36 Hours in Greenville + Strong Kids Triathlon

The highlight of our Labor Day weekend was undoubtedly the 36 hours we spent in Greenville, South Carolina. A week or so before our trip, we booked a hotel room close to Main Street in downtown Greenville and then on Sunday morning, we hit the road right around 8 a.m. We had a short list of things we were hoping to see and kicked off our holiday weekend adventure at the Greenville Zoo.

36 Hours in Greenville + Strong Kids Triathlon

Greenville Zoo

The Greenville Zoo was quite small which made it a fun but quick first destination. (Mile markers around the zoo let us know the entire zoo was only about a mile around.) We spent about an hour or so meandering along the paths, checking out the animals and shaking out our legs after our drive.

Children’s Museum

Then we made a short five minute drive to the nearby Children’s Museum which was a three-story playtime heaven for our boys.

We easily spent two hours inside of the museum and the boys had the best time exploring, climbing, imagining, experimenting and playing. We took a couple of snack breaks during our time at the museum but eventually we figured we should get some lunch into our bellies and made our way to our hotel and figured we could eat the lunches we packed while getting our room organized before heading out to explore Greenville. Unfortunately our room wasn’t ready when we were initially told it would be, so we ended up eating our lunches in the empty dining area and left our luggage our car in the parking garage while we explored Greenville for the next few hours. An easy enough pivot!

Our hotel location was great as it allowed us to never move our car and walk up and down Main Street, pop in and out of the various shops, grab some sweet treats, check out Falls Park along the Reedy River and enjoy time outside.

Eventually it was time for us to head to the YMCA in Simpsonville to pick up race packets for Chase and Ryder’s triathlon on Monday morning! Their race was the reason for our visit to Greenville and packet pickup only served to get our family even more excited for race day.

The Crazy Mason

By the time we made it back to our hotel, Rhett was ready for some downtime, so Ryan took the big kids out for pizza while I stayed back with Rhett and we worked on race day signs for Chase and Ryder. We all met back up again for dessert at The Crazy Mason right next to our hotel.

We chose this spot based solely on convenience because it was pouring outside and we didn’t want to walk far. The presentation was a lot of fun but the ice cream wasn’t my favorite. We heard great things about Spill the Beans for ice cream and wish we would’ve had a chance to go there!

After dessert, we headed back to our hotel and called it a night. We intentionally booked a suite-style room with a pull out couch for the big kids but Ryan and I were suckers when the boys asked if we could have a family sleepover so we all ended up staying in the same room anyway since there were two beds. This meant I basically slept like a dolphin with only half of my brain sleeping at a time and I woke up with a lovely little headache. The next day Rhett said his favorite part of our whole trip to Greenville was the hotel and our sleepover so I figure my less-than-stellar sleep was worth it!

Monday: Race Day!!!

Our family was up just before 6 a.m. on Monday because it was RACE DAY! We ate breakfast at the hotel and then made our way to the YMCA to get the boys checked in, marked up and their bikes and shoes set up in the transition area.

There was definitely a buzzing energy all around the event, as more than 300 kids signed up to participate!

Ryan found the YMCA Strong Kids Triathlon back in early August after Chase expressed interest in participating in a small triathlon. Our boys have been watching Ryan compete in triathlons for almost three years and this undoubtedly piqued their interest in the sport. Unfortunately there are not many children’s triathlons out there so this one caught our eye and when we mentioned it to the big kids, they were so psyched! Ryan, Chase and Ryder spent about 30 minutes every Saturday morning in August “training” (aka swimming, practicing their transitions, going for a bike ride and/or a short run up and down our street) and were ready for the real deal on race day morning!

Ryder’s race, the KinderTri, was up first and he set out to complete a 25 meter swim, one-mile bike and quarter mile run. I wasn’t sure how he’d handle going first but he was all about it and simply seemed ready.

KinderTri

The KinderTri allowed one adult to accompany each participant to the pool entrance for the swim where they waited in line by themselves to jump in the pool one at a time, complete their lap and run to transition where a grown up could again meet them and run along with them on the bike and run. This was all optional and most kids did the bike and the run on their own which is what Ryder opted to do as well.

I’ll try to refrain from gushing like crazy as I recap our boys’ first triathlons but my mama heart was so full and so proud the whole time they were out there racing. I didn’t care one tiny bit about their place among finishers but just hoped they would have fun and feel strong and oh my gosh they did!

