Race Report: Power Kids

My pups did the Power Kids sprint tri last weekend.

Last year, they were prepped and ready. We trained for months! Every weekend, they asked me for their training schedule and demanded more than I gave them.

This year... not so much. It's not that they weren't interested; it's that I never had time. I "coached" them to run the track at school and go to swim team practice. I also told them that all the hiking we've been doing this spring built endurance and leg strength. That's true, right?!?!? Anyway, it seemed to work. Triathlon is 3/4 mental!

The night before the race, I picked up their packets while they attended birthday parties and played baseball games. Taz and I had to go buy running shoes at the last minute as the entire front of his was falling apart. We packed their gear and laid out their bathing suits for the next morning. They even went to bed without too much complaining after I told them that triathletes needed a good night's sleep.

I woke up at ~ 5:20 the next morning and was so nervous for them that I couldn't get back to sleep. Were they ready? Would lack of training cause them to have a bad day and turn them against the sport? Am I the worst mom ever?

Finally at 6:30, Taz's alarm went off. He had insisted on setting it the night before. He sprang out of bed and into his bathing suit before flying into our room to make sure we were up. Rainbow hopped right up too. That pretty much never happens so I knew they were really excited.

Scouter loaded up bikes and we headed to the Y. They were asking last minute questions and remembered quite a bit from the previous year. I kept telling them that the most important thing was to have fun. Taz thought the most important thing was winning his age group!

The Y was pretty crazy by the time we got there. We saw Jackie's family as well as some other TriGirl and school families which was great. We headed straight to to transition and got their area set up, then went to body marking. TriGirls Jackie and Shannon were doing the body marking and it was one of the highlights of the kids' day. They love having race numbers and ages written on them!

By then, we had a plan. Taz gave his towel to Daddy with instructions for the post swim hand-off, while Rainbow entrusted her towel and similar instructions to me. They lined up and the smack-talking began in earnest between the two of them. I let them have the Gu they'd been begging for and they were extremely disappointed that it didn't taste like candy. Rainbow decided to go with the optional kickboard at the last minute.

The setup at the Y is not great for spectating the swim, so when their heat hit the water I pressed myself up against the window to watch. Taz took off like a shot down the pool and back and was the first or second out of the water in his heat. He was so fast that I didn't even get a picture and Scouter almost missed him with his towel. Rainbow chugged along with her kickboard and meandered out awhile later. She didn't look particularly happy but she didn't look shell-shocked like last year either. A group of TriGirls and other friends cheered wildly for her when she came out the door and she was all about that.

I ran with her to transition and caught up with Taz briefly as he headed out on his bike leg. This year, I was allowed to run with Rainbow but I couldn't keep up so after we weaved through the initial section, I sent her off on her own. I tried to help the volunteers direct kids while I waited for Taz to go by and Rainbow to return. Rainbow and Taz told me they expected me to be the loudest fan out there and I didn't disappoint - I cheered like a lunatic for all the kids and especially when Taz came smoking through. I waited and waited for Rainbow who finally coasted up to me. I started sprinting and challenged her to catch me which she found quite funny.

By the time Rainbow finished the bike, Taz had already finished the run. He wanted to win and kicked butt on the run especially, placing first in his age group for the run and fifth overall. He and Scouter were strategically placed to watch Rainbow run by, then Taz and I zipped over the the finish line to catch her at the end.

Medals for every kid are really smart. That made all the difference for Rainbow last year and was highly motivational this year.

We were able to hang around for a bit after their race to see some of our friends' kids finish strong.

What a great race. I'm a proud mommy!