Triathlon for April and Kyle (by Tye)

Today was a busy day for us. April and Kyle both competed in a Triathlon here in town. They both did very well and spent a lot of time training and getting ready for this.

April went first at 11 am. She started with a 400 meter swim. It was an eight lane pool. The ladies would go down the right side of one lane, then back down the other side of the same lane, then cross under the lane divider and repeat for all eight lanes. They started a new lady every 10 seconds. They were supposed to line up based on their 400 meter times, but it appeared that some of the ladies grossly over-estimated their abilities, causing traffic jams in the lanes. April got stuck behind one of these for a lane or two, then made a power move around her and had smooth swimming the rest of the way.

Next was the 20 km bike ride (about 12 miles). It involved a moderate hill up, then down on a 4+ mile loop that they did 3 times. April did well. See the video of her passing by us and passing by another lady.After the bike ride, she had a 5 km (3.1 mile) run to do. She went much faster on the run than I had expected. In fact, I had been helping Kyle get set up for his race, and got near the finish with what I thought was at least a 4 or 5 minute cushion. A few seconds later, she was coming up the final stretch. Below is a video of her strong (and slightly fatigued) finish.

Kyle was in the kids' race (12 and under) at 1 pm.

It was on the same course, but a little shorter. To the right is a picture of Kyle in the transition area before his race (while April is running).

The swim was 200 meter (up one lane down the next in the same pool). Kyle missed his swim classes this summer due to his broken arm. He took a late summer class and has been learning his strokes. He went nice and steady in the swim, but got passed by a lot of the other kids, who looked like they were going as hard as they could and some had to stop on the side to rest between lengths. Kyle just kept going at an even pace the whole time.

Next, Kyle did the same loop as April, but only did it once (about 4.5 miles). Here, Kyle powered past all those swimmers who passed him. He reported to us that he passed 20 people on the bike leg of the race.

After his magnificent bike performance, he set off on his run, which was about 1/2 mile+. He did great on his run too and picked off a couple more competitors. See video of part of his final sprint below. Sorry it is so short - I stopped so I could run to the finish to see him there.

And the unsung hero of the day was Carter, who patiently followed me around to try to catch April and Kyle at different portions of the race, and who helped make the sign to cheer them on.

He told me later that he liked it all, except he didn't like when he had to 'sit in the corner'. I had him sit on the curb outside the transition area while I helped Kyle get set up. I guess that was boring and lonely.

Even though I didn't compete, I feel a little worn out now too. Kyle is already talking about next year and has a lot of good ideas - one of them being learning how to swim a little faster, the other being doing the race as a relay (with Allison and Emily and Kyle as a team - each doing one leg of the race).

Good job April and Kyle. Way to set a goal and accomplish it. Also, congratulations on not having to stop in the pool, or stop and walk on the run.

April also accomplished her goal of finishing in time to see Kyle start his race, which she did with a minute or two to spare.

P.S. To our family in blizzard conditions in Ohio and Boston area - yes, it was a very nice day for a swim with the high near 80 degrees today.