Boys certainly got their exercise yesterday. Let’s review:
1) Michigan Mile - 1 Mile Running
2) Bike Ride to Triathlon – 1.5 miles
3) Triathlon – for Matthew and Christopher, that's 75 yards swimming, 2.25 miles of biking, .6 miles of running. for Kevin, that’s 150 yards swim, 3.75 miles of biking, and 1.2 miles of running.
4) Bike ride home – 1.5 miles
Matthew and Christopher: Seven through Ten year olds all go at the same time….Matthew and Christopher go in the same heat. You can tell the kids who are on the swim team; they’re the ones just motoring away from the others in the pool. The boys? Well, I am committed to making sure they clean up their form this summer…they made it, but it was ugly. Christopher held the lead for almost all of it but Matthew pulled ahead at the end.
They run out to their bikes and take off. Both seem to be doing well, Matthew comes around the 1st time and I lose track of Christopher. The event was a little disorganized, and even though we had told and told the boys 3 laps (swim), 3 laps (bike), and 1 running, Christopher was told by about 10 adults to pull in and well, after 1 lap he’s off running. They announce his name on the loudspeaker that’s he’s off and running and Suzanne and I look at each other and start laughing. Oh well, the big guy will pick up the DQ for the event.
Matthew is just flying along on the bike…he’s catching all of those flip-turn swim team guys and starting to make some serious headway on the kids in the heat in front of him as he heads off to run. One of Christopher’s classmates is in the heat in front of them; by the end of the run Matthew had caught her; granted, she had a small small bike but she was the first out of the pool (nice flip turns!) and Matthew powered his way through.
Matthew ended up finishing first in his age group.
Kevin: Kevin’s swimming stroke isn’t quite as bad as Fric and Frac’s….but, he also has earned some remedial stroke work from Dad this summer. He finished fourth in his heat, which, is pretty respectable.
Of course, the rest of the race is Kevin’s bread and butter. He’s flying along on his bike; he’s passing kids left and right. Misses the transition area to park his bike (wave Christopher in early, but, don’t remind Kevin that he’s finished 5 laps and to turn in…again, could have been a little better on the organization). He remembers though, and pulls in late, and probably loses 10-15 seconds in that. Whatever he lost he more than made up in the run; he says he’s the only kid he sees that didn’t stop to walk…he’s flying along.
He ended up finishing 2nd in his age group….and I have to wonder about that. The kids in the 11 year old age group one and we know for sure that he only biked 3, not 5 laps. Kevin was 2nd by 3 minutes…..I find it hard to believe he was behind by that much. The other guy that was right ahead of Kevin (in the older age group) and flying along only beat him by about a minute.
Oh well…doesn’t matter….boys all had fun.
