It eventually took place last Sunday the 24th June. It is meant to be held at the end of summer, when the air is still warmish in the early morning hours and when you do not get goose bumps by just thinking about going into the pool.
Let alone running with a wet shirt afterwards. Brrrrr.....
I am pretty sure that my Mom is rolling her eyes, right now, while she is reading this, thinking, “My crazy child, what does she allow her child to get into.“
As with last years event, there were over 1500 kids aged 7 to 15 participating. Most of them were in their „swimmers“ and barefoot since the had left their bicycles, t-shirts and running shoes in the transition area before 8:30am. For some it meant 2 hours of waiting until their scheduled start. The sun had just managed to peek through the clouds raising the temperature to positively scorching 19C. Brrrrrr.....
Barefoot, in swimming costumes at that temperature, without getting sick....only the English, South Africans and Australians are mad enough to try this. I have no idea what are they made of.
Considering that Mr T's Dad cannot wear long pants unless the temperature is below 10 C, I knew that the South African blood in Mr T's veins would not allow him to withdraw from the race just because it was a bit cold. Since I was ready for all eventualities (do not worry Mom), Mr T was fully clothed and even had shoes on until it was time for the briefing.
We had been through this kids TRYathlon last year so we knew, more or less, what to expect. Of course, we had checked BG several times and it was perfect. This time there were no highs like last year due to excitement or anticipation. Nevertheless we still had a bag with food, with carbs and carbs free ones, BG meter, GlucaGen , lollies, honey, juice. All of it – doubled, one with Mom and one with Dad.