The McDaid Family: Congratulations Nathan! We're so proud of you!

Nathan entered and finished his first triathlon today in Rockford (Rockford Area Kids Triathlon). He had a hard time falling asleep last night and when we woke up to thunderstorms we were wondering if it was still on. By the time we got to Rockford the rain had stopped and the sun was actually peeking through the clouds. It ended up being a very nice day for a race... a little cool. Nathan was a little nervous before his race started. We watched some of the older kids start their races in the pool and then go out to the transition area to begin the bike portion.

When Nathan's race began there were three kids in each lane of the pool (ie. very crowded). They all started at once. The swim was the toughest part for him. He got very winded but didn't give up and made it to the swim finish and climbed out of the pool. I threw him a towel and we headed out to the bike transition. A quick prep (shoes & helmet) and he was off and flying on the bike. He had a little trouble on the bike course because it wasn't well marked and he stopped because he didn't know where he was supposed to go (the volunteer at that turn was busy talking to someone and didn't point him in the right direction right away) but he figured it out quickly and kept moving. He was able to pass 4 racers during the bike portion. Once the biking was done, I joined him for the run portion (parents were allowed to run alongside). After working so hard on the bike section, he was completely winded when we began the run. I told him to set his own pace in the run and I'd stay with him. He went slow at first trying to catch his breath but was able to pass two other racers in the first quarter mile. One of them passed him back when he was going slow to catch his breath but Nathan immediately sprinted to get back in front of that kid. He then passed two more runners at around the half-mile marker and finished with a sprint to the finish line. His final time was between 21 and 22 minutes (didn't get an exact time) which was faster than when he did a practice run up north.

Nathan finished 12th out of 22 kids in his race. We were so proud of him for gutting it out after ending the first section toward the back of the pack. There were a couple points where the look on his face said he wanted to stop but he didn't. In fact, he turned it up each time someone tried to pass him during the run so he didn't get passed for good at all during the bike or the run.

After the race there was pizza, hot dogs, and sports drinks for all the kids. After all the races were complete they also had an awards ceremony to present trophies to the top three finishers in each race and medals to all finishers. All finishers received a medal and a t-shirt. Nathan had a lot of fun and said he wants to do it again (after a rest of course). But he did say he'll need to work MUCH harder to prepare for the swimming portion next time.

Congratulations Nathan!

Click pictures to enlarge...
Preparing to start. Nathan is in the middle of the picture (just to the left of the number 4 in the pool)