Ry's Tri

Riley completed the HarryMan half Ironman this past weekend at Harriman State Park.  It was a hot day with temps reaching 82 degrees. When I asked Riley to describe his race he said, "Unmitigated disaster, humbling, trying to block it from my memory." hahaha. Upon seeing him cross the finish line & say, "I've never been in that much pain for that long" instantly made me think, "well, that's probably the closest thing to labor he's experienced." All humor aside, Riley did great, although not what he expected. I'm proud of him for pushing through the pain & not quitting, especially in a course that repeats several loops & gives ample opportunity for quitting. Ry's strongest event was surprisingly the swim (normally that's his worst event), but he began cramping at the end of the swim & the leg cramping lasted the duration of the entire 56 miles of biking & 13.1 mile run. To top it off, his bike chain fell off & he was having issues with his water bottle holder as well. So, not an ideal race. He finished in 6 hours 30 min (1 hour 15 minutes slower than his last half) BUT the course was hilly & now he has more incentive to train harder for his first full ironman in September. 

(Pics are in reverse order & I'm too lazy to straighten them out. So, start from the bottom & scroll up to get the true effect of the day) :

Done- tired, relieved

Beach entertainment while Daddy finished the last 6.5 miles of the run

Taking off on the bike

Fueling for the 3+ hour ride ahead

Swim- done!

Lining racers up for a head count

Kids were fascinated when all the matching swimmers entered the water

Good luck Daddy!

Gearing up for the race...go #47!

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