Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer for the Red Licorice Events Jr. Varsity Triathlon for kids and participate in the Champions Triathlon for adults and what an amazing experience it was! The highlight of this event for me was getting the opportunity to help kids as young as 5 years old participate in their first triathlon. These kids were absolutely precious and amazing to me. I remember when I was 6 years old, I was so shy, that I was afraid to ride my bike in the annual 4^th of july parade. To see kids as young as 5 years old doing a triathlon just amazes me. I was terrified of water as a child and to see how brave these little kids were about doing an open water swim, a bike , and a run all by themselves is very humbling. I had so much fun helping these kids set up their transition and cheering them on as they came back in. One little girl had a stuffed puppy in her bike basket, it was just too cute.

After the kids triathlon was finished, we had the adult version of the triathlon, it was a super sprint course, and I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to do a shorter length triathlon especially in this Texas heat and humidity. I have to admit, I was a little surprised at just how short the swim was. At first I though some buoys were missing. I believe the swim was only 300 meters, which is usually a warmup for me during my swim practice. Also, this swim was in shallow water, so there were several times where I walked through the water, Once my hands and feet start hitting the bottom while swimming, it becomes more efficient to walk in the water… Anyhow, it was fun and went by quickly, there was a short jog up the boat ramp to transition and I was off on the 11 mile bike course. It was a pretty flat course that went over the granger lake dam and back. On the way back, there was a bit of a head wind, but nothing too bad. Back in transition, I headed out for the 2 mile run, and it was a hot one. I’m just happy that I managed to run the whole distance in this heat. It must have been at least 95 degrees out, and there was no shade. I kept pouring cold water over my head at each aid station. I can’t tell you what a difference it makes to pour ice cold water over your head. As I came around the last turn, I could see the finish line and I was sooo happy, until I heard Adam say, that I had one more little loop to do before going through the finish chute. What??? So dejecting to be so close and ready to end, only to have to run another quarter of a mile. Ah well, I did it and finished, and to my great surprise, I was first in my age group!! I can’t tell you what an awesome feeling that is! This is my first time ever to win any kind of race and I tell you what, I feel kinda special! Thanks to Red Licorice Events for giving me this wonderful experience!!!