A Georgia Girl in Germany

It’s been just over two weeks since Zachary participated in his first triathlon. The competition consisted of swimming 50 meters, biking 2 kilometers and running 800 meters against students in his German I class as well as students from two local gymnasiums (German college-prep schools). When I dropped him off in the morning, I think he was excited but not quite sure what to expect.

His heat (8th grade boys) was the last one of the morning. I had hoped to get there in time to watch his heat, but wasn’t able to escape from a meeting in time, and (unfortunately) showed up about 5 minutes after he finished. Fortunately, my friend Grace took a few photos of him since her son (and Zachary’s best friend) was also participating.

Zachary started toward the back of the pack in the 50-meter swim. There were 42 boys competing in his heat, so the pool was rather crowded.

He managed to pass a few boys during the 2-kilometer cycling portion, which boosted his confidence.

His weakest event was the 800-meter run. He said he thought about walking at one point, but then two German students began to run alongside him and he decided to push himself with their encouragement. He ran the entire distance! I’m so proud of him!! His final time for the three events: 13:30,70. I’d say that’s pretty respectable for someone who isn’t involved in sports and didn’t train beforehand.

He looked so exhausted by the time I met up with him, but glad that he participated. I think the fact that he was allowed to miss school for the day played a small role as well. He claims he’s not up to competing again, but hopefully he’ll reconsider.

Labels: Zachary