Three generations, three sports

One year later and my family not only participated in the Naperville Sprint Triathlon, but we had even more participants.  How awesome! This year we had six individuals complete the entire event and had four relay teams.  Eighteen people from one family!

Showing off our bracelets after the Tri in Naperville

Not only did we have more participants, but the participants got a little older.  My father-in-law was a part of a relay team that included his son and his grandson. I don’t want to hear any excuses as my father-in-law is in his 70’s!

It is often said that a family that prays together, stays together, I’m happy to say that we pray together and play together.  The family had a tradition of playing soccer on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but my wife had it on her bucket list to do a triathlon and we begin this fun event in 2010.

The Sprint version of the triathlon is a quarter mile swim, 22k on the bike (about 13.4 miles) and a 5k run.  I’m thrilled to say that I cut my time by seven minutes from last year.

I feared the worst heading out last Sunday.  My training hadn’t been up to what it had the previous year and mostly I was afraid my bike time would be less than in 2010.  With the bike being the longest portion, if that time is slower, then it is difficult to make up.

I challenge you to be there with us next year.  If you can’t make it to Naperville, compete in a triathlon somewhere.  The emotional high is fantastic and it is a manageable distance.  If you aren’t currently training in those sports you need to start slow, but it is completely worth it.

As my father-in-law has proved, it is a sport that you can do for a long time.