11.6.2010-Race Day!

Saturday morning came (not so) bright and (very) early. We really wanted to see Josh start the race, so we were in our cars by 5:30 am...on a fairly cold morning (around 40 degrees...a bit chilly for a 5 week old...) It was completely worth braving the cold, though. The start of the race was something pretty incredible to see! Sorry, Renae. This picture made me laugh :)
Josh getting ready to go! We were able to hang out with him for a bit before he headed down to the water.

Eli was all bundled up for the start. So was Leah...but I don't have any pictures to prove it...

This was the start for the professionals. They started 10 minutes before the 'amateurs'. VERY cool to watch. There was a helicopter that flew overhead, and tons of people on the beach for the start. I couldn't stop thinking 'these people are CRAZY to do this!' :)

Josh did the 2.4 mile swim in just over an hour, so we were able to see him get out of the water and go to the transition area to get on his bike (for a ridiculous 112 mile bike ride...which he did really well on too!)

We went back to the hotel for a few hours while Josh was biking. We were tracking him online, so we knew he would be running by our hotel soon, so we went outside to cheer him and the other runners on. (Yes...after the bike they run...26.2 miles.)

The kids had signs...and lollipops :)

We stood out there for a while cheering.

Carly & Chloe gave the runners high-fives.

It would have made sense to actually take a picture of JOSH running by...but alas...I did not. In fact, after this bit of cheering, I left my camera in the hotel, so I don't have any other pictures. We saw Josh run by 3 times and then headed down to the finish line to watch him finish.

It was amazing to watch the athletes come in to the finish line. What an amazing accomplishment. My brother, Ryan, had to be the best 'fan' out there. For over an hour he cheered at the TOP of his lungs for every single runner that came by. It was mildly comical, but really neat. Most of the runners got big grins on their faces as they were cheered on by him-nothing better than crossing the finish line with a smile :)

Josh came by in just under 13 hours after he had started. He looked great, and finished strong. SO proud of him!

We headed back to the hotel and went straight to bed-I was SO tired! (of course, saying I was tired after watching all of those athletes run by is a little ridiculous. Pretty sure I have no idea what TIRED really means...)