This morning my 4 year old daughter Chloe competed in the Silicon Valley Kid’s Triathlon. She had a wonderful time and I believe she felt very proud. I know I did! I tried not to be overly excited but I couldn’t help myself. Still, after seeing Mom, Dad, and the Grandparents run other races in the past, I think she felt a little like she was one of us, a grown-up. I think Chloe had a great time.

She started the day feeling a little shy, but once she had a snack she got very excited and really wanted to start. She kept saying, “I want to go swimming!” Finally her wave, age 6 and under, was about to start so she gave me her socks (Daddy put her shoes in transition already), gave me a kiss and her “entourage” of Grandma Randi, her sister Aunt Mardi, Grandma E, Gramps, her little brother Alex and myself went to go cheer her on. Aunt Mardi, a 3 time Kona Ironman World Championship age group winner, had taken the train up just to see the race.

We thought Chloe was going to be able to swim with a noodle (with Daddy), but found out that was against the rules, so Daddy held her hands while she kicked across the pool. She can’t quite swim yet though she’s getting close, but I must brag a little more and say that her little legs were kicking all the way across that 25 yard pool!

She ran back to the transition area, Daddy put her helmet, shoes, shorts and shirt with race number on, and then off they went on a 1 mile bike loop. Chloe pedaled the whole way, all by herself, while Daddy ran next to her. Daddy had tricked her bike out with fake paper aero wheels with Zipp Speed Weaponry stickers, so her tiny pink and white bike looked super fast. When she rounded the last corner she saw all of us cheering her on, and she had the most adorable smile and then managed to ride even faster!

After she biked in, she took off on the 1/4 mile run. You might think I was joking about the mountain lion thing, but no, she has a great imagination and was actually roaring and clawing the air as she ran. Chloe dashed across the finish line and then we were all there to give her hugs, kisses, and lots of cold water and tasty snacks!

Chloe finished the 1.28 mile course in 22 minutes. She had a wonderful time, and we had so much fun cheering her on. I don’t know if she will ever do another race, but I do believe she had a great time today. If she wants to, I hope to sign her up for one of the upcoming kid’s fun runs. It seems like many adult races these days also have 5Ks and kids fun runs too. Do you think your child(ren) will want to sign up for a race?

Read More: Reblogged from BabyCenter Blog