Ironman - The Finish!

Marc finished Ironman Florida in 14 hours, 46 minutes.  It was a rough day for him.  He was well trained and ready for anything.  But it was cold and windy this weekend, with lows in the upper 30s and highs in the 50s.  And his wetsuit tore.  He swam anyway but the tear rubbed him raw.  And he had two flat tires on the bike course.  (Both were the back tire, which is evidently the hardest to change.) Marc had two spare tubes but then was fearful that he would get a third flat and be out of the race.  And then on the run he started to hurt, and it got COLD.

But he finished.  And I couldn't be prouder.

Ironman - Bike and Run

Once you don your bike gear, a volunteer gets your bike ready to go.  Check out Marc in his helmet!

So after 112 mile on the bike, the Ironman will run 26.2 miles.  We were fortunate that we were staying in a condo that was very close to the race site base.  And this run course was another loop, so Marc ran 13.1 miles twice.  The condo's parking lot was right at mile thirteen, so we got to see Marc as he started the run. . .

. . .finished the first loop. . . 

. . .and began the second.



Ironman - It Begins

The Ironman begins with a 2.4 mile swim. That means 2500 folks swimming in the chilly ocean at the same time. 

The athletes go out, swim around some buoys and then head back to shore.

And they have to do it twice - the swim is actually two 1.2 mile loops.

It was hard to find Marc in the sea of wetsuits and swim caps - everyone looks the same. But I did get this shot of him (lower left) as he headed back out for his second loop.

After the swim is complete, the athletes run up and volunteers help take the wetsuits off.  Then they go and change for the 112 bike ride. . .

Ironman - Pre Race

The morning of Marc's Ironman, he got up early(3:30am) with Charlie and I.  While Charlie was eating, Marc walked to the Ironman HQ (in the 40 degree weather) to get "marked."

When he came back, we were getting ready to cheer him on.  Marc had some shirts made up for everyone to wear, so we could all be part of Team LaMotte. 

Of course, Charlie is too little for a t-shirt.  But Grandma Dot came to the rescue!  Check out the onesie she made so he could support his dad.

Ironman

I am about to go watch Marc start the Ironman.  If you want to cheer him on and watch his progress, go to http://ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=florida&year=2010 and enter bib number 584.

Charlie Talking

Pray for Marc

At 7:30am on Saturday, Marc will begin his second Ironman triathlon.  Please keep him in your thoughts this weekend.

We need good vibes as he swims 2.4 miles (pray that he doesn't get kicked in the face), bikes 112 miles (pray that he doesn't get a flat tire) and then runs 26.2 mile (pray that he doesn't get a cramp or blister.)  

Cute Charlie Videos

Charlie's Latest Thing

Charlie has started sucking on his hand.  It's strange, because he is sucking on the side of it, and no part of the hand is actually in his mouth.  It is driving Marc nuts - he is convinced this is the start of some very expensive orthodontic bills.

Happy Halloween!

Charlie was all decked out in his Mommy's Little Pumpkin outfit and ready for the trick-or-treaters.  He and Marc watched the candy to make sure I didn't eat too much.

And then Charlie helped me hand out the candy to our visitors.

Charlie got lots of compliments - mostly from little girls around the age of 10. He's a heartbreaker already!