Ironmaiden Jen

So on November 20, the girls, my mom and I pointed our car westward and headed to Tempe, AZ for my sister Jen's second Ironman triathalon. Fortunately, Jen's triathalon was scheduled during the week break the girls had off for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, it was still a workweek for Jeremy, so he couldn't come with us. I'm so grateful, though, that my mom flew to San Antonio to meet up with us and be our second driver for the 2-day drive.

It was a very rainy start to our drive, but by the middle of the day, the clouds had cleared and so had most signs of life. There really isn't much between Austin and El Paso, just lots and lots of road! After driving all day and stopping only for gas and lunch we stopped for the night in Las Cruces, NM. For dinner we bought some yummy tamales from a family selling them at a rest stop.

After a good rest, we got breakfast and a chilly start (it was around freezing when we woke up) for the rest of the drive to Tempe/Phoenix. Keeping entertained during the drive, we listened to books on tape and watched DVDs. Still there was plenty of time for the girls to get bored and annoy each other. We were more than happy to get out of the car for lunch in Tucson at our favorite cheap lunch spot - Costco!!

We arrived at our hotel in Tempe mid-afternoon. We, of course, got turned around a bit, but after taking a driving tour of the Sky Harbor Airport, we somehow managed to pull up behind Jen's car on some random street and follow her to the hotel. We all laughed when we realized she was in front of us and gave her a surprise "look who's behind you" call. Jen had just picked up Rob from the airport.

After hugs and getting settled into our rooms. Jen surprised the girls with backpacks filled with fun stuff to keep them entertained and not hungry during the race the next day. It was super cute that Jen was so thoughtful of them while she was training so hard for her race. The kids even made posters with their new markers to cheer her on. So with all of us in our yellow "Ironmaiden Jen" t-shirts and our posters and cow bells we were hard to miss the next day!

Ryanne, Kristin (my cousin and Rye's right hand woman) and the boys arrived later that evening from St. George, UT, just shortly after my Dad drove in from San Diego. We all had pizza for dinner and just hung out at the hotel, letting the kids swim in the pool.

The next day was an early start for everyone, especially Jen! The 2.4 miles swim started at 7am, but Jen was there around 6am to get ready. Around 7:30 we got the kids out the door and up the block from our hotel to the bridge that the swimmers went under in Tempe Town Lake. The lake was crowded with black wetsuits and white swimcaps. It was impossible for us to find Jen in the "sea" of swimmers, but SHOCKER, Jen saw US on the bridge and stopped swimming long enough to shout out to us! It was awesome to be able to cheer her on her swim when we didn't think we'd even get a glimpse of her. She completed her swim in 1:25:33 (hh:mm:ss).

After we saw Jen swim by, the long day of waiting to see her pass by on her bike and run began. We found a good place to stake our claim while we waiting for Jen to pass by us a total of six times on her bike route of 112 miles. It was just on the other side of the bridge we'd been standing on to see her swim. The day was beautiful and a perfect temperature. Plus, this race course worked great for all of us to watch for her. And it was within 10 minutes walking distance of the hotel, so we could take the kids back for food, naps, pool etc. Jen biking was pretty uneventful - no bike or health problems. We were able to snap a few pics of her coming and going and she looked great! She completed her bike portion in 6:53:21.

Just as evening was coming on, Jen began the 26.2 mile run. To say she was spent from the swim and the run would be an understatement. The run course was 3 loops on a dirt run/walk path near Town Lake. Once again we could cheer Jen on multiple times as she passed us on both sides of the bridge. Unfortunately, the dust kicked up from the trail set off Jen's asthma. She had her inhaler, but combined with some pretty intense stomach problems, Jen was having a tough time walking let alone running. Her morale was pretty low on several of her earlier passes by us all. We all did our best to encourage her, but it still brought tears to my eyes to watch her struggle and know there wasn't much I could do to help. Jen's no quitter though, and with strong encouragement and a few friends and family taking time to walk/run with her, she finally managed to pull the last bit of strength she had from somewhere and run for the finish. Overall her run took her 6:20:07. It was pretty late when she was rounding the corner for the finish. I volunteered to stay at the hotel with the little ones who were sacked out. Everyone else, including Natalie, rushed to the finish from their watching spot to be there in time to see Jen cross the finish line. It was a close race to know who got there first - family or Jen, but Jen crossed the finish line and everyone was there to congratulate her. Her total time was 14:56:14 - about 9 minutes faster than her first Ironman finish!

Jen did spend some time at the medical tent, just making sure she was going to be okay after such a grueling day. She was exhausted and pretty sore the next day, but our Jen Jen's an Ironman - Maiden, two times around! We're so happy that she acheived such an incredible goal, not just once, but TWICE!!!

Tomorrow: the adventure continues as we head out for Thanksgiving in Cali!