ironpeople

the ironman race, a incredible feat of human strength and endurance, came to town last weekend. we have watched every ironman wisconsin that we've been in town for, and it never fails to inspire. this year, we watched gretchen complete her third (!!) ironman race, this time with her boyfriend by her side the whole way. we also cheered on veronica, who completed her first ironman race. it is truly incredible what they have achieved.

the ironman race itself starts at 7am with a 2.6 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and ends with a 26 mile marathon race. the mohs scale of mineral hardness says iron is only a 4 on a scale of 0-10 (on this scale, chalk is a zero, and a diamond is a 10), but i would say that the ironman race is much harder than that. the race has been well documented by the champion veronica herself here, and by part of her fan club here.

here is a little video of the swim start. there are over 2000 athletes treading water in the stinky, murky, weedy depths of lake monona, and they all start swimming at the same time. kind of amazing, and surprisingly emotional for the on-looker. i'll admit: i cried a little.


bikes awaiting their riders to complete the swim, peel off their wetsuits, and run up a long ramp (4 stories high, which doesn't really seem fair) to hop on their bikes and head out to the beautiful dane county countryside for a long bike ride.

ironwoman gretty, 13 miles into the marathon and looking fabulous.

veronica's tiniest fan, giving her best geraldo rivera impersonation.

the veronica fan club (note the yellow "V" visors).

veronica, looking great, with her eye on the prize: almost done!

congratulations again to all the ironpeople. you rock!