Finally!

When I started doing triathlons all those years ago, I had a friend whose teenage son started riding with us.  I thought that was pretty cool at the time, and, this year, have had the opportunity to do some riding with my own son.  Last year was supposed to be the year that we started doing triathlons together, as it was his first season.  Unfortunately, that never happened, since I managed to start and end my season on the pavement during a Fort Lewis triathlon.  So, I stood on the sidelines and watched David race, taking pictures but not being able to race. 

This weekend, we finally get to race together for the first time at Moses Lake.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Why?  Maybe it's because David really seems to enjoy something that I really enjoy doing.  Whether he continues to do triathlons or not, I hope that I've instilled the good feeling that comes with exercising hard, regardless of the outcome.  He already enjoys the feeling after a good hard swim workout.  Speaking of this, we went for an open water swim last weekend.  We got in the water together, and he was gone.  I couldn't even stay on his feet.  We ended up swimming together, but that was because he slowed down to keep me company.  I'm figuring that he will beat me out of the water by a minute or two on Saturday (we're in the same wave, and I told him that he better be out of the water in front of me!).  He fully expects me to catch him on the bike (I'm expecting it, too), but I don't think it will be too long before that is no longer a forgone conclusion.

I once posed a question to my friends:  if I'm racing and my child (I didn't have kids at the time I asked the question) is in front of me on the bike, and I see him/her stopped on the side of the road with a flat, would I stop?  The answer everyone had was a resounding, "No!"  I answered this by saying that, if it was my daughter, I'd stop.  If it was my son, I'd make sure he had everything and could change it before I left him.  Since he is riding tubulars, and doesn't know how to do change or fix one yet, if he flats this weekend, the answer is that I will stop.