Future Ironmen

Our boys just did something impressive.

They competed in their first triathlon.

I was sick with nerves the night before. I knew that we would pull into the aquatic center parking lot and be met by children who have spent their summer training to slaughter my innocent-never-before-done-a-tri boys. Four days before the race, we did a dry run--swimming small circles in the backyard pool, biking to the end of the driveway and back, then dropping the bike and running like the wind. I knew we wouldn't be prepared. I knew other kids would be wearing speedos and triathlete shoes. I kept having flashbacks to the Mutton' Bustin' chap-wearing buckaroos that competed against the kids in the rodeo. So I started freaking out about the preparations after getting everyone to bed. It didn't help that my mother is frenzy-prone like me. We both frantically ran around putting air into tires, gathering helmets, goggles, shoes, clothes, towels, snacks... The accoutrements needed for swim/bike/run could be one good reason to stick with running alone. Shoes? Check.

All the while, Seth is trying to calm us down. I think he said, "It's not like they are going to die or something." What?! Is that a possibility? Because I wasn't planning on that. Let's just cancel the whole thing and sleep in.

As prepared as we could be, the morning comes. It's early and we are running late. As usual. It seems frantic with kids and equipment everywhere. Soon enough it was time for Eli to get into the pool. Now, Seth's frantic because he's the "transition guy" and he doesn't know what he's supposed to do. Run after Eli into the bike area or just let him go? Dry off his feet or just let him go? What are the professional's parents doing right now?

Both boys tried incredibly hard and did amazingly well. They beat the speedos off of some kids! When we got the race results, we asked Eli if he wanted to do another one. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Nah, it's going to take me a while to recover."

It's going to take his dad a while, too. We checked the times and Eli only missed third place by four seconds. Probably the amount of time it took to dry off his feet.