Sunday, July 31, 2011

Gabe's first-ever Triathlon

What's this, you say?

A blog post? Really?

I know, I have been absolutely terrible about blogging lately. What can I say, other than things have been busy as usual around here and the blog has taken hit. Sorry blog. You've missed so much! Vacations, baseball, flag football, storms, photographs, stories. Where to begin the catch-up?

Well, I can't promise I will review everything that has happened, but I can start with the excitement of our day today. Gabe competed in his first-ever triathlon, consisting of a 50 meter swim, 1.2 mile bike ride and a .6 mile run. And, Gabe won first place! 

But more important than winning is the fact that he once again learned to never give up. And he could have easily given up after the swimming, as we learned it is NOT his strong suit. 

Here's Gabe waiting to start...



And here he is during his first few strokes, already falling behind. 


Gabe did leave the pool in last place. But instead of throwing in the towel, he kicked it into high gear for the biking...



And for the running...



And Gabe ended up coming from behind to be the first to cross the finish line. He is really one of the most determined people I know. 

Gabe, our little competitor. 



And here's Gabe with his buddy, Damon, who also competed and won second place. (Awful lighting, I know. They were lined up for a photo for the paper, so I just snapped a shot.)



On a side note, it was so nice that these two friends grabbed the two top spots. And I not only witnessed Damon congratulating Gabe on his win, but also proceeding to tell everyone he saw that his buddy won first place. What great sportsmanship! I love to see friends cheering each other on!

And one more side note...Chloe is still too young to compete in these events at the age of four. But boy, is she ready! She would compete in a heartbeat if they'd let her! And she certainly didn't let the age gap stop her today, proceeding to run alongside Gabe as he completed his running stint of the race. She then did an extra .6 mile run for good measure. All with a smile on her face. Here's dad showing Chloe the finish line as she completed the run. In flip flops, nonetheless.



So there's Gabe's first triathlon in a nutshell. It's goodnight for now, and hopefully see you soon dear blog.