Wow - what a day. I will start off by saying I should have volunteered for the adult race, but didn't because I didn't want to go up there by myself early this morning and there was no reason for my sister's family to head up there that early. I was waiting to see if someone would go with me and that was dumb - I should have just gone anyway. I missed the opening ceremony and wished I had been there for that.
All that aside, we left my apartment around 7:15 and made the mandatory trip to Kolache Factory before heading up to Spring for Kate and Molly's race. It was supposed to start at 9, but things were running pretty late and they didn't end up starting until after 10. The weather was nice though, so that was ok.
Kate approached her first triathlon like a champ. She was so brave beforehand and soooo excited to be there. Molly was a little more reserved, since she is a pro at all of this now. Molly was ahead of Kate in line, so she swam first. She looked strong and unphased after her 100m swim. She was off to transition. Next up was Kate. While she wasn't the youngest kid there, she was certainly one of the smallest kids there, if not the smallest. She had been discussing her swim plan for a while before the race. Backstroke is her best stroke, so she was figuring how to get that done. She hopped in and did freestyle for 2 lengths then backstroke for the next 2. She never wavered! We thought for sure she would slow down, but she did awesome. Her time was 2:46 for the 100 and I had registered has as swimming 3:00. Even with that we were worried we had put too fast of a time for her. Well, we were wrong.
I had promised Kate I would run on the sidewalk near her on the bike course, and it is a good thing I did. She wasn't completely confident in her biking skills and kept saying she didn't know where to go. I guess it is a new concept for some kids to be thrown out and told to just follow the path. It was clearly marked and everything, but just still new for her. At an intersection 1/2 mile in, the cops stopped the bikes going both ways so cars could come through. Molly was the first biker coming back in the line on the other side and Kate was the first in the line on her side. It was good they got to see each other for a bit and Molly was breezing through like it was no big deal. Over the next 1/2 mile I started to get a bit worried for Kate, we were just coming to 1 mile on the 3 mile course and I couldn't get a read on how she was doing. I noticed the tire didn't look right on her right training wheel - the only one she was using. I don't think the left training wheel touched the ground the entire time. Not long after the tire flew off and went rolling down the road. She didn't notice. I picked it up and kept running with her. At the mile point I stopped and let her go and told her I would meet her on the other side. Then I realized she was about the last kid out there and started to get worried again. I found her again just after the halfway point and ran all the way back with her. I asked if she wanted me to put the tire back on and she said no. By the end she had 2-3 motorcycles behind her and me leading her. It was like she was the lead racer. I'm not sure she appreciated it because I think she was self-conscious about being last, but I couldn't have been more proud. I started tearing up when we just had a few hundred yards left to go. It is like we were about to win an Ironman or something. She finally rounded the corner and hopped off her bike and then complained her legs felt weird. Poor thing - we forgot to tell her about jelly legs and she certainly hadn't done any brick workouts to "prepare."
She walked her bike through transition and had trouble finding where to put it. She walked very slow too - everyone was yelling at her to run, but she was smart...you can't run a bike with training wheels or you trip yourself. Anyway, on with the pink visor and new pink race number belt and off she was. She ran well at first then said her tummy hurt. We saw 2 other kids out on the course and I told her she could beat them if she wanted. The girls at the water station cheered for her and performed several cheers using her name. They also chased her down and poured water all over her and she loved that. I hadn't planned on running with her because I didn't want to break any rules. On the bike course I was up on the sidewalk and wasn't necessarily providing assistance, but the run course would be more obvious, but then again I guess not too many people care about a kids tri, at least I hope not. We ran and walked and when she ran, she really ran. She passed the 2 kids and kept looking back to make sure they weren't going to catch up. At one point she saw the girl start to get a tiny bit closer and just took off.
She finished and was not the last finisher. Sadly though, there weren't any medals at the finish. I felt soooooooooo bad. I had been telling her all along how awesome it will feel to get that medal around her neck and how she could take it to school and show everyone the next day. She was devastated and couldn't even begin to be proud of what she did. She was upset she was the last one on the bike as well. Just before we packed up the car a medal did magically appear and I think it made her day. Soon enough she was grinning ear to ear, boasting with pride in her performance. Molly was a bit quiet after her finish too, but I think perked up a bit when we saw that she took 2 minutes off her run from last year and had the 4th fastest run in her age group out of 26 kids. We headed to Sonic and that certainly made everything better.
When I was running with Kate at the beginning of her run she started to say that her legs hurt and I said "I know they do, this is supposed to be hard." She didn't quite understand that. I continued to tell her though that she was so brave for coming out there and that I didn't know any other kids who would have stuck it out on the bike course like she did. I was the crazy emotional aunt who was in tears trying to tell her how proud I was of her, and that I knew it hurt, but that is what makes it great.
I am always sad when they leave and I'm back to my quiet lonely apartment. I was especially sad this time because of other stuff going on and then Kate was bawling hysterically because she didn't want to leave. It broke my heart. She called me a few hours later from the car without much really to say, but I guess maybe it made her feel a little better. I may head to San Antonio in a few weeks to watch them do a kids race there that Molly did last year. Maybe Kate will decide to be done with her training wheels once and for all after this weekend. Sean and Elizabeth already told her the right training wheel is "broken" and won't work any more.
