Matt's triathlon (proud wife alert!)

So this spring Matt started training for a triathlon.  And while there were days that I thought training plus a bit of crazy work pace might be a bit too much, his big grins when he returned home after work outs and most everything about his demeanor while he was training convinced me that this was a perfect fit for him, and for our family.

In February he swam in Thailand, in March he ran in Africa, in April he changed too many bike flats (and finally discovered the problem just a few weeks ago) and then yesterday afternoon, he competed!

1.5 km in the lake.

We couldn't see anything but lots of splashing - ha!  And because of the way barriers were erected to protect the athletes and keep spectators out (the race was super well run - way beyond my expectations!) We opted to miss his swim-to-bike transition and catch him entering the first lap of the bike.

There he is!  Our daddy!  We camped here for a while and watched competitors fly past.  We were with a few other foreign families and it was a fun picnic/cheering/kids run and play on the grass kind of set up where the time flew by (at least for those of us not biking - ha!)

Matt passed this spot several times, and they had cameras set up on the back side of the bike loop, and I managed to figure out when Matt would be on the big screen....

He passed people on that hill :)

After 40 km on the bike it was straight to transition.  We were so close to his spot we could holler at him the entire time!  It was so cool!

The transition area was always busy, and we knew Matt had a long 10km run ahead of him, so we just watched and watched.

Then we managed to scoot over right next to the finish line and (white kid privileges) even cross a barrier that other people (including white moms!) were not allowed to cross so the kids could get right up close to the finishers!

He was in the sixth wave of starters so his official time was 2:45:55.  Better than he hoped!  and top 1/3 of his age group :)

With his fan club minis

Still standing on two feet!

Team K.  We are trying to talk the big kids into trying a "starter" length tri next year.  maybe.... maybe....