Tri Parents

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu

OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

You’ll be on y our way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

excerpt from Oh, The Places You’ll Go by  Dr. Suess

Just over 10 years ago, I began my running journey with a few minutes of running followed by many more minutes of walking on an old treadmill in the garage. Over the next few weeks, as I progressed and started to venture outside, one of the neighborhood kids started following me around.

It was OK, though, because he was my 5th-grade son, Miles. He was 10 years-old going on 11. Soon, I had an idea to enter him in a local 5K, hoping he’d do well in his age group and keep the motivation. In his very first race, he won his age group and was hooked.

Two years later he was running on the high school cross country team as a 7^th grader.  At the end of that season, we completed a half-marathon together. I say “together”, but he broke the agreement about not sprinting at the end and edged me out by a few seconds. Still, it was one proud moment.

He was a pretty good runner, but I wouldn’t say it was his passion. He found that a few years later when he decided he wanted to start cycling with some of his older cross country teammates. The only problem? We/he didn’t own the type of road bike he needed. Fortunately, it was the end of the bicycle selling season, and we were able to find a close-out deal on a bicycle. Because, after all, I doubted this would last.

Boy, was I wrong. Miles rode all over the countryside. He joined group rides with experienced cyclists and started earning their respect, especially when they wanted someone to pull them up a hill. Less than a year later, he had added swimming to his running and cycling and entered his first triathlon. That was July of 2013. Two years later, he would win the same event for his first overall triathlon victory.

When he started running high school cross country as a 7^th grader, his mother and I didn’t make any sort of intentional commitment to attend every meet. We just did. I think the only race I missed in his six years was due to a traffic snarl on the interstate as I tried to make it to the high school.

When he took up triathlon, we went to those as well. Of course, it was a little different. Early on, he needed us to drive and reserve the hotel room if it was out of town. Still, we wanted to be there and support him.  We’d occasionally have to split up parent duties with one going to our daughter’s soccer game while the other went to triathlon. Last summer, we ventured to Maryland for an event.

On Friday, April 5, 2019, the day many of you are reading this, we will make our farthest trip yet as Tri Parents. It will be our journey of over 2000 miles, as we travel to Tempe, Arizona for the 2019 USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championships.

Now a junior in college, Miles will be competing with his collegiate team, Queens University of Charlotte.  His event will be the Olympic-Distance non-draft triathlon held on Saturday, April 6th. This will be a 1500m swim, followed by a 25-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile run.

We’re super proud of the dedication and discipline Miles has shown as a collegiate student-athlete. Who would’ve thought with a single step in 2009, this would be a place he’d go.

For more information on Queens University’s trip to the championship, click here.

Go Royals!

Thanks for reading,