Boise Ironman 70.3

Todd did his first Half Ironman event!  It was a 70.3 mile race in Boise this past Saturday.  They swam 1.2 miles in the lake at Lucky Peak, then biked 56 miles in the hills and ended up in down town Boise for a 13.1 mile run.  It was really sunny with mostly clear skies and temperatures in the 70's.  The water was 61 degrees and Todd said it felt great.  He did his fastest open water swim to date. 

The bike was not as kind to racers.  The head winds made most contestants cramp up pretty bad.  Chris Lietto, the #2 Ironman racer in the world cramped so bad that he dropped out of the race at the beginning of the run.  Everyone across the board took longer than usual to finish the race.  But Todd pushed hard and was really happy with his race when it was over.  He finished in the top 50% which I was impressed by!  I'm proud of him!  He's worked like a maniac for hours every day for almost a year for this race and another in August that he won't be doing now.  His brother is now getting married that day.  But this was a great victory for his very first legit triathlon.

Tim and Todd just arriving in Boise

Setting up Transition 1

Getting their race number and age marked

Setting up Transition 2

The swim area at Lucky Peak (1.2 mile swim)

The family and friends started pouring in to watch.

Rex on the run.  Go Team Beef!

I loved watching this family.

They stood across the street from where I stood to cheer their brother/son/grandson/husband for hours. The run was a loop where they could see him pass several times. They were as loud and motivating as can be every time which is critical for the runners because it literally boosts their energy and lifts their spirits so much. 80% of the contentestants were from out of state but had lots of family and friends there. Todd lit up so much every time he passed me- just all smiles and bursts of energy. It made me want to bring a better crowd next time.  Loved the shirt idea too.  Next year we'll have to try that.  There were so many people there that I'm sure the bright shirts helped them pick out their family.

                                                 

Todd, minutes after finishing the race. 

All Todd wanted after he finished was a clean dry shirt.  There was a booth near the finish selling Boise Ironman shirts so I bought him one right away!

I didn't take pictures of the finish because there were too many people packed in that area and a professional photographer was stationed just inside the pathway to take the perfect pictures. They sell them and when they're ready for purchase I'll buy some and post those. They took them at the end of the swim, bike, and run. So I videoed those parts instead of photographing them, and I just need to figure out how to put videos on here.

Rex just after finishing the race.

So happy about their triumph!  It's a pretty incredible feat!

This is Todd with Chris Lietto. 

He's Todd's favorite triathlon athlete. Unfortunately this was not his day- he's the one that didn't finish the race.  For Chris, half Ironmans are just another workout to train for the full Ironman race in Kona, Hawaii.  I'm sure he was still hoping to win it though.  He lost by only TWO SECONDS last year to Craig Alexander who won again this year. And Chris was ahead when his muscle seized up.  Such a nice guy, though. Todd talked to him for a minute and got the picture with him and his daughter.