Kids triathlon.

Saturday morning was a big day for Faith, Wilson and Tom.  It was big for Faith and Wilson because they both raced in their first triathlons.  It was big for Tom because his two children were following in his footsteps and racing in their first triathlons.  The Harris YMCA hosted both a Kids and a Preschool Triathlon on the same morning – one right after the other.  There were two main differences between the two races: length and parental involvement.  Faith’s race was much longer and parents were not to help them at all.   My parents and Grandmama were there to help cheer the kids on.

Faith’s race was first.  There was about 80 elementary aged children in her race.  She had to swim three laps, ride four laps around the large parking lot, and then run a quarter of a mile.  The biking and running were easy for her, but the swim was very difficult.  Three laps is a lot of swimming for someone her age.  She was able to complete it, but she was not happy about it at all!  I think the swim dampened her mood and she was on the verge of tears throughout the rest of the race.  Tom was able to help her through the transitions and cheer her on as she came back from the biking which helped.   Here they are at the transition area as Faith gets ready to get on her bike.

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Here is Faith on her bike.  Because the older kids went first, there weren’t many kids racing while she was finishing up.

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After she finished the race it took her a while to cheer up, and warm up (it was chilly).  Faith finally began to acknowledge her accomplishment and was proud of herself for completing such a difficult swim, bike and run.  We were all very proud of her tenacity and her determination.  She could have given up at any moment, but she didn’t and we were all very proud of her.

Wilson’s race was next and it was very different from Faith’s.  In the Preschool triathlon the parents were very involved and it was a much more relaxed race.  The kids only had to swim one lap, ride one lap around the parking lot and then run only 50 yards.  There was also much more parental involvement.  Most of the parents were in the pool with their child while he/she swam the one lap.  I even saw one dad swimming the lap with his son on his back.  Most of the kids had bikes with training wheels or even tricycles.  Compared to the competition, Wilson rocked this race!  He did awesome!  Tom got in the pool with him but Wilson swam the lap all by himself.  He then raced over to the transition area, put on his helmet and ran his bike up to the parking lot. Wilson rode his bike (without training wheels) around the parking lot and the other families.  Here he is….

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Then he ran his bike back to the transition area, dropped it off and took off for the run.  He was so fired up and energetic.  I loved watching him really try to do his best and be his fastest.  The video we took is hilarious!  He crossed the finish line, received his medal, and then wanted to go straight to the food.  I asked him to stop so that i could take a picture.  This is how he posed…..

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What a knuckle head!  I asked him to smile normal and I got this shot…

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We were all so proud of both Faith and Wilson.  they each ran two totally different races and did the best that they each could do.  In order to celebrate properly, Grandmama took us out to breakfast at the Pancake House.  It was a wonderful morning together doing something very rewarding.  Both kids said that they want to do it again next year.

Here is Faith and I after her race…

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