One day this summer when we were at the pool, I noticed a sign advertising a kids Triathlon. I thought that looked interesting, so I looked up the distances and asked the kids if they wanted to attempt it! Ezra didn’t feel comfortable with the swimming part (although after watching the triathlon, he feels confident to do it next year!), but Tera and Kiah decided that they wanted to sign up and give it a tri (pun intended)!
I am so proud of these kids! It wasn’t a cute little fun run, it was a legitimate (kids) triathlon with pretty far distances, and they really had to use some endurance muscles – both physically and mentally- to finish the race.
Here are the distances for the kids:
Kiah was a “junior” and Tera was a “senior”. Note that she had JUST turned 12 a week before, so she was probably one of the youngest in her age bracket!
We had to arrive early to stage the bike area, get bib numbers painted on so that they don’t wash off in the pool, and get to the pool deck to start with the first event: SWIM.
We arrived early enough to catch the minis doing their swim, and then it was time for Kiah to go line up for his swim. Since only 5 kids could swim at once, there ended up being a long wait time depending on what heat your child was in. This was fine- it was fun to watch and cheer on other kids, too! They had lifegaurds in the water in each lane, and they provided boogie boards if needed. I honestly didn’t see any kids need one, though!
After hopping out of the pool, they had to run through a building and out into the parking lot on the other side where the bikes were already staged. “Staging” the bike meant having the bike, helmet, and shirt/shorts/socks and shoes ready to go. We were also advised to bring a towel for the staging area so they can either dry off, or sit on it while getting shoes and socks on!
The bike portion was a straight ride out and back- so we really only saw them when they started and finished. We got lots of time to sit around and wait 😉
There he is! Woooohoooo! Dropped his bike, and now off for the run!
At this point, we had divided and conquered because Tera’s age group was supposed to start, but Kiah’s age group had so many kids that they were still working through swimming heats. I honestly don’t know how they kept track of the time for each kid, but I was assured that they started the timer only when the heat entered the water. I had to remind the kids, though, that someone that started after them AND finished after them could be faster, since everyone was starting at different times and therefore finishing at different times.
While Kiah was out for the run, we were able to cheer for him in several different spots, and alert Theo, Tera, Ori and my Mom to head to the finish line to see him cross!
Well done, buddy!!! So proud of you!
Tera’s heat still hadn’t started when Kiah had finished, so we headed back to the pool area to repeat the whole process for Tera!
First, swim:
Then on to the bike portion! It was so funny how Kiah went as fast as he possibly could during the transitions, but Tera just took her time. Such a reflection of their personalities 😉
There she is, absolutely killing it!!!
And on to the run section of the race:
AND CROSSING THE FINISH LINE:
Phew, my Mama heart is so proud. I learned so much from this experience, and I think the kids did, too. First- we learned how to actually do a triathlon- none of us had ever done one before, so even just the details of how to set up the staging area and what to expect from the swimming portion were all new to us!
But, honestly? I’m so proud of my kids for trying something new- and so wildly out of their comfort zones. They are both becoming confident runners, but neither has spent much time knowing how to swim, and they only ride their bikes casually. It was really cool to see them tackle a sports area that they weren’t overly confident in. And you know what? It was hard! They both came in dead last in their swim heat. They both acknowledged that, but we talked about how maybe someone was watching who thought that they could never do a triathlon, but when they saw someone who isn’t the best swimmer but still out there doing it, maybe they will be inspired to do it as well.
And that is one reason that I now really like triathlons! Even if an athlete has a strength in one area (swim, bike, or run), there is probably one area that they are a little bit weaker in. I think it’s so good for our kids to learn that they can do things, even if they aren’t the strongest in that area.
It reminded me so much of this book that I’ve been reading that is SO GOOD:
It talks about how when we do too much for our kids, or we only encourage them to do the things that they are good at, we actually destroy their confidence in capability. When we encourage our kids to do hard things, when we don’t always try to clear the path for them, when we encourage them to do something that they maybe aren’t that good at- they actually grow SO much in confidence and capability. My kids can look back on this triathlon and think “I did that” and that mindset will help them in other areas of life as well. If they can do a hard thing like swim 150 meters, then they can do other hard things, too! And being capable is a necessary part of being an adult, so it’s a huge gift to give that to our kids, you know?
Now Theo and I kind of want to tr(i) a triathlon! Look at that- kids can even inspire adults!
I am so proud of them 🙂
Aw, that is wonderful! Congrats to them both.