Kids of Steel

Our Kid of Steel

It was Kieran's very first triathlon ever.
I did my sprint tri earlier in the day. Same venue as I did in June.
But this time Lou was there to do the race with me.

It's a 2hr drive to get to this venue from Toronto. It's pretty far, but the venue is really nice. Sandy beach and clean small lake. I was concerned it would be too chilly. Weather forecast was to be a high of 17 deg C. And the morning was chillier than in June. I was concerned about the swim. But the last 18 days had been sunny and summer like. So the water should be warm.

Kieran was in the very first wave the 3-5 year olds. This is our first Kids of Steel so we had no clue what to do.
So there's swim, bike and run. Even for the kiddies. They basically walk out 15 m to an orange buoy and the water only goes up to their pits and they run in. Then they head to the transition and change and get their bikes and ride 200m. I think the distance from the bike to the road is 200m, then it's a 50m dash from the transition to the finish.

Before the race, I took Kieran on a walk thru the course so he'd know what to do and where he needed to go, where to turn around and where to go next. Also so Tresa would know where to go too.




I wish I had recorded a video because the Kids race was so exciting. What made it exciting were the other parents taking photos. It was like a stampede! The whole race course for the kids is fenced off so only the parent with the kids can be in the course assisting. So while I was nice and dry Tresa was in the lake with Kieran. And I ran like a mad man trying not to run over a 75 yr old white haired grandmother who kept walking into my shots. I was ready to retire her. Just kidding.

I didn't get cramps in my race, but in the Kids of Steel I was cramping sprinting from one vantage point to another.

Tresa was running with Kieran on the bike course. And Kieran was drafting off some of the other kids. Then passed them to the transition area.

Then it was a sprint to the finish.

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My 2nd Tri - Sprint distance 600m swim, 20km bike, 4km run

The swim went better than the last time. With the wetsuit on it felt warm.
I finished it in 15 mins. Not that great but a definite improvement over my first race. No anxiety, no tightness breathing. But I was fatigued going out to the first buoy. I was surprised how fast I got there. Then I rounded the buoy and sighted the next buoy and as I popped my head up to sight the next buoy I hear "Your way off!". But if I was way off, I saw people to my right who were farther off than me. They were definitely playing follow the leader. So I sighted the next one and made course corrections. I had to do this a few times cuz I kept going to the right.

I rounded the last buoy and headed for home. People in front of me getting tired were slowing me down. I had to chuckle cuz one person swimming on their back was going on a diagonal. I was like this in the first race. I noticed that one person had a swim cap from the wave in front of me. I knew what that was like having the wave behind catch up and pass. All I can say was 'rookie'.

But it was certainly a different experience being more in the pack. The splashing, the legs in front and bodies beside you and people stopping and sighting. I didn't get kicked because I was careful not to get too close, but after that first turn it started to string out. Then at the third buoy it bunched up again.

The lake is shallow so the weeds from the bottom aren't far from the surface and if you tread your feet can catch in the weeds. Not the nicest feeling in the world, but incentive to get this part over with.

I got out and was I ever dizzy. The water was 68 deg C or around there. I got to my bike and had a tough time transitioning. Tresa and Lou said it was the cold water in my ears. Reason to wear earplugs, which I didn't bother with. I even dropped my bike. I was tired. My transition was slow.

Lou was out of the water first about 2 or 3 mins ahead of me. And his transition was a minute faster.

The bike was fine, I caught a lot of people. I averaged 30.4km/hr, Lou extended his lead on me on the bike. He averaged 32.7km/hr. I knew he'd add time on the bike but I figured I'd catch him on run. I managed a faster transition from the bike, but he was a km ahead of me. I had a 5:08/km pace and Lou did a 5:16/km pace. It wasn't enough. My brother beat me today.

I was beat. At one point on the run before the first km I felt like stopping but just kept my legs going. And I dropped a hammer gel on the road coming into the transition area. I should have ate it before I got on the bike but I was rushing to get out on the road. All I can say is 'rookie'.

Eventhough my right hamstring was and is a little sore, it was a blast. It was good for me to have someone to chase after. It was even better that Kieran and Tresa were there to experience it too and cheer me on. I needed it. It's really nice venue. I knew Tresa would like it. There's less than 300 athletes and the Kids of Steel races were amazing to watch. The kids were stars. Some you could see would be future Pro athletes or Olympians. Man they were amazing.



We were cheering them on from the car as we left the area to head home.








Our kid of steel was out like a light. Clutching his medal.

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Lakeside II event photos #505

Lakeside photos index: #104

Lakeside photos index: #105

Chip time results

Luis Garces
City: Hawkestone
Bib #: 105
Place: 60
Time : 1:15:03
Class: TM40-44
Place: 10/24
Swim Place: 106
Swim Time: 12:35
Swim Pace/100m: 2:31
T1: 3:14
Bike Place: 21
Bike Time: 36:48
Bike Speed km/h: 32.6
T2: 1:26
Run Place: 84
Run Time: 21:02
Run Pace/km: 5:16

Raymond Garces
City: Toronto
Bib #: 104
Place: 116
Time: 1:20:21
Class: TM40-44
Place: 19/24
Swim Place: 196
Swim Time: 14:59
Swim Pace/100m: 3:00
T1: 4:14
Bike Place: 61
Bike Time: 39:31
Bike Speed km/h: 30.4
T2: 1:09
Run Place: 73
Run Time: 20:30
Run Pace/km: 5:08

Can you find Kieran?