Ryder waved at us and confidently jumped into the water to swim his lap and Ryan then took off to transition one where he met up with Ryder to help him change and get set up on his bike. Rhett, Chase and I then sprinted over to the bike start and cheered like crazy as Ryder began his ride.

Cheerleader Rhett!

Rhett was such a good sport all day long and the biggest cheerleader for his big brothers… with the help of his two “Baby Peppy” (aka Baby Pepper) stuffed animals. He gave a firm “no” when we asked if he wanted to do the triathlon and seemed very content with his very important role!

We all kept our eyes peeled for Ryder whose one-mile bike flew by! Ryder finished the bike looking strong and later told me the bike was his very favorite part of the triathlon because it was “so fun to bike as fast as I could!” He then took off on his quarter mile run and the way he beamed and smiled so big through the finish line is something I’ll remember forever.

It was pure joy and pure pride and we celebrated with him big time after he got his medal and finished his race! Ryder finished 12th out of 100 participants (kids ages 4-8) but most importantly he had a blast!

Junior Triathlon

Chase’s junior triathlon was up next and we waited about 45 minutes from the end of Ryder’s race until Chase’s race began. We visited the sponsor tents, watched the boys run around in the shade and chatted with other families until it was time for Chase’s group to line up.

The junior triathlon Chase participated in was open to kids ages 8 to 15. So Ryan and I were curious how they would stagger the start with such varying levels of abilities among participants. I’ll take this moment to give a shout out to the race organizers because they did a phenomenal job. I cannot imagine the time, effort and planning that went into Monday’s race. Organizing an event for 300 kids could’ve easily felt chaotic. But the whole day ran smooth and felt fun, upbeat and exciting.

The junior triathlon kicked off with the older kids beginning the race and we were immediately glad Chase started toward the back of the pack because the teenagers in the race were flying! (The winning 15-year-old ran his mile in under 5 minutes!) Chase, our true little extrovert, said he had fun talking about “silly stuff” by himself with the younger kids while they waited for their turn and before we knew it, Chase was in the pool swimming his four laps of freestyle as fast as he could.

Final Lap

As he started his final lap, Rhett and I ran off to see Chase begin his bike (Ryan and Ryder ran ahead to watch him at his first transition) and we cheered like crazy! Chase was clearly in the zone and very focused as he began his bike and, like Ryder, after the race he said the bike was the best part of the race and the most fun. The bike course was a double loop which was great for spectators as we could cheer for our racers twice!

Soon Chase was done with his four-mile bike and making his way into transition. Parents were not allowed in the transition area for the junior tri. But the volunteers in transition were amazing and grabbed Chase’s bike for him as he approached his spot in transition. Once his helmet was off, Chase sprinted out of transition and began his one-mile run. He said the hardest part of the triathlon was the “middle of the run” but he crushed his mile in just over 8 minutes. (Aaand just like that gone are the days Mom is faster than Chase. Ha!)

Chase told us after the race that when he saw the finish line, his brain said, “ATTACK!” (if that isn’t just the mindset of a 9-year-old!) and then he sprinted his heart out and was so excited to have a medal put around his neck.  He had the biggest smile on his face after he was done. And the very first thing he said to me was, “That was awesome.” The second thing he said? “Can I go jump in the bounce house now?” Can I please have some of his energy!?

Our Little Finisher

Chase finished 48th of 187 (kids ages 8-15) and we were so incredibly proud of him for accomplishing his three main goals: 1.) Have fun 2.) Try his best and 3.) Finish! Both boys said they’d love to do the race next year so we’re taking that as a good sign that they thoroughly enjoyed their first triathlon experience!

Once the transition area opened back up, we collected the boys’ bikes and made our way back to our car before driving the two hours back home. We spent most of the drive talking about the boys’ race and hearing Chase and Ryder share race experiences and recap their races with so much excitement and enthusiasm in their voices was one of my favorite memories from the entire day.

We spent the rest of our Monday unpacking and getting organized for the week ahead before swimming in the lake and calling it an early night.

As for this week, today is a BIG day!! Rhett begins 4-year-old preschool this morning so all three boys will officially be back to school now. Now I’m off to make breakfast and get this day rockin’! I hope you’re all having a great week so far!