finish strong

Last week, our summertime adventures were intense: not only are we in the throes of the big 8-10 yr old Rec League baseball tourney (definitely more on that later!) but Hamp earned a new title: triathlete!

Oh man, what a race!
There were a dozen kids ages 7-10 that competed in the mini-triathlon... and it was exactly what we hoped it would be - a fun learning experience and a chance to show off some serious skills (in many cases, the skill was perseverance!)

Of course, the best motivator for Hamp to do anything is peer pressure. And the fact that his buddies were there Thursday morning to compete along side him was all he needed to get geared up and get in that pool!

SWIM - 50 meters

Hamp, and the rest of the 7-8 year old competition!

Go Hamp! (he's in the middle)

BIKE - 2 miles

RUN - 1/2 mile

Oh Hamp... my heart sank when he came around the back side of the running trail with tears coming down and a hand clutched to his side. I tried to encourage him to keep it up, but Dad did one step better - he jumped in and accompanied him around the last lap, all the way to the finish line. It wasn't pretty - a few angry words and lots of tears across that tape! - but he finished and had his first real lesson on dealing with a little physical pain to get to the end goal!

So just when I thought all was lost and that Hamp's disappointment at not winning the race would overshadow the fact that he finished, he was handed a cool new tee-shirt that matched those of his buddies... which in his mind's eye meant that they were ALL winners for competing and crossing that finish line!

Oh yeah, and there's another triathlete in the family, too!

So, in my 4th annual attempt at a respectable finish I managed to eke across the finish line without passing out or puking! Honestly, it's not that bad - unless you are a very poor runner like me. (check out the "running" picture above - my feet are both flat on the ground! I don't think that is how it is supposed to work...)

Anyway, I did alright until the very last part of the run - I think you can see the expression of "Oh thank god I'm almost done!" on my face - but I had to set the example for Hamp (who graciously, and a little too energetically ran across the finish line with me!) that no matter what we have to try to finish strong!



I don't know how strong I was exactly, but I was so glad I did it. And just like Hamp, I was mostly just happy to have my good friends alongside me to celebrate!