Good morning from sunny Florida! I haven’t really talked a lot about this trip because I wasn’t sure the logistics of it, having someone watch the dogs (we have some people house sitting for us) etc. Well now I can tell you it is going to be a crazy trip! We left Friday and went to Panama City beach for two nights to spectate ironman Florida, which my sister was racing in. Then we left at 5 am this morning to drive to Orlando to be at Disney. I am running the Wine and Dine half this coming weekend, and then after that I will be staying on a few days for a work conference, Bobby will fly home before the conference and I will fly home after. So I won’t be home until the night of the 16h. Whew! It will be almost Thanksgiving!
Anyway, we are at Saratoga Springs with my parents and we are absolutely loving it so far, it’s a great resort! Anyway, more on that later, but I wanted to share some photos and a recap of the ironman weekend!
Friday late afternoon we got to our condo, the Shores of Panama. My mom booked this six months ago, and when we walked into our two bedroom condo unit we were less than impressed. it was old, beat up, smelled, had stains all over the carpet, etc. and it was on the 3nd floor right next to a bar with live music. No bueno. My mom called to have us switched and they claimed they didn’t have anymore two bedroom units so we agreed to go to a one bedroom unit with a sofa sleeper so we could get a better room. So we hauled all our stuff up there, and we loved it, it was much nicer and had beautiful views of the gulf.
We cranked the AC down, and started unpacking…then we realized it wasn’t getting any cooler….and then we realized the air wasn’t kicking on…at all. So we called down, and went to dinner while a maintenance person came. We walked next door to a great place called Pineapple Willy’s. It had outdoor seating on the gulf and excellent food, highly recommended.
After dinner we walked back to the condo to discover they couldn’t fix the air, and we would have to move again. Fail. However, they put us in a very nice three bedroom unit which we really enjoyed, but we were exhausted after all the moving around and were just ready to relax!
We got up super early to walk down to the start of the race. It was a gorgeous day.
We watched the swim start then walked up to transition and were able to see my sister running from the swim to the bike.
After that, we headed back to the room and Bobby, my dad and I headed to the hot tub and pool, then out to the beach to walk around.
We did not envy my sister out on the bike while we were relaxing! We went back up to the room for lunch and to watch some football, and then headed down to watch the bikers come in.
We were tracking my sister online and were actually able to see her come by right before getting off the bike. We then headed back up to the room for awhile before heading to the finish line. We found a great spot in the shoot and I screamed my head off cheering for everyone with my awesome sign with everyone loved (and some people even came up and took pictures of!)
Oh yes. I did.
Before long Christy came flying by and was officially an ironman! Yay! After a year of training is was over, and we were a bunch of tired spectators.
It was very cool to watch the ironman, but I have absolutely no desire to do one. Some of those poor people coming across the finish line….did not look like fun. I of course got excited to race in general, and can’t wait for Wine and Dine!
QOTD”: Ever raced or spectated at an ironman? Do you want to do one?
Cabin mornings, lakeside afternoons, and a 
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Homeschool decision!!
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I LOOOVE watching the ironman on television and would adore to see these amazing athletes in person.
it was cool to see everyone around us so fit lol!
Wow, an Ironman! I’m with you though – I don’t see myself doing more than a half marathon, or maybe a sprint triathlon.
I want to push myself, but not that hard. Hehe. (Though maybe I should try a full marathon, just once?)
WOW what an amazing accomplishment! I love to watch one! I think in my head I’d like actually participate but Im thinking Id be more fitted to watching!
seeing how exhausted they were….major turn off lol! But def a great accomplishment!
I’ve only ever watched on TV!
We were in Kona this past summer and saw a lot of athletes training! It was amazing! My husband would love to do an Ironman someday but as for me, we’ll see how I feel after my first Half! A tri is on my bucket list for sure!
oohh kona how fun!
I don’t have any desire to do one either. I feel like Fezzik in that I only dog paddle, and I’m not that great on a bike. I don’t know when I’d have time to train either. I’ll stick to running since that’s already in my schedule.
amen!
That’s awesome. We have a friend who did that one 3 years ago as his first Iron Man. I think it’s amazing but I would never want to attempt one!
haha that’s how I feel!
Wow! Congrats to your sister! What an amazing accomplishment! I’ve spectated and volunteered at a local triathlon but it’s nothing like the Ironman! Have so much fun in Disney! I’ve already been stalking your Instagram today lol!
Your sister is a beast! Congrats to her! LOVE your sign.
haha thanks!
Spectating an Ironman can be hard work, but it does always leave me inspired to sign up. It’s a long, hard, tough day – but there’s nothing like the feeling at the finish line (or even the last few miles). Congrats to your sister!
it was a long day going back and forth trying to catch her lol
I would actually LOVE to do an Ironman one day…I think I’m going to make it a long term (5 years?!?) goal! I’m hoping to start with a spring triathlon this summer and go from there.
I’m headed down to Orlando Thursday for the Wine & Dine Half…hope to see you there!