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Race Report!
On August 24th, Ella completed the Chicago (McDonald's Kids) Triathlon. Runoff from flooding rains caused high bacteria levels, so it became a run/bike/run event. More pictures on the way (Aunt Nancy and Denise were there too, so we should have loads of documentation of the event).
Among the highlights: check out that killer orange tri-suit! It made her hard to miss, though it's actually a bathing suit for toddlers with removable floaties (though she pointed out that she could stash snacks in the secret pockets). She was near the front of the main pack after the first run, and even though she had to drag her bike through 50+ feet of mud at transition, she was still looking strong.
Unfortunately, Ella had her first "mechanical" coming out of T1. It seemed she had a hard time getting started because her pedals weren't cued up to launch, but she got rolling a little slowly, only to hit a bump, fall over and drop her chain. I don't think she's ever dropped her chain before, and she wasn't sure why the bike wouldn't go. Luckily some spectators sorted it for her (we weren't at the scene) and gave her a push. BUT she was about 5th from the end of the pack starting the bike leg!
That look of concentration on the bike is because she was seriously kicking some booty! She probably would have been faster, but the re-chaining had left her in the small ring up front. She picked up 35 places in the bike leg, and it required focus because there were some kids out there that barely had enough skill to make to the foot of their own driveway. Not to mention, unlike most of the field, her race mechanic had set her up with 21 speeds, 120 psi slick tires, a superlight stem, and probably the only carbon fiber handlebar out there. (Bike geek sidebar: yes, she could drop 3 pounds with a non-suspension fork, but the superlights at this size cost a bundle, and being a "BMX sized" bike, the plain old steel forks aren't that much lighter than what she has. Maybe next year, she'll be big enough for a kids' road bike.)
She rounded it out with a zippy little run. What you don't see in the final photo is that Ronald McDonald was trying to high-five kids as they crossed the line, but Ella spotted him and veered well away. She's still a little peeved that her finisher's medal says McDonald's on it. Lang was a trooper, and had fun honking the clown horn when he saw her. Being the only one out there with a clown horn is a pretty effective way at getting your kid to notice you in a crowd...I think that's what provoked the grrrl look in the first run photo above.
Race splits
Distances: 1k run, 5k bike, 1k run
| Overall Rank (F 7-8) | Run 1 | Run 1 Rank | Bike | Bike Rank | Run 2 | Run 2 Rank | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55/99 | 7:47 | 80/99 | 12:47 | 45/99 | 8:26 | 62/99 | 29:01 |
Update: Race results posted for the Oswegoland Kids' Triathlon.