hypothermia talking)

And it was The Silent Fury himself, Walcka.

It is so great to meet our fellow bloggers, even if you think the most handsome "Fury" can't possibly be the guy from the blog because blog guy has blonde hair.

Mike's a nice guy who took it all in stride, mostly because I reminded him that I am the one who glued their helmet to their hand.

For the record, we left The Tribe at home because we knew it would be a long day, and face it, sometimes you just need a little mommy/daddy time.

Around 3:30 we headed back down the run path cheering for friends, watching for Iron Wil and Sara. Chris came through the aid station looking strong with a classic Chris smile, he is so fun to see on the course, because on the way to a stellar finish, he has you convinced that he's merely crawling along. The guy is an animal! A courageous, friendly animal.

A brief stop at Starbucks, trading places at the finish line, and posting, throwing every prayer I know behind Sara and Wil who were still out on the bike course. IM live is slow updating, so for a brief moment we thought they hadn't made the cutoff, but then the site caught up with reality, and they were off and running. Trihubby met up with Wil and ran her to the first water stop, what a smile!

Greyhound used his influence and got us into the finish shoot, so we spent the next several hours "catching" and escorting finishers through the medals/pictures/timing chip process. The first time I met RunbubbaRun was as he came through the finish with his wife and adorable daughter. That one made me cry. Not that you would notice, because by now the rain was unrelenting.

We broke for dinner, toasting our friends courage and strength with tequila and scotch (ok, we had to warm up somehow) and returned to the finish line, waiting for Sara and Wil.

Then out of the drizzle and fog came

"Sara Z, you are an Ironman!" and there was Trisaratops, glowing with excitement.

A little after 11, we got the sad news that there was a half marathon cut off time and that Wil hadn't made it, so sad.

We said good night to Fury and Greyhound, each leaving exhausted but thrilled with the activity of the day.



But then morning came and it was time to reload the ironman canon: Meeting up with Bubba, Simply Stu, Iron Wil, Greyhound, we processed through for Ironman Wisconsin '07.

As of now, the burden of Ironman will be on Trihubby's shoulders, as it just doesn't seem wise to have two parents training for a super difficult race at the same time. But Simply Stu assured me, there is always room for a Trimama on the IMmoo '07 team,

even if it is just stripping you all!

Trimama signing off.