Ironman Next Door

The lead athlete on the bike (left) went past our spot in Verona around 10:25 Sunday morning.

He started almost 3 and 1/2 hours earlier, at 7 with a nice little 2.4 mile swim in Lake Monona.

The air temperature at the time was close to 50 degrees.

When he went past me, he was 55 miles into 112 miles on the bike.  The good news is - he only had a 26.2 mile run after getting off the bike.

The lead tri-athlete and the several dozen elite athletes in his wake are incredibly fit athletes.  But one thing I noticed as the riders kept coming one after another is that more of them did look like me and the neighbor next door.

The explosion of participatory sports - especially half and full marathons, triathlons, Mudder and Spartan challenge races, not to mention long one day bike rides - means quite often we do have Ironmen and Ironwomen living next door or in our own families.

I'm not a candidate for a triathlon, unless they come up with some kind of extra large rubber duck I can peddle or paddle over the water.  But, thanks for asking - I'm happy sitting curbside for this.

The 40 mile loop passes our place so close, I could literally throw a baseball from our front door and get it to the street.

Athletes ride 16 miles out to Verona from Madison to start the loop, make two circuits, then head back to the lake to start their marathon.

This is the first time we've lived in our current home for the Ironman, and we knew traffic was going to be a mess.

While we could have gotten out of our neighborhood and eventually made it back after some waiting at intersections; it seemed like a better idea was to hunker down at home and watch the parade of phenomenal athletes.

Madison and Verona have good reputations for a good turnout of spectators and cheerleaders to root the riders onward.  It was so close, with a minimum of effort, we could sit on the sidewalk in our chairs and watch the parade of competitors.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I made my own long journey by bike, but it doesn't compare to these triathletes trek.

First off, I'd never survive the swim, and if I did the combination of a full ride and a marathon to boot is a bit more than I want to attempt.

It was fun to sit near the curb and try to get some nice photos while cheering and encouraging them along their way.

There are all kinds of ways to participate in events like the Ironman.

My contribution this year, was staying out of the way.