It was an incredible weekend from start to finish as our family made our way to Roanoke, Virginia for Ryan’s big race. His third Half IronMan doubled as an excuse to spend more time with one of my best friends and her husband as both of our husbands participated in the 70.3-mile race which only made it all the better. I’m dying to share more about it on the blog today so let’s dive in!
The Boys’ First IronKids Races
Our race weekend felt like it officially began on Friday when our boys participated in their first IronKids races! I’d never heard of IronKids races until Ryan told me about them a couple of years ago when he registered for his first Half IronMan. We’ve had our eye on these races ever since but they don’t take place at all IronMan events and many were canceled due to COVID. It was awesome to finally have the chance to register the boys for their own races and they were all seriously thrilled to be able to participate! They got to pick up race packets at a registration tent, safety-pin bibs onto their t-shirts (with real numbers and everything!), receive medals at the finish line and feel like the “real deal like Dad” which was so, so cool.
The IronKid races began around 6 p.m. on Friday evening with a Diaper Dash race for the littlest athletes. Rhett and my friend Merri’s son Jackson were registered for the Tot Trot, a 100-yard dash that took place immediately following the Diaper Dash.
The Tot Trot could not have been cuter and had toddlers taking off in groups of three as they ran, walked or toddled their way toward the finish line alongside one adult. Rhett and Ryan ran together and Rhett was absolutely beaming during his entire run. He even loved the warm up jog to the starting line (pictured above) and was fully in his element in this race (pictured below)!
He was hammin’ it up big time out there and it was so darn adorable.
Ryder and Chase’s race took place right after the Tot Trot and they were both registered for the 1/2 mile run. The run took place around a huge field and while both boys were beyond psyched to participate, Ryan and I secretly wondered how Ryder might handle it as one of the younger runners on the course. The big kids have been “training” with Ryan a couple of weekends in a row so they were familiar with how long a 1/2 mile feels but I know the pressure of a race can make different emotions bubble up, even if we assured the boys trying their best and enjoying the race was all that mattered.
About 45 minutes after the first IronKids race, the 1/2 mile race began and Chase and Ryder took off together.
Chase quickly began pulling ahead and Rhett and I made a beeline for the finish line to see the boys as they finished while Ryan ran toward the middle of the course so he could keep an eye on Ryder. I was shocked when not long after the race began I saw Chase round the bend and fly toward the finish line in third place!
No awards are given for IronKid races and all participants receive a medal which I think is wonderful because I have to believe this race was the first time many of the kids were exposed to racing. Chase seemed really proud of himself for trying his best out there! As his mom, what I loved most was seeing the smile on his face as he ran. Watching him change course a bit to run through the bubbles spectators were blowing at the finish was pure proof of how much fun he was having during his first “real” race. Why did watching him make me cry!? After the race Chase said he wanted to frame his medal so he can look back on this race when he’s a grown up and remember his first race. My heart.
And then there was Ryder. Cue the tears again!
My sweet little four-year-old worked SO hard out there. He ran the whole 1/2 mile which was his goal and his face absolutely lit up when he spotted us at the finish as he rounded the bend and we screamed and cheered.
He was so, so proud of the fact that he didn’t walk once and said he “jogged a lot and then really ran at the very end.”
I swear you can just feel the pride inside him when you look at the above photos.
I told all the boys they made mom cry “happy tears” because it was so special to watch them try their best while enjoying something so much.
They also thoroughly enjoyed the free cups of Kona Ice for all race finishers once they were done!
Ryan’s Third Half IronMan: Virginia’s Blue Ridge 70.3
Now for the main event!! Ryan signed up for Virginia’s Blue Ridge 70.3-mile race, his third Half IronMan, at the urging of my friend Merri’s husband, Andrew. (He’s actually the one who first planted the Half IronMan seed in the back of Ryan’s mind during their visit to our house a few years ago!) It took zero convincing for me and the boys to join Ryan for this race because I honestly love spectating (I get chills every time) and we planned to share a house with Merri, Andrew and their one-year-old son, Jackson. Sharing the experience of a weekend away that centered around such a cool event with friends was wonderful.
The previous two Half IronMan races Ryan completed were both in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina which is a much, much flatter course and therefore much easier. (You may read these race recaps here if you’re interested: Ryan’s First Half IronMan + Ryan’s Second Half IronMan + Half IronMan Relay) Ryan and Andrew knew this course would be a challenge and there was no sugarcoating how hard the hills would be in the 56-mile bike portion of this race.
Merri and I planned to see the guys a few times during the race and brought our boys along for the ride!
(My friend Lindsey made the boys’ t-shirts! I got the idea for them based on a sign I saw years ago when I did one of my half marathons.)
Merri was an awesome navigator while I drove all of us in my car and despite multiple road closures, she somehow figured out a way to get us to the top of “The Claw,” the pinnacle of the 5-mile climb race participants tackle up the Blue Ridge Parkway.
I’ve actually never seen Ryan mid-bike race because the Wrightsville Beach course is flat and fast and everyone at the race expo told me it was not worth trying to see your biker along the course because they fly by so quickly. A 5-mile climb (followed by a LOT more hills) certainly doesn’t make for super-fast biking so we were determined to see the guys in the middle of the bike. When we saw Ryan coming to the top of the climb we were so excited and cheered our hearts out.
