If you have been anywhere near a Bowling in the last two years, chances are you have heard enough about the sport of triathlon to make your ears bleed or at least make you wish perhaps that you were deaf. There are two very long overdue posts on that topic which may or may not ever make it to the blog, but this one seems more important because a kid deserves to be recognized for making a big effort. Besides, the actual sport of triathlon (and all the training that goes into it) doesn't leave much time/energy for documenting it all via the blog. Throw in several birthdays, assorted parties, and a soccer season, and here we are!
Alastair didn't stand a chance in this house. At dinner each, we discuss intervals, bike components, and running splits. Alastair, already a swimmer, and a very energetic lad expressed interest in doing a kids tri this summer. To be fair, I made sure it was really his idea and that he truly wanted to do it before plunking down the cash. Kids tris aren't cheap.
Kim and I have completed several OnUrMark races between us and have great faith in their priority of safety for the athletes and a really classy event experience. To translate, that means they keep the cars away from us, have lots of cops watching out for us, and the loot is great. Kim and I trusted them with our son and there are several companies we have raced with that we would definitely would not.
This race was a 50m pool swim, 2 mile bike ride, and a .6 mile run. We may be diehards about this sport, but we tried very hard not to be "those" parents. In preparation for the race, I did make him swim occasionally if we were already at the pool, as there was a month between the conclusion of swim team and the race. Once he even rode his bike while I ran. What I did do for him was walk him through transition, since that is often where this race is won or lost and there would not be grown ups directing him as to what gear he needed for each part of the race. I wanted him to go into the experience comfortable with what was going to happen and relaxed enough to enjoy it.
The weekend of the race (the Cypress Kids Triathlon) Alastair raced on Saturday and Kim on Sunday. It was definitely race weekend around here and truthfully, it was a little weird not competing myself. But as the spouse of any triathlete can tell you, the real event is getting all the kids to the race. Saturday Alastair picked me (he likes me! he really likes me!) to bring him to the race and help him set up. Uncle Bill met us there too and brought along the cowbell. In the North, cowbell means downhill racing. In the South, cowbell means triathlon.
The kids race is a pretty fast and furious affair since the distances are so short. Alastair finished the whole thing in 16:22.
Pool starts take forever to get going though, so there was more than a little waiting around.
Then it was on. The kid was passing people in the pool, something that makes even grown ups nervous.
He sprinted through transition like a pro, grabbing his bike and getting all the way to the mount line before getting on, unlike a good percentage of the kids.
Then it was on to the run, which he completed at a 6:42/mi pace. Granted the little bugger only had to go that fast for 3 minutes, but still. That's pretty fast.
Then it was over. I missed the finish although Kim got it on video for me; in the hoard of bikes coming back in, I just missed him. He was very proud of himself and boy, were we proud too.
Then this happened, which probably has not helped the boy with his modesty deficiency.
I love that this is a sport that people of all ages and levels can compete in. From the six year olds to the 80 year olds, triathlon is at its heart an individual race to test one's limits. You can spend an awful lot of money on it, but all you really need to compete is a pair of sneakers, goggles, and a bike. Alastair enjoyed his debut event and Emery is all fired up to get a shot to participate next summer.
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