Gettin' the party started

It's been an exciting week!  This past Saturday, Team Trapp held a little soiree to help motivate our future Ironman triathlete.

A Lexington BBQ pork and vinegar recipe from the pages of a Steve Raichlen cookbook, several pitchers of Mojitos, yada, yada, yada...boy were we tired Sunday morning! 

I know Kevin had a great time and hopefully everyone in attendance can say the same. It was so much fun having friends and family there, and amazing to see the number of children that are now part of the "group"!  I'm sure there are a number of his fraternity brothers (and their wives) who would have NEVER guessed that Trapper would be training for an Ironman!

As I was putting his "love me wall" as he likes to call it -- or wall of fame -- together, it was hard to not reminisce about how far he's come over the past 5 years.  As part of the party decor, I had pasted up all of the bibs, medals and ribbons that I could find; and the framed collages I had put together early in his racing career, so that everyone could have an idea of his journey.  (I have tried to be somewhat organized with the race collateral**). 

His very first race was in St. Charles, MO.  It was a 5K, in conjunction with a small fall festival.  His sister decided to drive down for the weekend, from Chicago, to spend time with us and run the race in support of her big bro....  I remember it was pretty cold out and they had no coffee (lesson learned there....bring own coffee, just to be safe!)

He ended up coming in 1st in his age group!  I was so proud of him and knew at that moment, as he waited in line for his name to be called, that he wasn't going to stop at a local 5K.  So, 5 years and about 30-40 pounds (depending on his training) later, here we are... 4 days away from Ironman Wisconsin.

Look for some more frequent updates on our family TriSupporter blog as we plan, travel and prepare for Ironman Wisconsin.  And for those of you with speakers, here's one of the songs on Kev's playlist, enjoy!  http://www.markwinholtz.com/triathlon/index.cfm

**Incidentally, the shadow boxes and framed images of his races were quick to end. I still take pictures and have good intentions, but the organizing, framing and hanging has unfortunately dropped lower on my wifely duties (sorry, Hun, I promise to do MUCH better).  And maybe one of my readers will have a suggestion on a great scrapbooker who's looking for a little "project" ;-)