My Dad Did His First Triathlon

I had the pleasure of spectating while my Dad did his first triathlon this past weekend! He has not problem with riding and has been cycling for the last several years. Running was not particularly worrisome since, if it comes down to it, you can walk and still finish; so the big question was the swim! He started going to the pool diligently and worked up to where he could swim for several minutes without stopping. He also started trying some short run/walks after his rides, too!

Before the start with my Mom!

When race day came, the thing I was most nervous about was the swim - practicing in the pool is one thing, but swimming in the open water with 40-50 other people starting at the same time is very different. Once the gun went off, he waited for a lot of the wave to move on ahead and then started swimming. We were watching from the beach and could see him most of the way. He did some freestyle, some sidestroke, some back-floating, etc. But, he got through that swim of his own power! Once he was coming up the beach, we were excited and relieved at the same time ;-)

Before the start - he's the one in the sleeveless suit with his arms folded.

Coming out of the water...

He got through transition and rolled out on his bike; at this point, I was pretty confident because he is a solid bike rider. He did the ride with no issues and got back to transition in about the time he was expecting.

Heading out on the bike.

Finishing the ride!

Now the run! He put on his shoes and hat and headed out for the 2-miler! He implemented his run/walk strategy and made it to the line quicker than he expected!

Starting the run.

And approaching the finish!!

I was REALLY proud of him for setting the goal and getting out of his comfort zone - putting himself out there and making it happen.

The next day, my wife went back down to Rancho Seco and finished 2nd overall in the Women's Luna Triathlon - a great multisport weekend for our family!