Marlington does a great job hosting the Greenbrier River Race.3.5 mile run, 4 mile kayak. 10 mile bike on the River trail. This was Seth's 1st tri of the year. It was kinda long but thought he could do it.
Pre-race meeting. Man he is serious!
He listened intently to the rules for 20 minutes in this position.
Left to right: Darren Verable, Patrick McNown, Trey Lewis
Keith "Mountain Man" Simpson. AKA Superman:)
He rides his bike while I run. I had a really fast run for me. With stopping to take pictures, I ran it in about 24 minutes. Ok, it's hard to remember everything. I forgot food this time. Seth is like me. Without proper food, we bonk. We got halfway through the canoe and he said, "daddy, I'm hungry." Crap, I forgot the food. We did have a flask of Hammer gel which is great for carbs and a bottle of Heed. I finished that off but was still out of energy. The canoe took forever. The boat was so heavy and river slow. We were passed by everyone!
We got out of the canoe and headed to the bikes. I started asking folks for food. A lady had a couple of energy bars she gave us and gobbled them up. Off on the bike. We got about half-way through the bike and it started pouring rain. A cold rain too. My first thought, "Oh no, I forgot the jackets too." I can endure the cold but he is too young to have the ride miserable. He never said anything. He just found the puddles of water to ride through and kept splashing me.
Christy's first tri
Keith and
Terry's first tri. She later crashed on the bike:(
Terry is one tough woman. She crashed and had a really bad wound. They tried to talk her into going straight to the ER but she wanted to finish. When I was picking up the canoe after the race, I overheard a couple of guys talking about her and the crash. They said, "That was one tough woman. She refused to quit. Blood was streaming down her arm and she kept going." She received the Fire & Rescue award
Erin's first tri. Oh yeah, Terry is the mom and Christy and Erin sisters
About 2 miles before the finish, he was toast. "Daddy, my legs are tired," he said. So I placed my hand on his back and helped him move down the trail. I tend to play games with him to help distract from the event when he gets tired. So much of it is mental. We started to talk about the sprint finish. It is a nice downhill to flat section and I challenged him to the sprint. If he can beat me, he gets a prize! We turned the corner and he took off. Its about a 200 yrd dash. He pumped hard and made it a photo finish. He won by half a bike! We found some food and then he said, "daddy, can I play in the river?" Sure, to the victor goes the spoils.
As they began to hand out prizes, he heard his name called out for being the youngest participant. Everyone had seen him and cheared for him during the race. He ran hard up to the podium with everyone chearing. Who doesn't like affirmation for a job well done. The prize: FREE ICECREAM! Oh yeah!
About 2 miles before the finish, he was toast. "Daddy, my legs are tired," he said. So I placed my hand on his back and helped him move down the trail. I tend to play games with him to help distract from the event when he gets tired. So much of it is mental. We started to talk about the sprint finish. It is a nice downhill to flat section and I challenged him to the sprint. If he can beat me, he gets a prize! We turned the corner and he took off. Its about a 200 yrd dash. He pumped hard and made it a photo finish. He won by half a bike! We found some food and then he said, "daddy, can I play in the river?" Sure, to the victor goes the spoils.
As they began to hand out prizes, he heard his name called out for being the youngest participant. Everyone had seen him and cheared for him during the race. He ran hard up to the podium with everyone chearing. Who doesn't like affirmation for a job well done. The prize: FREE ICECREAM! Oh yeah!
Total Time: 2:43! That's a long time for a little guy. Way to go Seth. My hero!
His usual post-race nap
2 comments:
Okay dude, you've got a cute kid. Really impressed he stayed on task with it, you've done a good job man!
You're too cool - Seth is a great kid. I'm so proud of him and you! It was fun seeing you in Bedford too! =)
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