only sometimes I wish it were a cat's.
Don't you just wish you could spend your days laying around (on the dining table no less), covering your face like Fred here, with not a care in the world... other than, what treat am I getting and when am I getting it!!!
Sunday was a busy day, starting dark and early. I guess I caught up on my sleep Friday night because I had the alarm set for 5:30am but was wide awake at 4:00am. So I got out of bed and piddled until it was time to go.
I got down to Spa Beach a little after 6:00am to volunteer for the Ironkids (http://www.ironkids.com/) race at St. Petersburg. This is a new race series for kids and the race organization put on a great show with clinics for the kids prior to race day.
I worked the transition area, helping the kids to get set-up and also figuring out which one's were going to need a little extra assistance come race time.
Tim was out for his morning jog and his route brought him right to the race site - where I set my hook and reeled him in, slapped a volunteer t-shirt on him and put him to work. He did great, showing a most sincere interest in making sure the kids were well taken care of and providing a little extra in the way of race tips.
There were three races that morning. 8:00am was the Seniors race, ages 12 - 15. Some of these kids had equipment that was better than anything I'll ever own... time trial bikes with disc wheels and aero helmets. It's odd to see the mix of these kids, everything from these semi-pro youngsters to those on BMX bikes with knobby tires who are here for their first triathlon experience. At least these kids were more capable and their race was executed without much ado.
Next up, at 9:00am were the Intermediate triathletes, ages 9 - 11. No disc wheels or aero helmets here, but still a few lovely little (and I do mean little) Trek bikes! The volunteers had to provide a little more assistance to some of these athletes. It's hard to put a technical shirt on when you've just come out of the swim so we helped pull shirts down, or get bikes off the rack while the kids put on their shoes. Again, not much ado with this race either.
And the best is always last. At 10:00 am were the Juniors, ages 7 to 10. USAT rules apply to the ages, meaning that if you turn 7 at any time during the year, you'll race as a 7 year-old - so some of these tots were still 6 years old... and just learned how to tie their shoe laces! It took all the volunteers we had to manage the chaos that was this race. Surprisingly, all the kids were able to find their bikes when they came in from the swim. But this time, not only did we have to dress them, we tied their shoelaces, and buckled their helmets. We even assisted with the occasional emotional meltdown and got every kid out onto the bike course. Some of these bikes were barely 18 inches tall, most were BMX trick-style bikes, Stingray bikes with banana seats, streamers from handlebars and one with training wheels.
My favorite athletes in this bunch included the little boy who sat down in transition to put on not only his shoes and socks, but knee pads and elbow pads! Another was a tiny 6 year old, full of energy and not tall enough to reach my hips. But he was focused as he sped out onto the run course. Yet another was a boy who just could not run with his bike out of transition... he lost his balance and fell over at least 3 times.
As these little athletes returned from the bike, many of them could not find where they racked their bikes. So, we helped them rack somewhere, got their helmets off, and got them pointed out to the run.
By the time our volunteer day was done, it was after 11:00am and by now I was starving! Time to go home, shower, grab a snack and try to get some Fred-like relaxation for the rest of my day.
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