Hayley "tris" not to fall off her bike!

A couple of weekends ago, Hayley fell off my bike while riding it around an RV park. She had to push the bike back to the camper while bleeding from her knee and hand. A few years ago, she fell off her bike and took all the skin off her leg from knee to shinbone and refused to ride her bike for a year. So, you can imagine the bike was Hayley's biggest challenge (staying upright, that is - haha, just kidding Hayley!). But Hayley had total confidence in the triathlon. No worries for her! She bravely refused a wetsuit for the swim in Duck Lake (ewww........part of the reason I wear one is to NOT touch the ickies!) and pulled ahead of everyone to be the first swimmer out of the water. She transitioned fast to the bike (watch that towel fly!) and quickly led our pack of kids in the biking. I barely saw her transition and then she was off for the run at lightning speed! She came in first overall of our kids, sprinting across the finish line to receive her medal. All in all, a pretty professional race - she looked good in all events! When asked if she would do it again, she said "maybe" a little hesitantly. C'mon Hayley, after that performance? She's ready for a sprint tri!

Hannah will "tri" again!

Hannah had total confidence in the triathlon. She wasn't nervous and figured it would be "easy" after she swam a 1/2 mile with me a couple of summers ago. Biking and running? No problem - she loves to bike and her running was amazingly improved this year after we figured out why she hated sports (because she had arthritis and was always in pain!). She ran all the time in school and her times were good. So, she ventured into this new frontier with total confidence and anticipation. She got in the water and offered last-minute advice to her younger siblings, and then did a solid swim, followed by a smooth transition to the bike. She was the first of the pack off on her bike and came in right behind Hayley. She slid on her running shoes and was off on the run, which was steady and solid all the way to the finish line. She received her medal and water and at the trophy presentation, when asked if she'd do it again, she said "Yes!" with confidence. Later she said "that was FUN!" and said she would definitely "tri" again! We're considering a "team" tri or perhaps a mother/daughter event in the future. Yay Hannah!

Harrison "tris" something new!

Of all the kids, Harrison was definitely the most nervous about the triathlon. He's a worrier by nature, and having something "big" to accomplish was giving him a real case of nerves the morning of the tri. He called me in tears (I was at Jeff's event) and asked me a million questions. After reassuring him that this was just for fun and passing on some advice from Jeff when I did my first tri ("just plan to be last"), he seemed ready to go. Once we tugged and pulled him into his wetsuit (not an easy task for anyone!), he got in the water and seemed pretty confident about the swim (this after "failing" the swim test at a local pool earlier in the week!). He did great in the swim, beating two other participants out of the water. The transition took some work (and an arm tug by mom to get out of the wetsuit), but he was soon off on his bike (after tossing his towel like a sail into the air behind him), determined look on his face. He pedaled back furiously, and tossed aside his helmet. Then, he was off on the run! His cross-country training from the fall came in handy as he ran the full 1/4 mile without stopping and crossed the finish line on the heels of Arlie. He got his medal and couldn't have been prouder of his trophy! Add to that he was the ONLY boy participating, so he came in first for boys! Yeah, Harrison! When asked if he would do it again, he answered "hmmm........maybe" but he was grinning his gap-toothed grin so I think he'll be back for round two!

Arlie's first tri!

So, Arlie did her first triathlon and it was quite an experience. She did not exhibit too much nervousness beforehand.......instead she had the quiet confidence of an athlete. The swim had given her some jitters beforehand and she wasn't sure if she wanted to wear a life jacket or not. But, armed with her wetsuit, she bravely entered the waters of Duck Lake and swam around the dock. Off to the bike! Arlie peeled off her wetsuit like a pro, quickly put on her shorts and t-shirt, laced up her running shoes and, not to be outdone, donned pink plastic, sparkly sunglasses. And she was off, pedaling away on her pink bike, complete with plastic baby seat attached to the back. In what seemed like minutes, she was back for the run, stashing the bike in the rack and tossing off her helmet. Off she dashed, on Harrison's heels, and quickly pulled ahead of him. Around the baseball field and she plodded down the home stretch, out of breath and grimacing but sprinted for the finish line! Horray! She received her medal and bottle of water and collapsed on the ground, smiling but exhausted. At the trophy presentation, when asked if she would do it again, she answered a hesitant "maybe". But we know that competitive spirit won't be squelched! She'll be back!