Peachtree City Youth Tri

Big day today. Christopher wanted to do another triathlon so we packed up and drove to Peachtree City last night to drive/walk the course of the Peachtree City Youth Triathlon and then on to Newnan to spend the night closer to the event so we wouldn't have to get up so early.

It was still plenty early and I wonder if he had second thoughts for just a few minutes. This event is incredibly well-run so it starts on time and is very organized. Thank goodness.

Christopher was in heat 17. To show how efficient they are, he was in the pool by 8:40. That's 160 10 and unders swimming 50 yards before him. Impressive.

He was fairly quick out of the pool and he walked with purpose to the transition area. There were confusing instructions since the main announcer told them they could run once they got off the pool deck, but the guy in charge of the transition area told them they couldn't. So, of course, some got away with running and most didn't. Sports are so great for opportunities to talk about life generally.

From swimming to the bike. He had a pretty good transition, but we did pick up a few tips for next time.

He was definitely a man on a mission.

Finishing the bike to have the opportunity to run...

It was a nice scenic route, but by that point he was pretty tired. I was so proud of him because I could tell he was hurting but he really gutted it out.

Finally, the finish line was in sight.

He did it. 50 yard swim, 3 mile run and .6 mile run. I was so incredibly proud him (I know, I said that already). He was a little disappointed with his place, but 10th out of 42 was pretty good I thought, especially when he hasn't done one in two years.

Whew....something to drink.

His trademark finish. And, oh...by the way, when he realized he beat James's time on this same course when he was this age, he felt a lot better :)

Memories of Warmer Days

The gang called it quits on the 50 today.  It was raining.  Again.  It was cold.  Again.  The quote of the day was, "I can do cold and I can do rain, but it's really hard doing both."  Amen, brother.  I don't do either any more.  I think about half stopped around 20 miles and then a few of the crazier ones went on to about 31 miles.  (Guess who was in that crazier group?)

While we're inside trying to stay warm and dry I am still on my quest to finish cropping my 2007 pictures.  I will finish.  I will finish.  I will finish....that power of positive thinking thing is just really not helping.

Any way, one of today's projects is the PCNM Triathlon from 2007.  Enjoy looking at everyone being obviously HOT.  It will be hot here again.

James sprinted out the final steps of the .6 mile run after biking about 3 miles and a 100 yard swim.  This was his 3rd triathlon of the summer of 2007.  He was really into tris that summer.

It showed.  He was 9-years-old and won the 10 and under division in addition to winning his age group.  A pretty big accomplishment.  (This was obviously before my photography class - and I'm too lazy to crop it for you - but if you look closely you can see a huge smile.)  He killed the field on the bike leg.  This was the beginning of love of affair with cycling.  I'm just noticing how skinny his thighs look compared to now....he's gotten so strong.

He had a pretty amazing cheering section.  What amazing friends to get up early enough to show up before 8:00 am on a Saturday morning when neither one of them live very close by.   We really appreciated, BAW and Jane.  Christopher is always good cheerleader for his big brother (well, when he's paying attention) - this day he was awesome.

Warm summertime wishes.

Can't Get Enough Sports

Well, this has been quite the week.  Since last chatting with you, Keith and I went to the that incredible Alabama game.  I had forgotten how much fun an Alabama game can be.  Over 30,000 people singing "Sweet Home Alabama"...wow.  It's just very cool.  This morning our pastor was explaining the difference in hope and expectation.  I thought the Alabama-Clemson game would have been the perfect word picture.  We all hoped we would win.  (Of course, here the "we" are Alabama fans for the many of my friends who aren't Alabama fans.)  But, I'm not sure how many of us expected Alabama to win.  Those victories are that much sweeter.  To top it all off, just before the game started I looked over to see a couple that I knew from Tuscaloosa.  Keith had asked me if thought we would see anyone I knew - "Nah, what are the odds that we would run into to someone?!"  Gary's (the guys of the couple) parents were/are like a second set of parents, especially when I was in school.  Their daughter Mary Barton was a frequent "playmate" when she was a tiny thing up until I got my first job.  I even got to campaign for Gary in his first run for City Council way back when.  What are the odds, but I am glad that we saw them and had a chance to briefly say hi.

Sunday we had the  criterium where we got to see my cousin Lisa and her family.  I want to  give a big shout out to her son, Nathan, who had an excellent race.  He won a very hard fought one - it came down to the finish, real cat and mouse end.  It was fun to watch and we were all proud to see him come out on top.  (He has the green kit on in this picture.)  The Frazier team was happy for him, too, since they had been to camp with him (and probably because we didn't have any guys in his age group if truth be told.)  I enjoyed my visit with Lisa.  It seems none of us really keep in touch the way we would like.  

 Maybe that's why this little blog  continues - I feel like I might be doing a slightly better job  with that now.   James came in 2nd in his race after learning a bit of strategy.  He had a teammate who 

refused to work with him the way a teammate might, i.e., the teammate did more drafting off James and another teammate than taking his turn.  It was good because James was able to talk to his coaches about what to do in that circumstance and how to force the issue.  (In case you're wondering, you just sit up and slow down to 2 mph if you have to.  Especially, when the leaders are so far ahead as they were in this race.)  I am always amazed at how much strategy there is to this sport.

The weekend brought a triathlon for James and Christopher.  Some of you know that triathlon is how James got into cycling to begin with.  He was in 4 or 5 last year (I can't remember).  He gave them up to focus on cycling.  Christopher decided he wanted to try it.  Christopher usually participates in sports to: 1) make friends, 2) have fun and 3) get exercise, not necessarily in that order.  During t-ball when he was little, he used to remind of that on the way to practices.  I think sometimes just to remind me he wasn't James, who was all about keeping score and winning.  About Thursday Christopher had a wave of anxiety and nervousness, which first seem to be about the swimming.  He had never swam 4 laps at one time.  After a very long discussion, I found that it wasn't about swimming or about finishing, but about WINNING!  Where did this come from?!  Had my children somehow been switched?  No, James was still concerned about winning (even though he hadn't swam laps all summer because of the broken arm).  It was an interesting window into the soul of my second child, whom I thought I knew so well.

 It was a tense 48 hours- would he do it or wouldn't he?  We lived through it and we were all at the transition area by 6:45 am on Saturday.  Both boys did very well.  James won the junior division for the 2nd year in a row.  (The junior division is 10 and under so next year he moves up - we'll see if he still wants to do it.)  Christopher, my sweet, non-competitive Christopher, came in 2nd in his age group and 11th out of 53 in the division!  We were so proud of both of them, but especially Christopher.  He has had a year of facing his fears and conquering them.  From there he went straight to a soccer game - I don't know how he did it.  He kept giving his all even though you could tell his tank was totally empty..

 

Maybe now our fall can get to a normal schedule.  For us, I'm not sure what that means, but I am sure that it will be something sports related.  Stay tuned....