by By Rhonda LeValdo
LAWRENCE, KS – Training youth for an Ironkids triathlon is a great way to spend time with young ones. Whether they are your own kids or not, it is amazing to see children grow learning new things.
This year my own children, Winona, 10 and Hepanna, 7, signed up for the Ironkids triathlon in Lawrence, Kansas. My husband and I had been running/biking with them in the mornings. We would take them swimming in the afternoon. Every morning we would all get up, get out before the sun rose and head out. I knew though as the weeks boiled down to the final days before the event, they were anxious to do the race. I, myself, was nervous as heck for my son; it would be his first time, but he would reassure me he was ready. My daughter would be competing in her second Ironkids, but I was still nervous for her.
I crawled out to get the kids stuff ready: numbers on the bikes, on their shirts, getting helmets, and pretty soon, it was time to head out to the swim start. We had to put their bikes, shoes and helmets in the transition area. Then we waited for Winona’s division: Intermediate (9-11 years old) to get started.We had planned to camp at the lake so the kids wouldn’t have to get up so early to get to the race. Unfortunately, I had a minor problem. My wisdom tooth had to be taken out the day before the race, and I was worried about being in pain in a tent at the lake. As the day went by, the pain wasn’t so bad, and we headed out to Clinton Lake. It was already getting late, but it wasn’t too hard to fall asleep; pretty soon, I was awakened by the birds and I noticed my watch, 5:30 a.m.
Her brother was excited and as each of the swimmers were individually started, we saw her go in.
The first thing I noticed was how windy it was, and as she made her way to the first marker, I could tell she was having a tough time. I was beginning to get worried as I saw her stop at the canoes to rest. The mom part of me came out and I put down the camera to watch her and she made her way over course. I was relieved to see her to get out of the water and she moved to the transition.
She seemed to be moving right along as I told her I was proud of her. It was so hard to videotape my kids this day, but I wanted to be able to show them their efforts. As Winona headed out on the bike, I wouldn’t be able to see her finish on her run because I had to stay with my son for his start. Her dad would be there to support her, and I knew she would be okay.
Our cell phones were working intermittingly so I didn’t know when she finished, but she did finish in 53 minutes.
Pretty soon it was Hepanna’s turn and I could tell he was a little scared as he stood in line to get in the water. I looked at his face as he stared at the swimmers who were already in the water and then it was his turn. He went in and swam strong. As he made the turn, he was catching other swimmers and I was thinking “Wow, he is swimming pretty fast.” Pretty soon, he made his final turn and he came in and off to the transition. As he pulled on his shirt,shoes, helmet, I cheered for him, making sure he knew I was proud of him. Hepanna took off running his bike until he could get on and he was on the bike for the 2 mile ride.
Now this is the funny part, since the run is about a mile away, I ran after him, off the side of the road so I could make sure I was able to see him finish. It was hot, already after 10 a.m. And the sun was blazing, I was thirsty, my mouth hurt from the tooth that was pulled and I could tell I was getting a headache from not eating. But, I put it all aside and continued huffing and puffing up a hill to get to the finish line. I made it in time to see him transition off the bike and go into the run. He was red and I could tell my little guy was tired. I yelled at him to let him know I was there. He didn’t look at me, but we had practiced doing sprints and I told him he was near the finish. As I ran to catch him at the end, I thought I had enough time to set up, but he zoomed right by me and I barely caught him at the end, he was sprinting in!
I saw Winona and her dad at the finish. Hepanna immediately went into a tent to drink his water. He said he wanted to “rest.” I gave my daughter a hug and asked how she felt, she said she was good. I told her I was extremely proud of her. Winona said when she was swimming she “felt like the water was pulling her down,” that was the reason she kept stopping. I told her I was glad she finished even though it was a little scary for her. Winona’s final time was 53:29 for a 150 yard swim, 4 mile bike ride and one mile run. She placed 17th in her age group. Hepanna’s final time was 20:47 for a 50 yard swim, 2 mile bike ride and 500 yard run. He placed 6th in his age group and was five seconds away from qualifying for the national race.
Both of them made us parents proud of them, it has been tough waking up to train, but all the time we got to spend with them doing it, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Celebrating the finish, that was the best!! Encourage your kids to try something different. The Ironkids events are still going on in the Midwest!
P.S.
I wanted to add, my kids have inspired me again, I will be doing the Midwest Mayhem triathlon July 15. I am sure they will be doing the yelling at me this time
See Hepanna’s race video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbEXmHTvXI0
See Winona’s race video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDm10o7okQ0
