Berkeley Kids' Triathlon 2016

This past weekend Ava and Lola took part in the 9th annual Berkeley Kids' Triathlon. 

This was Ava's fourth time competing and Lola's first. Having taken out both first place and second place in the past, Ava was pretty keen to take home another trophy. She wasn't fussed about winning though - she wanted to come in third place so she could round out her trophy collection!

Lola wasn't too fussed about trying to win. Given that she can't actually swim properly on her own yet, she knew her chances of taking home a trophy weren't high. She just wanted to have fun and loved the idea of taking part just like her big sister.

It was a little cool in the morning when we arrived at King Pool, but by the time race time came around the sun was shining and it had turned into a lovely day. Before it was their turn to race, the girls spent their time playing in the shallow pool where the youngest kids would later swim. Mathilde was desperate to join her sisters in the water but instead kept herself occupied playing with the signs we made to cheer the girls on.

Ava's race was up first for our girls. Like last year, she chose to swim backstroke. Last year she had been almost a full lap ahead of the other girls in her heat by the time she finished the swim. This year, backstroke didn't turn out to be the best choice and she finished the swim third or fourth in her heat.

Ava made up a little time during the bike part of the race and by the time she started the run she was pretty much level with the girl who was in second place. Two laps of the running track tired her out a little and she finished her heat in third place, about ten seconds behind the girl who came in second place. The girl who won Ava's heat was so incredibly fast that she crossed the finish line almost 2 minutes ahead of Ava and the girl who came in second! There was a complete mix up with the times though and when the trophies were awarded later, first place was given to the girl who came second in Ava's heat, rather than the girl who actually won it. This poor girl wasn't given a place at all. I'm hoping this was sorted out later for her as she definitely deserved to win.

About half an hour after Ava finished her race, Lola's age group was ready to start. I'd been worried that there would be cross over with Ava finishing and Lola starting at the same time, but the whole event was running quite behind (it was noon by the time Lola got in the water for her scheduled 10am start!) so this wasn't an issue. Ava was showered, dressed and ready to cheer Lola on in the pool with us before the race started. She gave Lola a few tips about what she would need to do and then Lola's race was off. As Lola can't swim properly yet, she was able to walk across the pool when needed. She spent part of the race "swimming" and part walking. There were a few other kids in her heat who did the same.

After Lola's swim she raced over to put on her shoes and clothes (with a little help from Ava and I) and then ran up the hill to the bike race. I missed seeing Lola's bike ride but she was happy to show me the route later on our way home. Let's just pretend this photo is from the race!

Lola look pretty tired by the time she got to the running track but she powered through. In fact, after her first lap she attempted to run another one even though her age group was only required to run one lap!

When she passed the finish line Lola was pretty excited. She couldn't see any of the other kids so she thought maybe she was the winner. Oh, bless her little cotton socks!

After quite a wait it was time to award the prizes. As Ava had come third in her heat we thought there was a slight chance that maybe she had come third overall for her age group. She knew not to keep her hopes up though, which was good as someone in the other heat had been faster than her. And of course, there was the whole debacle with the actual winner of Ava's age group not being awarded a place at all. Who knows, maybe Ava really did come third overall. Ha! Lola was still holding out hopes for a trophy. In fact, after all of the prizes had been awarded there were still a few trophies left on the table (for kids who had placed but already left as it was all running so behind) and Lola was eyeing them off. When I asked her why she was still waiting at the trophy table, she told me that as there were still a few left, maybe they might like to give one to her! Awww...

No trophies for the girls this time but they did both get a medal for participating. Lola was pretty excited as this was her first medal.

After the triathlon we grabbed pizza and cookies from nearby stores and enjoyed lunch in the park followed by playground time.

The girls both enjoyed their triathlon experience this year and are looking forward to taking part again next year. Mathilde is pretty keen to join in too. If only there was a toddler division! Ha, how hilarious would that be?