Triathlon Day!!

Last summer, while getting to know Jake’s state of Washington, an unexpected SUPER fun event was watching him participate in Chelan’s annual triathlon. (I blogged about it towards the end of this post.)

Ever since then I’ve waited with anticipation for the next race, and only FOUR days ago, we learned that would be TODAY! Jake just recently discovered a Cochabamba triathlon club after an internet search and lo and behold, found out that today there would be a big (for here) race for a wide range of ages. He doesn't have his best gear here in Bolivia: water wetsuit, road bike, etc., but was up for a challenge.

It was interesting for me to try to plan for what we thought would be an early morning race and then church with our whole crew because of several unknowns: the weather (some mornings it DUMPS rain), Jake’s race time (we’re in Bolivia, after all!), and little Miss Sophia, of course. When will she wake/want to nurse?

This morning at 6:30, Jake took off on his bike for the staging grounds, next door to our city’s soccer stadium. He messaged me several times and called several times with updates and to request various things, such as asking me to print out his race number and that of a new friend (and don’t forget a safety pin!). I could hear the excitement in his voice!

The boys with Daddy after the race

While serving the boys their breakfast (my mom’s Baked Oatmeal, the best recipe I've ever used), I learned that I wasn’t the only one to have bad dreams about missing the race. We were all pretty pumped! I let the boys wear the matching Bolivia shirts they’ve been dying to wear and also to see on Sophia (size 0!). TOO CUTE!!! But with the blue Nikes, she looked like a boy at first glance, so we added a red bow, and VOILA! Ready for the race!

 

 

 

 

The good news was that we didn't have to troop out of the house early or wake the baby. The bad news was that his race was going to begin approximately right when church did, so we swung by there first to leave a baby gift and then head to the stadium. Our taxi driver said he felt out of place "un-uniformed", ha!

Waiting for the race to begin! Michael played photographer. 

The swim portion (400 meters)... 

...the bike portion (10 km)

It was perfect weather! Not too hot, not too cool, and with a light cloud cover. 

Waiting for glimpses of Dad

 

Popsicle treat

 

Daddy nearing the end!! Run portion: 10 km

 

 

Sophia at her first race, loving all the excitement ;-)

Baby zonked out halfway through the race. She actually got a great morning nap even in all the commotion and woke up super cheery 1 1/2 hours later, yeah! 

 Some of the triathlon racers. Jake was the only gringo!

Unfortunately, the thinner oxygen at altitude was the hardest challenge to overcome. Jake didn't race nearly as well as he had hoped, but he maintained his good attitude and we hope it was an example to the boys who had full faith that he would be Number One! For my part, I consider being able to run and finish a triathlon to be some sort of super human feat. I'm always proud of Jake's commitment and aptitude for physical fitness!

We don't yet know if he placed high enough to represent Cochabamba at a national event in Tarija, Bolivia, next month.

We took a stroll through Sunday morning's pet market before catching a taxi home while Dad peddled back up the hill. All three of our boys LOVEEEE animals and would pack our apartment with them, no problem, if we (and our owner) would allow it.

Back home, post-triathlon, with a couple of his biggest fans :)

 
Last Sunday morning, Jake preached. This Sunday, he ran a triathlon he had only just heard about, at 8,400 feet above sea level. Next Sunday, we were supposed to be gone on our first big road trip with the family, but paperwork delays (and thus no documents) for Jake and the boys means we'll be home looking for more local options for family fun during the Carnival holiday. Never a dull moment with my man!! :)