Tri- Hard

In Aubree's co-op, her last Tuesday/Thursday rotating elective class was PE. Her phenomenal teacher, Tallie, tossed out the idea of having the kids train for, and participate in, a triathlon at the end of the school year. "Sure," all us parents replied, "that sounds great!"

You should know - in our co-op, we dream big.  Often, those big dreams come to fruition, but often they get swept away in the tide of life.  Tallie held tight to this dream, prepared the students, and planned her very own mini-triathlon course for the final day of school.

There were a thousand instances where she or the kids could have given up, most especially when the planned triathlon day dawned gray, cold, and rainy (and not just regular, misty Washington rain, but drenching deludes). 

We decided to press on, despite the obstacles.  Tallie gave the kids last minute instructions while having them bounce to get their bodies loose.  Some of the parents were anxious.  I gave lip service to the idea that the triathlon would be hard, but reasoned that 1) they really weren't swimming very far, 2) biking isn't too challenging and they'd ridden the course numerous times without difficulty, and 3) they were only running a mile, something they'd also done numerous times in preparation.

As the time to begin approached, and the kids faced the reality of completing this triathlon in the cold and rain, there were tears amid the excitement.  Some tears abated quickly, others required more processing, but eventually everyone was ready to go.

While we waited for final course adjustments and personnel placements, the kids were so cold they decided to hop in the water to warm up.  To be clear, Washington water is not warm, it was just that cold outside.

 Finally, the official race began amid a flurry of encouragement and anticipation. Most of the kids wore life vests just to be extra safe, but it's challenging to swim easily while wearing a bulky vest.

The transition from swim to biking was a lot harder than I expected.  Some of the kids just threw on socks and shoes (one even started his bike ride without a shirt!), but Aubree wanted to put on a dry shirt and pants. Easier said than done when you're all wet!  It took quite a while. Soon, however, all the kids were flying by on their bikes, completing lap after lap.  

As the lap count accumulated, that's when I really began to realize that I had underestimated the difficulty of this triathlon.  They were all wet and cold, and the road was also slippery and wet. Riding around and around in those conditions is NOT easy! At one point, Aubree had to stop for a few minutes because she was getting nauseous.  After that short break and a bit of water, she proved her fortitude by getting right back in the race.

 

By the time the students started their run, I was in tears, and I completely took back every dismissive statement I'd made previously; there was no need for lip service, this WAS hard!

When Aubree passed us by, Bryce volunteered to run the mile with her.  That might have been my favorite part, seeing him supporting Aubree and seeing her draw strength from his support.

 

In the end, every kid finished. We were SO proud of them, but most importantly, they were proud of themselves! The kids who had been in tears before the race were the most enthusiastic afterwards, proclaiming, "We need to do this again next year!" 

There was nothing manufactured about the success of these kids.  They accomplished something hard. They persevered despite difficult circumstances.  They will never forget this, and hopefully, when they encounter hard things and daunting circumstances in their futures, they can look back and know that since they've persevered and overcome once before, surely they can do it again.

It was the absolute perfect ending to our co-op year.  I love each of these kids. This co-op has been such a blessing in our lives.