My husband is an IRONMAN!!!

HE DID IT! What an amazing weekend. I am still high from the excitement of the event. I do not like to watch sports, but I had a blast being a spectator while Pete completed his first Iron Distance triathlon. We have to turn the volume off to watch the video because the whole time I was recording I was screaming in excitement as Pete passed by. The way this course was set up, I got to see Pete 6 times during the race and Pops snapped some really great pictures while I videoed and screamed my head off. My heart would race as he neared and passed each time. I am so incredibly proud of you, Pete!

Here is how the day unfolded...



7:00 am - This is Pete right before the start of the race. Wet suit on, transition set up, ready to go...




7:15 am - The craziness of the mass start swim. Actually Pete said this one was not bad. 160 people started the race. Here they all are beginning their 2.4 mile swim in Lake Hefner, Oklahoma City. It was a 1.2 mile loop that they had to do twice. The water was 75 degrees which made it wet suit legal. The wet suit helped keep their bodies on top of the very choppy water. It was a difficult swim because of the waves.


8:45 am - finished with the swim! Pete completed the swim in 1:27.


After you come out of the water, the volunteers help strip your wet suit off of your body. That is what I am going to volunteer to do next year! :)


In transition 1, wet suit off, bike shorts, jersey, shoes, helmet and glasses on...let's bike!

8:48 am - start of the bike portion, heading out for a 112 mile ride



11:45 am - coming up to the bike turn around. This was the half way point on the bike; 56 miles down, 56 more to go. He looked so good. Still smiling!


12:15 pm - we drove over and cheered him on as he passed one of the bike aid stations. He was very surprised to see us at this point.



2:50 pm - Finished with the bike!!! 112 miles in 6:02! And still smiling! Amazing. This was after swimming and biking in 90+ degrees for over 7 hours. What a trooper.



3:00 pm - coming out of transition 2 to start a marathon run in stifling heat. By this point Pete had made a friend and they decided to run together.



5:15 pm - Nana and I wait to encourage Pete at the half way point on the run.


5:20 pm - Here he comes! No running buddy anymore. Pete comes up to the turn around solo and smiling. Looking great and feeling strong. 2:20 and 13.1 miles into the run he is doing so well that he does not even need his special needs bag....



he just makes the turn and keeps on trucking. See ya at the finish babe!



7:25 pm - Pops, Nana and I were standing at the finish line and had calculated that if Pete was able to maintain his pace from the first half of the marathon then he would be coming up the path in 30 minutes. As we were discussing this we hear over the loud speaker "and here comes Pete Underwood from Burleson, Texas finishing his first ever ironman!" We screamed and grabbed the cameras just in time to catch his unbelievable finish. He had finished his 2nd half 30 minutes faster than his first. Incredible. He trained to do a negative split and after 12 hours of non-stop motion and burning heat he was able to execute that with a 4:28 marathon. I could not believe my eyes.




Pete's official finish time was 12:10:02. His goal was 15 hours. I'd say he blew that out of the water. He was the 16th person to cross the finish line. Only 105 of the 160 athletes who started were able to complete the entire race due to the heat. The overall winner was interviewed on stage and he said that this was his 3rd ironman and by far the hardest because of the choppy swim and the heat.


My husband, the ironman! I am so proud!

The athletes are encouraged to go to the med tent and receive IV fluids to help rehydrate after the race. I was able to sit with Pete and hear all about his monumental day out on the course. I cannot describe to you how excited and proud I am of his accomplishment. Way to go, Pete! I love you!

**And a very special thanks to Pops and Nana for coming and taking the awesome pictures, driving me around, paying for all of my food...etc.

**And a VERY special thanks to Grandma Charlotte for keeping the girls all weekend so that I could devote all of my attention to Pete. She did not tell me that she also had Jacob and Zach, so she was just as busy as Pete this weekend! You are awesome, we love you!

A quick update from Redman

It is 1:00 pm and Pete is doing AWESOME! He passed the halfway point on the bike at 11:45 and we expect him back in transition to start the run around 2:45. He did the 2.4 mile swim in just under an hour and a half. We talked to him in transition 1 and he was feeling great. He was still smiling when we cheered him on at mile 67 of the bike. Having fun watching! Go Pete!

Countdown to Redman

Pete is on vacation starting today to complete all of the final preparations for the Redman Iron Distance Triathlon on Saturday. I am SO EXCITED to go watch this race. I am absolutely amazed at the athletes that do Iron Man distances. Pete has trained long and hard for this and I think he will do very well. He estimates that it will take him 15 hours to finish; I don't think it will take him over 13. Any bets? He leaves tomorrow for Oklahoma and is taking Reese with him, at Grandma's request. Soren and I will come Friday after school. The girls get to stay in Grandma's motor home, which is so much fun! She will take them to the Oklahoma State Fair on Saturday during the race and meet us at the finish line to cheer on our best man. It is sure to be an exciting weekend! On race day you can track an athlete on the race website http://www.redmantriathlon.com/ . There is a red oval on the left hand side of the page that says "track an athlete live" after clicking that you choose "full" under the events and track Peter Underwood. I have never tracked anyone on this site but I think it will just tell you when he passes certain check points. If there is internet availability I will post updates as the day progresses, but if not I will just post an after race report. Stay tuned for more!

Today we went down to the pool for Pete to test his wet suit. I should have known that Reese would end up in the water, too. Then she got to drive home; she always ducks down when she sees a car coming...

