Tri on 4th of July

Yesterday morning before the sun came up, our family was loaded in our minivan with 5 bikes headed to the Firecracker Triathlon. The kids started at 6am then Mark & I went off after the kids were finished. Mark and the boys did it last year. It's a fun event so we thought we'd all do it. This was Lois' first tri. She had to swim 100yd, bike 3.1 mi and run 0.5 mi. She was doing good in the water until the last 25yds. She was getting tired and her confidence was deflated as many kids past her in the pool. She was crying when she climbed out of the pool. It was so hard to see her struggle and not be able to run to her. I talked her through the transition to her bike and Mark was waiting for her to ride with her. She calmed down on the bike and was even talking Mark's ear off. For the run, our boys and our friends' kids ran with her. She was all smiles when she crossed the finishe line. In the end, it was a good experience for her and she wants to do it again. Yeah! I'm sure she grew more than we know from that one event. We are so proud of her for not givining up. She was the youngest kid competing and got a medal for her age group!! I did the mini-sprint and came in 5th overall. I got a nice little plaque for it and a gift card. More important to me than my award was my performance in the pool. I was relaxed and stayed to my game plan. I did mostly free stroke and a few breast strokes for recovery. I was so proud of my swim. It wasn't super fast, but steady and calm. A far cry from how I felt at Tri for the Cure. Hooray! Progress feels so good! My husband did well, too. He took 3rd in his age group. Go Team Brodnik!!!!!! Hope you all had a fun, healthy Fourth!!!