She is Strong: Triathamom

Twelve years old and a triathlete.  Sure am proud of this gal!  The Saturday before school started, Brooklyn and I rose bright and early to compete in Triathamom,  an all-female sprint triathlon held in Riverton.

I'm loving these power poses, Brooklyn!

Look how strong this gal is!

The body marking on your leg tells your age.  Brooklyn sure got a lot of positive attention competing as a twelve year-old.  The announcer called her up to the front of the pool before the race started so everyone could give her a rousing round of applause.


Participating as a mother/daughter team was pretty darn special. Even though I enjoyed this race last year, this spunky gal was my inspiration to give it another whirl.

Here's Brooklyn setting up her gear at our transition area.

Nothing better than goggle selfies!

After a long wait, it was finally Brooklyn's turn to get in the water.


300 meters later, and we were at the transition station gathering our bikes.

Truth to be told, I was pretty nervous about being undertrained going into the race.  Triathlon training had certainly motivated Brooklyn and I to get out and move more, but I still wasn't sure it had been enough.  Being familiar with the hilly course, I was particularly concerned that the bike might undo us.

I needn't have worried.  Brooklyn just hopped on her bike and pedaled her little heart out.

Meanwhile, Grandpa Charles, Grandma Susie, Jason, and the munchkins hung out in the family fun zone.  Charles and Susie drove all the way down from Hyde Park just to cheer Brooklyn and me on.  Thank you!

Bounce houses and cotton candy.  What's not to love?


Annika, waiting for us to finish up our twelve mile bike.

Last but not least, Brooklyn's least favorite section--the 5K run.  Judging by her smile, you'd never suspect that jogging isn't her thing  She muscled through, despite fatigue, cheering along all the other runners around her.  A few of our training sessions had ended in tears and frustration, so I felt incredibly grateful that the entire experience was positive.

The final ascent is wickedly steep.  Brooklyn distracted herself by talking on the phone to NomiAnn.  Hey, whatever works.

Nearly there!  So many thanks to Jason and Talia for running us in.

At last, the finish line.  It's twice as great to arrive together.  Brooklyn may not often think of herself as an athlete, but this determined gal placed second in her age group. 

many thanks to the entire family for supporting us on this journey.

We love you!

Just for the record, here are our stats from the race.  Sometimes it's nice to go back and see how you've improved.  
Total Time: 1:52:26
Swim: 10:59
T1: 2:42
Bike: 58:31
T2: 1:26
Run: 38:46