Karl is ready to bring it on at the Moab XTERRA. He loves off-road races and has been hoping for one to return to Moab for a long time. So he really could not pass this one up. Compared to most people, he is still in excellent shape. However, going to grad school with a wife and two kids has definitely taken its toll. He still manages to squeeze in quite a few runs and makes the best of his bike commute to school, but his focus is on school and there are only so many hours in a day...
His swim went really well. He was not last out of the water and only had me thinking he drowned for about 2 minutes before I saw him cruising into T1. Cold-blooded skinny dudes usually don't make very good swimmers and Karl is no exception. After not having swum for more than a year, he claims that his time was about as fast as in previous races. So I don't expect to see him in the pool any time soon...
He was very excited to have a camera mounted to his handle bars, so he could film the bike ride for his good friend and fantastic photographer Steven Walters. Unfortunately, the bike course was so rough that the camera did not hold up more than 2 miles. Good thing Karl was tougher than the camera and managed quite well on the bike. Skinny runners definitely make good bikers.
As the runner he is, he flew by most of his competitors on the 10k trail run. He was very excited about the sand, rocks, stream, and single track that would make this run challenging. He was having a great time and it was fun to compete in the same race.
Next up was Noah's race. This kid really likes to compete. (Wonder where he gets that...) It has not always been like that. I remember the first little kids' run we signed him up for. He was 2 and much smaller than most of the others. When the other kids took off, he just stood there and cried. Well, those days are over.
By the time his race was supposed to start, it was very cloudy and extremely windy. His enthusiasm for the swim quickly faded. Cold air temperature, cold water, no wetsuit or life jacket and he is still learning how to swim. So we decided to skip that part of the race altogether. Not a problem when you are 5 years of age... He just ran into transition when everybody else got out of the water.
This picture makes me smile. Look at the kid next to him. He is all decked out in his Orca triathlon suit and nice mountain bike. Then there is Noah with his super baggy shorts, $5 shoes, and hand-me-down bike that weighs more than he does. I am just glad Noah does not know any better and can't even really tell the difference.
He sure was having a blast on the bike.
Running into T2
Running is definitely more of a challenge. But we have been working on doing hard things. It's not that I want my kid to be some exceptional runner at the age of 7, but I want him to know that we can do things that seem difficult, whatever they may be.
Best part of the race?
Gatorade
A fancy medal
and a cool race shirt.
Huge thanks to Jen for coming down, reserving a campsite, letting us sleep in her luxurious tent, and watching our kids while we were racing. Yep. She did all that for us. She is the best!
PS: My race report is up next. Hopefully tomorrow...
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