Ironman Results

June 23, 2009

Leavenworth, WA

We are in Leavenworth with Julie recovering from the Ironman. Not so much Julie as us, as we spent about 15 hours in CDA catching Julie at various points in her swim-bike-run adventure.

The night before the Ironman was the celebratory carb-meal at Tony’s by the lake. I opted not to have meatballs when advised that there was a veal special on the menu. We had seen veal calves penned in 6x 6 enclosures on the drive into CDA. Janice admitted that she had never eaten veal, so she also had a veal selection from the menu. Somebody’s gotta eat those poor little critters. Julie opted for a basic spaghetti dish, which permitted the dinner budget to splurge on a bottle of nice Italiano red wine.

Julie finished the Ironman triathlon in 13:07.53, which was 8 minutes under her personal best time, but she was disappointed that she didn’t break the 13:00 barrier, which was her goal. Late in the afternoon, the temperature dropped into the low 50s and drizzle started. At the 17 mile mark in the marathon, the chill winds off the lake slowed her to a walk until a mylar wrap enabled her to regain sufficient body heat to get back in stride. A tremendous accomplishment nonetheless. (While Julie was out on the course running, we went back to the rig, put on long-johns and an extra layer on top, topped off by garbage bags to shed the rain. That’s how miserable the weather was.)

Monday we headed to Leavenworth on Highway 2 in separate vehicles---Julie and Janice staying behind in the Honda, so Julie could pick up souvenirs and photos. Annika and I headed through the wheatfields in the RV after a 7:30 start. As we approached Wenatchee, the by-then boring wheatfields gave way to rivers, lakes, canyons and woods. This is a beautiful area. Leavenworth itself is a made-over German-themed alpine town, and they have done a wonderful job rising out of the ashes.

Arriving at space 100 at the Icicle River RV Park 3 miles west of Leavenworth, we parked 10 feet from the river, the roar of the river so loud our most common word used was, “Huh?” Internet access was achieved by schlepping the laptop up to the office, as the park’s wi-fi signal didn’t reach our riverside retreat.

Tuesday heralded a definite break in the weather with blue skies and temperatures in the mid 70s. This was perfect for our afternoon of white water rafting on the Wenatchee River. It was a good 3 ½ hr ride covering 14 miles and several sets of class 3 rapids. Just enough action without fear of capsizing into the 42 degree snow-melt water. No pictures because the only ones available (taken by the vendor) were selling for $20 apiece! There are much better things to do with $20, especially when we haven’t even hit the Leavenworth shops yet.