even though it is difficult to arise at 4:30 a.m. on race days, nothing beats the calm of the beach or the excitement before the starting gun. this post consists of photos from three different races, so you guessed it; it's picture heavy. have fun!
south beach in the a.m.
(seriously saw some people still up from partying when we arrived CA-RA-ZY!)
for one of mauricio's races we were lucky enough to have his dad visiting. he was super excited to share this part of his life with him since his dad has been in utah for the entire year.
the ever faithful spectators.
hey zach! can you actually SEE ANYTHING?
neal, m's brother joined him for a few races this year too. he's below coming in for a nice finish.
and a race on south beach wouldn't be complete without the vlasic pickle dude.
maybe one day they will be excited for a race. (i won't hold my breath.)
feeling the pain.
what a stud on the bike to the left.
and sometimes you get to stand on the podium!
2nd place in his age group. he did win the master's division, but a bike penalty knocked him down.
the following photos were taken during the escape to miami race where the athletes had to start on an island in biscayne bay. here it is the day before the race.
and here it is on race morning.
the causeway he had to bike over.
one of my other favorite parts of the race also takes place in the morning at the bike racks. everyone is preparing themselves and all of their equipment; lots of good energy and hopes of a good race abounds. not a lot of chit-chat, just a lot of focused athletes.
all the athletes boarding the ferry to get to the island.
grace was the only one who got up with me for the start of this race. we watched it from our hotel.
not a bad view right?
these two photos were taken at two different races, but i thought it was funny as they are sitting in the same order.
feeling good starting the run.
even though he bonked on the run he still finished strong and we were proud of him! what a champ!
when publix is the sponsor you can expect not only good food, but also pretty food. and let's face it folks, we only go to these things for the free food. ;)
why is there always a sign like this at all the races?
these pics are from the last race of the season which was the miami man half- iron. 70.4 miles total. we couldn't get very close for the start of this race so i randomly took some pics of the start and kind of got m in the shot. he is the guy in the middle bending over stretching. lucky shot.
the duckie wanted to enter the race too!
thanks to savannah's great eagle eyes, we were able to get some good shots of m swimming. this was the best. the cap is classic.
the ironman dude got tired.
since this was his first half- iron, we've never seen the racks look so empty mid race before. weird.
coming up on the finish of the first loop of the half marathon.
grace couldn't wait and fell asleep at the finish line.
coming in strong!!
here's a shot of the super athlete with april. (yes, he named his bike.)