He smiled so big which I took as a good sign since I knew he was a little concerned about the elevation of the bike ride. We saw him right about mile 30 and Ryan said this was a point when he really needed an extra boost on the bike so I’m extra thankful we were able to see him!
Shortly after cheering for Ryan, we saw Andrew riding to the top and cheered for him as well!
(How cute is Jackson looking for his dad!? Also, please note my car with the Double BOB stroller strapped to the bike rack on the back. Why we have never done this before I’ll never know but it worked like a charm!)
With both guys just over halfway done with the bike, we didn’t have much time to drive down the mountain and make our way into Roanoke to park and try to catch them as they ended the bike and began their run.
The IronMan tracker app is incredible and so, so valuable to me as a spectator. That being said, it can stress me the heck out as I get notifications and try to time everything perfectly to make sure we don’t miss Ryan. I had a moment where I was sure we missed the end of this bike and I was so bummed but then I switched to the map portion of the tracker and my hope came back. I told all 3 boys to pile into the double stroller and likely looked insane as I pushed that monstrosity in a full sprint to the bike finish. With less than a minute to spare we saw Ryan and began to cheer like crazy!
It was then that my eyes immediately went to his knee and hands. I saw blood and I’m pretty sure I spent the brief seconds we had with him saying, “Oh my gosh! You’re bleeding! Did you have a crash? Are you okay?” Ryan confirmed he crashed but assured me he was alright as he ran off toward Transition Two.
The boys and I then flew toward the run start and I was relieved to see Ryan emerge from T2 looking strong. He clearly cleaned himself up a bit in T2 and I later learned he crashed around mile 50 going fast around a corner. He was trying to avoid another biker who slowed quickly in front of him and his back tire skidded out behind him. The two police officers who saw him crash told him he fell “miraculously” and Ryan said he felt so, so grateful he wasn’t more injured and that no other bikers crashed, too.
I began tracking Ryan on his run and felt immensely relived when he began turning in solid splits for the first 5K of the half marathon portion of his race.
Ryan blasts the song “I Believe That We Will Win” by Pitbull before the boys’ soccer games to get them hyped so that had to go on his race signs for this race! We chanted this as loud as we could on repeat as Ryan began the run! I wasn’t until after the race when I realized the lyrics of this song were particularly applicable to Ryan during this race.
It’s not how you fall
It’s how you get back up
And what don’t kill us make us stronger
Boy, I bet that up
Take a swing at us
You better hit hard
‘Cause when we swing back (Bing Bang)
It’s like oh god (oh God)
It’s time to knuckle up (Knuckle up)
And fight hard (Fight hard)
Now let’s all buckle up (Buckle up)
And fight hard
(Fight hard)
After some Pitbull-inspired cheering, we then turned our focus to tracking Andrew and cheered for him as he finished his bike and took off on the run!
This particular Half IronMan can be crazy-hot but the weather on Sunday was fantastic for the run portion of the race. It was overcast with a high of 72-degrees and Ryan said it was the best he’s felt during a Half IronMan run.
Ryan ended up finishing in 5:40 (on the dot) and we were so, so proud of him.
After we congratulated him, Ryan took a bag containing a change of clothes, sandals, water and a towel from me and cleaned himself up a bit more which was something he began doing after his second Half IronMan that he said makes him feel so, so much better after a race versus sitting in his gross race clothes for a few hours.
We had about an hour to chill as we waited for Andrew to finish and repeatedly commented on how well all the boys did as spectators for this race. Their ages, ranging from one to seven, can make spectating a long race daunting but we only had a few moments of kid fussiness from the two littlest members of our dude crew around their usual naptimes.
They rallied hard (and Jackson managed a quick stroller nap) and seemed to be entertained fairly well by millions of snacks and an assortment of random crafts and toys I grabbed from the Dollar Store before the trip.
Before we knew it, my tracker app told us Andrew was a half mile or so from the finish so we made our way to the finish line to cheer! He finished looking strong and we were all so proud of our guys for finishing such a challenging race.
I’ve said it before but I’ll never stop saying it: These races are unbelievable and I am truly in awe of the athletes who dedicate so much time and energy into training for such a challenging goal. I’ve long since let go of feeling embarrassed for screaming and cheering my heart out for the athletes as they fly by me during this race because it’s impossible not to feel moved and inspired to yell out encouragement when you witness someone out there killing it and pushing their body to the limit.
And Ryan. I could say a million and one things about the feelings that bubble up as we watch him during these races but they’re a mix of pride, gratitude, amazement and love as I know firsthand the dedication he pours into his training. I also know, firsthand, that his training never comes before his family at the expense of some crazy-early training sessions he sneaks in before most of us in our house are even awake. He’s incredible and much more than a three-time Half Ironman finisher to us.
Ryan is already registered for his next Half IronMan, a race he plans to complete alongside my brother-in-law in the early fall. Ross registered for his first Half IronMan a couple of weeks ago and we’re planning to make it a big family event at the end of September! We’re already looking forward to more of this madness!
