Taylor's Spudman Triathlon

On Saturday July 31st, Taylor competed in his first first Olympic Triathlon and he did awesome!! One of the parts that made it so cool was his brother, Spencer, competed as well. Taylor's parents and sister, Marissa, came down to help cheer them on, as well as Spencer's cute little family too. It was a fun weekend and great fun to cheer the guys on.

The triathlon was held in Burley, Idaho just 30 minutes east of us. It consisted of a 1 mile swim down the snake river, a 26 mile bike ride and a 10k (6.1 miles) run. Friday night they held a carbo load dinner where they served spaghetti, beans and potatoes, you definitely got your carbs! They gave out the packets and instructions of what to do and where to be in the morning.

Eating yummy food

Alexis spinning around with Grammie
Kaitlyn swinging high with Grammie and Marissa

Saturday morning started early for the guys. They had to have their bikes in place by 6:30 am or they wouldn't be aloud to race. They were up and out the door by 5:30 am just to make sure they had everything in set up in time. I think they were nervous but they were super excited at the same time. Taylor was in heat number 8 and started at 8:10am. There were 184 people in the heat so it was a little congested in the beginning. Because of his amazing swimming skills he made great time. It only took him 17:51 to complete the swim and he placed 23rd in his division.

Taylor is out there...he is the one with the orange swim cap... :-)

Taylor is in the middle and you can see his arm coming up out of the water.

The bike was fun, we went up to a section of the course and waited to cheer him on as he passed by. He looked good on the bike and you could tell it was going well for him. It took him only an hour and 16 minutes to complete the bike. He biked an average of 19.5 miles per hour, his fastest yet!The girls waiting for their daddy's to come by...
Kaitlyn, Avery, Briella, and Alexis

As soon as he passed by on the bike we loaded up in the car and headed to the course for the run. We made it just in time to see him pass by. He was going strong and was glad to have the girls there to cheer him on. It took him 57:06 to finish the 10k run and he averaged 9:12 miles. He did a great job.

Excited to see the girls

When Taylor reached the last 2 1/2 miles of the run he caught up to Spencer (he started in the heat before him, just 10 min earlier) and they were able to finish the race together. That made it a great ending to an awesome experience. Taylor's goal was to finish the race in 2 hrs and 40 mins. His official time was 2:36:16!! He was very pleased with his time and is already planning out how he can get a better time for next year!

Kaitlyn was so excited to see Taylor, she couldn't wait for him to pick her up and put her on his shouldersOur cute family
As you can tell Alexis was more than ready for a nap.

I am so proud of you Taylor. You did such an awesome job and your are now officially a triathlete! I couldn't ask for a better husband and father, your such a great example for our girls to follow, way to go!!