An early start to Multisport

Well, I'm happy to report that I did make it out to Smithville last night, and was able to get in both a lake swim and a bike ride. I met up with this 14-year old fella, JP, who lives in my brother and sis-in-law's neighborhood. Bill sold JP his bike, and JP's been using it to get started in triathlons. It's pretty exciting to see someone that young finding passion in multisport...I'm envious that I didn't start at a MUCH younger age!
Anyway, JP and I went to the lake and swam a bit. I was able to give him some tips on his technique that I think will really help him with his swim.

Side Note - I thought I was gonna have to rescue another teen fella in the water. We're outside the roped off swim area, and I'm watching JP swim down and back so I can see his stroke...all the sudden I hear this woman screaming, "he can't swim...this is his first time in the water!!!" She was speaking of another kid who was out toward the end of the roped off area with what I assume was his little girlfriend. Anyway, I look over and sure enough, he's under the water! He comes up gasping and choking and goes back down again. The "girlfriend" starts shoving under the water - like pushing him to a more shallow area. This all happened in a matter of seconds, but I was seriously ready to bolt over there. They were actually quite dumb, 'cause they remained in the lake...out pretty far for someone who cannot swim. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I told JP that perhaps we'd see Bill (Smithville firefighter who was on duty at the time) out there after all! :-)

Ok, enough about silly people in the lake. After our swim, we went for a fairly short bike ride. It was pretty windy, but felt good to spin out the legs. Aside from making some adjustments to his bike position, JP will be a good little rider. Back at Kim and Bill's house, we chatted a bit more about fueling for a race, what to eat afterwards, transitions, putting air in your tires!!!, and pacing yourself or going all out. Again, it's very exciting to see someone this young take an interest in the sport - he'll do well! He has a Jr. race next weekend, so I'm eager to hear how he does.

Kim was kind enough to feed me some tasty supper...what a nice sister-in-law! (I hope she reads my blog..ha ha) We chatted a bit and watched my dog chase their dogs 'round and 'round the house. Sure, it's fun stuff. Then, I headed out to get some sleep for tomorrow morning's brick workout!

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to teammate, Julie! She's also training for an Ironman, only her race is sooooon - November. So, she spent her b'day morning on a 14-mile run!