Celebrities and Ironmen

Coeur d'Alene hosted our second annual Ironman Triathlon yesterday. For 5 years, CdA will host this international sporting event and it keeps growing with every passing year. Mom, Dad and I decided to check out the excitement for ourselves. So after church we drove as close to downtown as we could (most of the streets are blocked for the biking and running) and walked towards the finish line on Sherman Avenue (the main street in downtown CdA). Watching the triathlon brought back a lot of memories for my Dad as he used to participate in them monthly when we lived in Texas.

As we were walking amongst all the people and event tents (first aid, souvenirs, food, etc.) I noticed a couple sitting at a table who looked very familiar. Suddenly I realized it was Trista and Ryan from the Bachelorette show. Now, I never watched the show, but I did watch the media bonanza that was their wedding. So I felt almost like I knew these people, especially considering they were on the cover of every magazine all last spring and summer. (I'm especially jealous of Trista because she was in Brad Paisley's music video, "Celebrity" and Brad played at her wedding reception.) I pointed them out to Mom who thought I was pointing out some friends of mine. Then she realized they were actually the celebrities we had watched on tv. Dad said he'd read in the paper that they were coming to town to promote the fact that Ryan is participating in the Kona Ironman this fall (good luck, buddy!).

We encountered these celebrities several time over the next two hours but I didn't approach them for an autograph. In fact, I was kind of surprised at how easily they maneuvered through the throngs of people with very little, if any, attention. After they were interviewed on the big screen, the did seem to be recognized more.

Isn't it amazing how people can appear so glamorous on tv and then appear so "real" in person? I'm not talking about beauty, but it seems like tv makes people seem very dreamlike; probably because you're seeing them in a box, with carefully crafted angles and views, and feel as though you know them even though you've never met. And then when you actually see a star, that idealistic notion of celebrity is burst because you see these demi-gods are only flesh and bone. Now, I'm not a huge fan of the Bachelorette shows but it was still interesting, for observation purposes, to have some celebrities in the vicinity. And I must admit that Ryan is just as hot in person as he appears on television. Trista's a lucky girl. :-)

Oh, yes, and there was an actual triathlon that took place (lest you think all I did was stare at Ryan). It was fantastic to stand alongside the street and cheer for the ironmen (and women) who finished first. These people are incredible! This event is so well choreographed that as the first man and woman come running down the final stretch, the loud speakers start blaring music like "Celebrate" and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Must everything be so highly commercialized?! (Not that I'm complaining, I love to have music playing all the time-- makes life more like a musical.)

The weather was much nicer this year than last year (last year it was 90 degrees and extremely humid --just miserable and uncharacteristic for CdA) with temps in the upper 70s and nice cool breezes. This made for very nice conditions for the insane, er, I mean, determined athletes. Top spots for men and women were claimed by an Aussie and a New Zealander. The Down Under had a great day here in CdA.