Mini-triathletes!

It has been a long, hot summer here in Bermuda – I can’t imagine what Jenn has been going through, training for a triathlon through it all! Her goal was to compete in the ITU Multisport World Championships, in the Long Course triathlon.

Initially she was on the fence about competing in Penticton; coming off a tough run in the Chattanooga half-ironman in May, she wasn’t sure she wanted to do another, even longer, race. But as expected, it didn’t take too long to come around and set her mind to training for it. Besides, the timing was going to work out well with our summer holidays, as we were planning on vacationing just up the road right around that time (how convenient…)!

So how long is a Long Course triathlon, you ask? Long. Very long. About three-quarters of a full Ironman race! Jenn’s swim was 3km, the bike 120km, and the run 30km (compared to a half ironman at 1.9km / 90km / 21km respectively)… I get sweaty just thinking about it.

Anyway, we arrived in Penticton a few days before the race, Jenn got us into a hotel that was literally beside the race course so it was very easy for her to get where she needed to be with little stress… pre-race briefings, checking out the expo / pop-up shops, a few last minute warmup sessions, dropping equipment to transitions, etc.  The day before the race there was some fun kids’ races as well. Josh and Ryley both entered in their respective categories (we had managed to borrow a bike from friends for Ryley and Josh had a new bike ready to go, too) – they had fun and surprised Jenn and I by actually getting in the lake!

Nearly there

Finally, race day was upon us; Jenn was up and out the door early to prepare for the early 6:40am start. When the kids woke up, Jenn’s wave had started, but we could see the entire swim course from our 5th floor room. We rushed down to just miss her come out of the 1st transition, but the race course was pretty spectator-friendly and we saw her pass by on the bike a few times as well as the run. There were also six other triathlon junkies from Bermuda competing, so the kids and I kept ourselves busy looking for anyone from the island throughout the race.

It was a long day for racers and spectators alike, but Jenn kept in good spirits throughout; she was more or less smiling the whole way, which was good to see! All in all she had a super race, finishing in a total time of 8:32:56. Yes, friends, she was exercising for over 8-1/2 hours in a row. Super woman!

Congratulations to Jenn on a great race, the kids and I are very proud of you!

Now she can finally have that glass (or three) of wine… Good thing we’re in wine country!