Olympic Triathlon...

The weekend has arrived. Ryan has been training for months. This Sunday, he will be competing in the New Orleans Half Ironman. The inspiration for this race began back in October. When we booked our trip to Hawaii, we were unaware the World Ironman Championship which takes place in Kona each year was taking place at the same time. The days we spent in Hawaii, and the numerous athletes we saw training for the race inspired Ryan to begin training, and sign up for the race. It worked out very well, a race was taking place in New Orleans.

A couple weekends ago, Ryan participated in an Olympic Triathlon as a way to practice. The distances for the swim, bike, and run were shorter than the race he will be competing in Sunday, but the swim location, and running course will be similar. It provided him the opportunity to experience the location, and was a great confidence boost. He did extremely well! I was very proud of him. I was able to provide some entertainment for him and the other competitors as the crazy, pregnant lady, jumping up and down, cheering him on. The local sheriffs posted to the race course were also very sweet, a few were concerned about my well being, if it was safe for me to walk so much and even offered chairs.

This Sunday, I will not be able to be such an enthusiastic cheerleader. My doctor has put me on limited activity. Rather than running around the course, chasing Ryan, I will most likely camp out by the finish line, ready to cheer and shout as he crosses the finish line!

Here are a few pictures I captured during his Olympic Triathlon…

Leaving the hotel room...

His actual time was 2 hours, 36 minutes. 

Finished strong and looking good!
11th in his age group

Good luck this weekend, Love! I know you'll do very well!