Retro Triathlon

The last Saturday of April Ryan participated in his first ever sprint triathlon. It was a retro one, meaning they do the events in reverse order: Run, bike, then swim. The weather had been amazing up until that week... and that Saturday ended up being the coldest in Albuquerque history with a real feel of 22 degrees - rain and snow included. COLD!

I really wanted to go cheer him on, but didn't want the kids out in that kind of cold. My friend graciously volunteered to watch the kiddos so that I could go cheer him on. It was so much fun! Ryan was not expecting to see me there, so that was a fun experience. 

And they're off! Based on our Thanksgiving race, Ryan told me what his best time would be (he thought), but we figured it would be a little slower because his foot was hurting and he didn't want to kill himself. So I bummed around for a while and then (stupidly) decided to go to the bathroom. I figured I had more than enough time. 

As I was coming out, I heard them announce, "And here's Ryan Harmon in green." (They named people periodically.) 

I ran out as fast as I could and barely made it in time to see him bike away. He did his run WAY fast than we anticipated, even beating his Thanksgiving time. He actually took second place for his age group in the run. I was so impressed! And so bummed I missed it!

Coming in from the bike ride. Next up... swim! The pool was heated, and one of the biggest reasons they do it retro is because there's limited space for the swim. 

Doesn't it make you cold just looking at this?

He did awesome! 

He did it! He did it! I am so impressed with him. And of course now he is hooked. :)

Congratulations Ryan! I am so proud of your hard work. And very impressed at your perseverence. I would have died. You can do these races with other people, meaning you don't have to do the whole thing. But I laughed because there is not a single part that I consider myself "strong" with. I would be the weak link of any team. Haha. Maybe some day. Some day...

I love that once Ryan puts himself to something, he will see it through. He actually has another sprint triathlon next month (Sept as I am writing this.) He maintained that this one was the perfect temperature - crazy! So it will be interesting to see how things go next month. I'm sure he will do amazing.