Trinity River Trash Bash

Soren is my little go-getter. Any offer that comes home from school to participate in a club or activity; she wants to be a part of. This year she is old enough to be a "CEO" at her school. They volunteer in the community and run the school's recycle program. Today was their first activity and it was picking up trash near the trinity river. Soren, Reese and I went and had a good time helping and visiting. It was a great success; I could not believe how much trash was collected! Lots of people showed up to help. Soren will go to school 30 minutes early every Tuesday to help with the recycle drop and will deliver meals on wheels on Wednesdays. She has committed to volunteer in the community a minimum of 10 hours this school year. I am really proud of her. She really loves to help.

Grandparent's Day Lunch

Today was Grandparent's Day at Soren's school. They invited any and all grandparents to come to lunch and the book fair (pretty smart to have the book fair when the grandparent's are around!) Soren was surprised to have not only her Nana, but also her GG (Granny)! She was very excited. We had a good time visiting and then spent some money at the book fair before leaving her for one last hour of school. Thanks, Nana and Granny for making the drive and making Soren's day very special!

swim clinic, aquathon, trainers and such

Another busy week. Everyday this last week Lockheed Martin offered a free swim clinic to promote their swim program. Soren, Reese, and I went each evening to learn from past and present world record holders and Olympians how to perfect our strokes. They even let Reese get in the water with the 6 and under group. SO CUTE! She totally swam the backstroke, breast stroke and freestyle. Her coach told me that she needs to be on the team. They usually want kids to be 5 before they join but because of her ability to swim and follow instructions they would let her come. We decided to put Soren in their program for sure. She will swim on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:45 to 5:30. I am really excited for her to be a part of this. The coaches are amazing and I like that they do not want her to swim everyday for 2 hours. She is still so young and I am afraid that she would get burned out at that pace. The clinic took up our afternoon and evening all week, but it was well worth it.

reese learning how to frog kick for the breast stroke

reese lined up on the wall with the under 6 group

soren with the 7-9 year olds

To end the clinic there was an aquathon on Saturday morning for kids 6-18 years old. For the 6-12 year olds it was a 1/2 mile run, 300 meter swim, 1/2 mile run. Soren was the youngest competitor and came in 5th place in the 12 and under group.

ready for the aquathon to start

burning up the pavement on the 1st run

all of the participants

Today was supposed to be Pete's last long bike/run brick workout, but rain (and I think football) has him on the trainer rather than out on the road. Reese decided that she needed to work out, too.



Soren is doing some rainy day art work.



I have never been one to let my goals be known; that way if I do not meet them, nobody knows! However, this last year has given me a lot more confidence in myself and so I here by announce that I am training for the Whiterock Marathon on December 9th. I almost changed my mind yesterday after my first long training run. It was very difficult and I have a long way to go, but I am determined to give it all I've got. Stating it here will make me feel like I HAVE to do it. So there you have it; that is my next goal.

A Big First

This is a monumental day for me. Actually, I guess it is for Reese, but I am the only one that is emotional. Reese went to her first day of Mother's Day Out today. Sniff sniff. She really wanted to go to school this year. I really wanted her to stay home with me. I have been through this kid thing once before and I know that once they start kindergarten they are gone ALL day everyday and I am not ready for that this time. I am trying to keep Reese from growing up you see. She is supposed to be my baby and yet she is getting big so fast, just like Soren. She was so excited to go to school. She knows two of the kids in her class and will get to make new friends with the others. I am happy for her because I know she will have a great time but I am sad for me because this is one more step of independence.

What to do with my few hours of kidlessness? I am going to go ride my bike...see ya.

To Grandmother's House We Go

After church and MUCH lunch on Sunday, we headed north to Grandma Charlotte's house for a very brief visit with some more of the girls' cousins. Zach and Jacob were visiting Grandma from Tulsa and we ran up to say hi since we do not get to see them much. Grandma took us out to lake Texoma to watch the fireworks that were rained out on the 4th of July. It was a really great show. All of the kids enjoyed it, except for Zach, who slept through the whole thing. It is crazy what babies will and will not sleep through.

reese, soren, jacob, and zach(in the back ground)

soren and jacob doing some manual labor for Grandma

fun in Grandma's hot tub

staged, but cute

Grandma with her kids. Does she have any idea how much they adore her? I hope so!!!

Labor Day Fun

We had a Labor Day weekend of fun. Danna and Trey flew in from Denver so the whole herd was here. Even Grandma Freda! We are too many for Pop's boat and all of the beaches are still under water, so we rented a pontoon, had Pop's boat, Zach's boat, and Granddad's boat on Ray Roberts for Saturday. Here are some pics in no particular order...

soren displays her athletic abilities on Pops and Nana's swing

reese braves the tube with Soren, Wyatt and Dad (facing backwards)

Dad gives Reese a ride across the lake

Granddad, Granny and Grandma Freda watch the festivities from the pontoon. They are all such troopers; how many great grandparents do you know that will go out on the lake in the Texas heat for 8 hours?

the whole herd at Pops and Nana's house Sunday after church

This is what Soren, Wyatt and Ashton did ALL DAY LONG. They called it "Dare Devil Lake" They went back and forth from one tube to the other. They wore out 5 boat drivers and were still begging for more. Ashton got clobbered and nearly lost a tooth. Very exciting.

Reese, Zach and Avery

Reese and mom

Danna and Sara (thanks for a fun ride, Zach!)