Ironman Louisville

Jerry competed in his first Ironman in Louisville KY, on August 30th. August and Kentucky sound like a miserably hot combination but we were lucky for unseasonably cool temperatures in the 70's. In fact the kids were freezing at the beginning of the race and I had no pants or jackets for them. Before reading any further I warn you this will be detailed for posterity sake, and because he deserves this to be documented completely, so hopefully you can hang in there for all the details. Jerry set off about 4:30am and the kids and I got out at 6:30am. Unbeknownst to us the starting point was about 2 miles from our hotel and we had to run all the way there; the kids were NOT happy. We missed Jerry's start but it was so crazy packed there was no way we would have found him. So we had to turn right around and walk 1.5miles back to where they would get out of the water. Jerry swam the 2.4 miles really well, about and hour and 10 minutes in some dirty Ohio river water. Here is a picture of the warning that turds might be floating in the water...so gross. He said he felt great in the swim and he quickly got out and on his bike for the 110 mile bike ride.

This was a picture of the morning of the race. This is almost three thousand bikes waiting to kick the crap out of crazy triathletes.

So as Jerry is riding for almost six hours on a tiny bike seat, the kids and I take a school bus to the small town that he will pass through two times. The kids had their hair and faces painted, walked around and we ate at a cute cafe. While eating, a freight train came right through the center of Main St., you could actually jump onto it if you were a hobo. The kids were amazed and I was impressed that some towns are still quaint and small and haven't discarded the past. So in the midst of walking and trains, we got to see Jerry ride by twice and screamed and waved and he looked fast and strong.

The bike is his best event and he had a really great time riding. We met up with him at the transition for the run. While we waited the kids swam in some water that was off limits but what can you do? He started his run strong and ready for 26.2 miles of pounding the ground.

We got to see him twice on the run. He kissed us at mile 13 (this picture) and said he felt great. Most of the day we spent chasing around trying to find where he might be, while friends and family at home were tracking him online; so not fair. After this picture I made my way to the finish line. We had met so many nice people while we waited for him. In fact, because I could not leave my awesome place at the finish line (the video speaks for itself) a very nice older lady that we chatted with for awhile had to take Megan to the bathroom for me. Letting her do that should explain the magnitude of how important it was to me to see him finish and keep my spot. (Please don't call child services). Jerry was taking a bit longer to get there than he should have so I started to worry but as you can see below, he made it!


He is an IRON MAN! There is no doubt that you earn this title, it was a long 11 hours 33 minutes but he rocked it out. He did need some IV fluids for dehydration and a bad pain that had him doubled over at miles 15-22. The funny story is, the day before the race families could put a special message on the Encouragement Sign at mile 22. So I thought about what to write and wanted to be sweet but then it hit me what I should say. So as he is walking over the mat that reads his number his name pops up on the screen and he reads, "Jerry Biang Stop Walking!" He laughed out loud and said "OK". Though he was still in pain he ran the rest of the race and finished strong. We are so proud of him, he worked so hard for a long time to be ready for this race. His goal is Hawaii some day and if he keeps this up I know he will be there soon.