The Power of Inspiration - Part 2

April 15: Tri the Rim Sprint Triathlon - Goal Accomplished!

When we woke to two inches of snow on the ground and a temperature of 25 degrees, we knew it was going to be quite a memorable day.   However, we had no idea just how amazing this day would be.  We had been working very hard with lots of miles on bikes and running and even a few days swimming before school, but just weren't sure how the race would turn out.  We did a lot of riding and hiking earlier in the week and wondered if that would make things difficult for Carver and Kayla.  On the way in I asked them what they would tell themselves when it got hard.  Carver said, "Just don't quit.  This is discomfort, not exhaustion" would be running through his head and Kayla said she would be telling herself her favorite memorized Vince Lombardi quote, "I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear is when he has worked his heart out for a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

Carver running from the pool to the transition area before his bike ride.

We set our transition area and the next thing we knew, we were off!  Brett raced with Carver and I stayed with Kayla.  They both did beautifully in the pool and Kayla had her fastest swim by far!  It was pretty cold when we ran out to climb on our bikes and the first lap was chilly, but we loved the fact that we were beating the boys!  She rode really well and was especially thrilled to pass Kenna, our niece Kara and our friends Jenny and Crystal who were cheering like crazy for us!  Carver is such a natural on his bike and had an excellent ride.  Brett and Carver did pass us on the bike, but that just fueled Kayla more.  By the time we started the run, Kayla was beaming.  She was truly having a blast and was soaking it all in.  Our friend Jenny ran with us at the beginning of the 5K and our friend Crystal ran us into the finish.  Kayla was determined to sprint to the end and she did!!!

Kayla at the finish!

Both kids were AMAZING and all four of us loved the whole experience.  Carver and Brett finished in 1 hour and 58 minutes and Kayla and I finished in 2 hours and 4 minutes.  Both kids ran the 5K leg way faster than they ran a 5K in February and that was AFTER they swam and biked!  Once the race was over we learned that Kayla WON the 0-17 female age division!   Carver was up against some high school boys and didn't win an award, but at 9 was the youngest participant.  They both received lots of encouragement from fellow racers and are hooked!  The whole way home they were talking about other races they wanted to finish.  It was an incredible Sunday!

Starting the 5K with Kayla

To share all the training and physical experiences of this spring with our kids has been tremendous.  Kenna had an amazing 7 mile run on Saturday getting ready for her race in June and I quickly realized that our window of training together is gradually coming to a close.  Very soon our children will totally drop Brett and I because we will be so much slower than they are! 

Brett after his finish