Kate getting body marked
Molly (in the braids)
#1 Cheerleader - Bennett
Finally, a smile
Bennett had a rough day
Kate - now officially a triathlete
All that aside, we left my apartment around 7:15 and made the mandatory trip to Kolache Factory before heading up to Spring for Kate and Molly's race. It was supposed to start at 9, but things were running pretty late and they didn't end up starting until after 10. The weather was nice though, so that was ok.
Kate approached her first triathlon like a champ. She was so brave beforehand and soooo excited to be there. Molly was a little more reserved, since she is a pro at all of this now. Molly was ahead of Kate in line, so she swam first. She looked strong and unphased after her 100m swim. She was off to transition. Next up was Kate. While she wasn't the youngest kid there, she was certainly one of the smallest kids there, if not the smallest. She had been discussing her swim plan for a while before the race. Backstroke is her best stroke, so she was figuring how to get that done. She hopped in and did freestyle for 2 lengths then backstroke for the next 2. She never wavered! We thought for sure she would slow down, but she did awesome. Her time was 2:46 for the 100 and I had registered has as swimming 3:00. Even with that we were worried we had put too fast of a time for her. Well, we were wrong.
I had promised Kate I would run on the sidewalk near her on the bike course, and it is a good thing I did. She wasn't completely confident in her biking skills and kept saying she didn't know where to go. I guess it is a new concept for some kids to be thrown out and told to just follow the path. It was clearly marked and everything, but just still new for her. At an intersection 1/2 mile in, the cops stopped the bikes going both ways so cars could come through. Molly was the first biker coming back in the line on the other side and Kate was the first in the line on her side. It was good they got to see each other for a bit and Molly was breezing through like it was no big deal. Over the next 1/2 mile I started to get a bit worried for Kate, we were just coming to 1 mile on the 3 mile course and I couldn't get a read on how she was doing. I noticed the tire didn't look right on her right training wheel - the only one she was using. I don't think the left training wheel touched the ground the entire time. Not long after the tire flew off and went rolling down the road. She didn't notice. I picked it up and kept running with her. At the mile point I stopped and let her go and told her I would meet her on the other side. Then I realized she was about the last kid out there and started to get worried again. I found her again just after the halfway point and ran all the way back with her. I asked if she wanted me to put the tire back on and she said no. By the end she had 2-3 motorcycles behind her and me leading her. It was like she was the lead racer. I'm not sure she appreciated it because I think she was self-conscious about being last, but I couldn't have been more proud. I started tearing up when we just had a few hundred yards left to go. It is like we were about to win an Ironman or something. She finally rounded the corner and hopped off her bike and then complained her legs felt weird. Poor thing - we forgot to tell her about jelly legs and she certainly hadn't done any brick workouts to "prepare."
She walked her bike through transition and had trouble finding where to put it. She walked very slow too - everyone was yelling at her to run, but she was smart...you can't run a bike with training wheels or you trip yourself. Anyway, on with the pink visor and new pink race number belt and off she was. She ran well at first then said her tummy hurt. We saw 2 other kids out on the course and I told her she could beat them if she wanted. The girls at the water station cheered for her and performed several cheers using her name. They also chased her down and poured water all over her and she loved that. I hadn't planned on running with her because I didn't want to break any rules. On the bike course I was up on the sidewalk and wasn't necessarily providing assistance, but the run course would be more obvious, but then again I guess not too many people care about a kids tri, at least I hope not. We ran and walked and when she ran, she really ran. She passed the 2 kids and kept looking back to make sure they weren't going to catch up. At one point she saw the girl start to get a tiny bit closer and just took off.
She finished and was not the last finisher. Sadly though, there weren't any medals at the finish. I felt soooooooooo bad. I had been telling her all along how awesome it will feel to get that medal around her neck and how she could take it to school and show everyone the next day. She was devastated and couldn't even begin to be proud of what she did. She was upset she was the last one on the bike as well. Just before we packed up the car a medal did magically appear and I think it made her day. Soon enough she was grinning ear to ear, boasting with pride in her performance. Molly was a bit quiet after her finish too, but I think perked up a bit when we saw that she took 2 minutes off her run from last year and had the 4th fastest run in her age group out of 26 kids. We headed to Sonic and that certainly made everything better.
When I was running with Kate at the beginning of her run she started to say that her legs hurt and I said "I know they do, this is supposed to be hard." She didn't quite understand that. I continued to tell her though that she was so brave for coming out there and that I didn't know any other kids who would have stuck it out on the bike course like she did. I was the crazy emotional aunt who was in tears trying to tell her how proud I was of her, and that I knew it hurt, but that is what makes it great.
I am always sad when they leave and I'm back to my quiet lonely apartment. I was especially sad this time because of other stuff going on and then Kate was bawling hysterically because she didn't want to leave. It broke my heart. She called me a few hours later from the car without much really to say, but I guess maybe it made her feel a little better. I may head to San Antonio in a few weeks to watch them do a kids race there that Molly did last year. Maybe Kate will decide to be done with her training wheels once and for all after this weekend. Sean and Elizabeth already told her the right training wheel is "broken" and won't work any more.
Kate getting body marked
Molly (in the braids)
#1 Cheerleader - Bennett
Finally, a smile
Bennett had a rough day
Kate - now officially a triathleteSisters, triathletes
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