Olivia Sanders: Pre-K student, future princess, and now- triathlete. This morning Olivia took part in the "SuperKids Triathlon" sponsored by the YMCA. Even though we do foot races quite a bit in the Sanders family, no one has ever attempted a triathlon. So I guess this means that Olivia is the only triathlete in the family- until next year, that is, then Owen will be old enough to do this event too. The race began at 8:30. Before the race started, we had to check in at the registration table. My good friend (and Olivia's swimming teacher), Krystial, was the one manning the table. Krystial used a water-proof marker to write Olivia's division number on her leg. This, I have learned, is common practice in swimming events as a paper number would likely get wet or wash off. After checking in, Brian and I got busy setting everything up for the event. Brian took Olivia's biking gear down to the designated area while I set Olivia's clothes up in the transition area.
The race began on time, and Olivia was in the first heat. The first portion of the triathlon was the swimming. The kids in the four-year-old division had to swim the length of the pool. This was actually the part that I was the most nervous about. Turns out, there was nothing to fear. Olivia did great. Of course she had to use a flotation belt, but she has been using this in her swim class and so she had no problem with it. She said that the swimming was her favorite portion of the triathlon.
After the swimming portion, we moved to the transition area. Here, we helped Olivia dry off a bit and we put some shorts, socks, and shoes on her. We then made our way to the bike area and helped Olivia get her helmet on. The kids in her division had to ride a half mile on the bike. I never noticed it before, but Olivia's bike is way too small for her. It was much smaller than the other kids' bikes, and she had to pedal much harder to go as fast as they did. I know she had to be really tired during the bike portion, but she never complained or gave up.
After the biking portion of the race was over, it was time for Olivia to run a quarter mile. She did pretty good with the running. Brian ran with her, and she also got lots of support from her "cheering section"- which consisted of me, Owen, my parents, and Sam. At the finish line, she received a medal and lots of love. The event was not timed, so everyone was a winner. I'm not going to lie- I was impressed with the way that Olivia persevered throughout the race. Of course, she was exhausted in the afternoon and took a fairly long nap.
...And after all of the excitement of the triathlon in the morning, I was just itching to do a race myself. Fortunately, there was a 5K in Waycross in the p.m. I finished the Harvest Run 5K with a time of 26.25 (happy with it) and placed first in my age group (not the only contestant). Whew- this has been a busy day. Now to prepare for next weekend when I "du" (hint) something new myself.
Olivia began taking swim lessons last month at the YMCA. She loves going to swim practice. On the first day of the session, all of the kids were tested and put into levels. Every kid in her class was a "pike"- which is the absolute lowest level. Olivia worked hard throughout the month and mastered all of the pike-level skills. On the last day of the session, the kids were given medals and Olivia was promoted to "eel". Only two of the five kids were promoted, so Olivia was really excited. The next session of swimming lessons doesn't begin until October, but I'm pretty sure that we are going to continue. Olivia loves it and is making good progress. Here are some pictures of Olivia with her class and with her instructors Mrs. Krystial and Mrs. Rachel. 
