So at this point, Sorelle had obviously been to a few triathlons. She’s talked about wanting to do one, but Allyson and I made a firm commitment that we were not, under any circumstances, going to force her to do one. She was going to have to want to do it on her own.
Here in Huntersville, they have a summer kids triathlon series that is run by two gals we know, Kathy Goody and Sarah Matchett. It is sponsored by the Birkdale Animal Hospital and timed by Setup Events. The races are held at Huntersville Family Fitness and Aquatic, same place as the MAP Tri from the last two years. And the race distances vary depending on the age of the child.
Well, Sorelle decided it was time for her to take on a tri. We were excited and supportive, however a bit leery as Sorelle had one good size limiter she needed to overcome, and quickly. The bike. She had never really loved riding her bike, approaching it with fear and timidity. Now she was going to have to ride in a gaggle of 7-9 year olds for a mile in fairly tight quarters. So we headed out to the local middle school a couple of times where they have a painted blacktop running track. Perfect training ground. Sorelle worked hard and got to a point where she was comfortable. It was time to race.
We had at least two-dozen friends/families out there that we knew either racing or cheering. We also had a good crew from the tri club helping out. And needless to say, the race site was complete mayhem. Chaos. Children everywhere. Parents everywhere. Frenzy, especially in the pool area where everyone was getting ready. Once the 4-6 year olds had cleared out, they opened up the starting area to the 7-9’s. Unfortunately, the kids tri is subject to the same ‘age up’ rule as the regular races. So 6 year old Sorelle was going to be racing against a bunch of 7-9 year olds.
We went out and got her T1 area all set up and walked through her exit strategy, all of which I was fully prepared for her to forget. I did the first time I raced. Parents are not allowed to assist the 7-9’s, so she was all on her own. I dipped her in the pool so she could get used to the water. A minute or two later, she was off and did so great. So cool to see her cruising through the water. She exited the pool and did fantastic on her transition. She slipped on her shoes and had about a hundred yard run to the bike area. I don’t know what was funnier – watching the kids exit and run to the bikes or watching the masses of parents running out of the building with cameras in hand frantically chasing after their kid. Me being one of them.
Sorelle got on her bike and took off. Unfortunately, it was at about half the speed of most everyone around her. Let’s just say she rode a very careful, calculated race. She was saving up watts for the run. I was so proud of her overcoming her fear of even getting on the bike. In spite of all the kids zooming by her, she was out there giving it her best and doing something she’d never done. Couldn’t be more proud.
The bike was four laps on a walking path around a ball field. She dismounted the bike with the assistance of a bunch of my tri club buddies and took off for her quarter mile run. She took off, bonked around half way and had to slow down to catch her breath, then kicked it in for the finish. A best moment of the day was her being greeted at the finish by her little sister, who gave her a huge hug. Sela was prepping for her big kids fun run that was coming up after the tri.
To this day, she thinks she won, and that is fine by us. In many ways, she did. I love the fact that she decided to take it on herself, put in the practice and overcome some fears. Can’t ask much more than that from a 6 year old.
We then watched Sela and a crew of little ones do a 100-yard fun run starting at one corner of the ball field and ending in the finish chute. So stinkin’ cute.
There was much to celebrate. And everyone was big hungry. So we and the Guthe’s went and refueled at none other than health food heaven, Five Guys. It was bliss. And messy.
No comments:
Post a Comment