My Little Triathlete

I'm a proud Mummy today!

Well, I'm always proud of my kids but today I'm extra proud of Ava.

Ava competed in her first ever triathlon this morning and I'm so proud to say that she came in second place for her age group. Way to go Ava! What a fantastic result.

Our little winner

It was a lovely day here in Berkeley as Ava and a load of other kids aged 4 to 14 or so competed in the 6th Annual City of Berkeley Kids Triathlon.

Arriving at check in

All the kids got a goodie bag before the race

Ava was so excited about competing in the triathlon (or triops as Lola has been calling it!) and couldn't wait to get into the water to start her swim.

There was a bit of a delay to the start of the race for Ava's age group but the kids were very patient while they waited. The older kids competed first and then the competition worked its way through to the youngest group, the one that Ava was competing in. The competition was broken into genders and age groups: "13 - 14", "11 - 12", "9 - 10",  "7- 8" and, Ava's group, "6 & Under". The boys competed first in each age group and then the girls. This meant that Ava's race was the very last one of the day.

Lola waits with Ava for the "6 & Under" category to start

There were approximately thirteen girls in Ava's group; too many to swim at once without chaos! Her group was split into two waves with one following directly after the other. Ava competed in the second wave so she really was in the last race of the day!

First up was the swim. The older kids swam full laps of the pool but for Ava's age group they swam shorter laps of a side part of the pool. The water here was shallow enough for those kids who weren't accomplished swimmers and needed to put their feet down every now and then. As the water was quite shallow there was no diving allowed and all of the kids started in the water. Ava's group swam three laps before heading onto the bike ride. Unfortunately my action shots in the pool are a little blurry so I don't have any to share.

Eager to swim

The "6 & Under" girls ready for their swim

Waiting for the starting whistle (Ava is third from the left)

Done with the swim and off to the bike

After donning their shoes and race t-shirts the kids headed up the hill to their bikes and helmets for the bike leg of the race. Ava was super fast at getting to her bike so I missed out on getting many shots of her cycling. My having to drag a 2 year old up a staircase to the bike area may have had something to do with that!

This way next...

I did manage to make it to the end of the bike area before Ava finished so I snapped a few shots of her finishing. In the shot below she's a close second to the girl who ended up being the overall winner of their age group.

Coming in second place at the end of the bike ride

Almost finished the bike leg

And then it was onto the last leg of the race; the run. Ava's age group ran one lap around the running track. Once again, Ava was a little fast for me and I was a little confused as to where the end of the race would be. I ran across the field to the other side of the race track in anticipation of capturing great shots at the finish line only to discover that the finish line was actually down the hill along a path. Oops. By the time I made it back across my little sprinter had finished the race. She's getting too fast for me!
Here she is crossing the finish line. It may or may not be a staged photo taken after the fact ;) I'll let you decide!

Crossing the finish line

After the race had finished Ava was super eager to find out the results. She was so sure that she had come in third place for her age group and was excited at the prospect of winning a trophy.

Family shot after the race

We waited a little while for the results to be tallied and then it was time for the awards. The awards were handed out in much the same way that the races had been conducted, with the oldest kids first and the youngest last. Ava waited patiently but I could just tell from the look on her face that she eagerly wanted to know the results.

Waiting for the results

We finally got to the awards for the "Girls 6 & Under" group and Ava was super excited to receive her participation medal along with the other kids. Another medal for her ever growing collection.

All of the participants received a medal

When they started announcing the winners and named another girl in third place I saw Ava's smile drop a little. She was so sure that she'd come in third. But then they announced second place and Ava's name was called out! She was so excited and so was I. I can't believe how well she did.

And in second place it's Ava Mason...

So happy to have come in second place

I'll beat you next year... Ava poses with the winner for the local paper

Of course, winning isn't everything and the whole reason we signed Ava up for the triathlon was for her to have fun and take part in something active. That said, coming in second place and winning a trophy has been a huge confidence boost for Ava and she's been on a high all day. It's so great to see her being rewarded for her hard work.

Hooray for Ava!

Hooray!