Happy Father's Day to Mr. Geek!

We started off celebrating Father's Day the way we always do in the Geek House --- Mr. Geek raced in a Triathlon. The Geeks all waited in the park to cheer him on during the run.

Later, we move on to more traditional cards and presents.

For one present, I compiled pictures of all of Mr. Geeks adventures, so far in 2009.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

The Last Triathlon of the Season - The Story

First I have to give a big SHOUT OUT to Mr. Geek for his last Triathlon of the season. Although he doesn't get his own blog posting (or even any pictures, the shame), congratulations to Mr. Geek for finishing the Fall Triathlon consisting of a 500 meter swim, a 21 mile bike ride and a 5 mile run in well under 2 hours (1 hour 51 minutes), scoring a Personal Best and finishing 7th in his age group. Let's hear a big WOOHOOO!!!!

Now on to the Littlest Geek's Triathlon. (Sorry Mr. Geek, but LG is just a bit cuter.)

The swim was a short 50 m. No big deal for this seasoned Triathlete.

Transitioning to the bike in the month of October is just a little different than in the summer. It was a chilly morning.

The transition was very smooth.

Look at Team Geek Go!

I was worried a bit about the bike, because it was on the streets. The lane was marked by big orange cones, but a mother worries.

The biking was for 1.5 miles - Piece of Cake!

Now it was time for the run. This has been the hardest part for the Littlest Geek (and Mr. Geek too). I can't blame him, running a mile after swimming and biking.

Look how he took off out of the transition area. Can he keep up this amazing pace?

Here he is starting the street course - still looking strong!

And here is the Finish Line!!!

He ran the entire way!!!

WOW! The Littlest Geek came a long, long way from his first triathlon!

Just wait til next year!

Last Triathlon of the Season

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Mr. Geek's Triathlon (Part 2)

The Actual Story

See here for Part One - The Background.

(I have been trying to upload some video, that is what has taken me so long. I give up.)

Mr. Geek trains for Triathlons year around. He swims twice a week with the Master's team (This is a dedicated (CRAZY) group of people who swim over 3000 meters starting at 5:30 am!). He rides his bike in the evening when it is light enough and has begun to take spinning classes during the winter. He runs whereever he can fit it in (during the boy's soccer practice, etc.) or when he can talk one of the boys into going for a bike ride (while he runs).

Mr. Geek's Athlete is similarly dedicated ( obsessed). She swims on year around swim team and she run track and field with DASA in the Spring. The team begins training at the beginning of summer.

They start with bike training on mostly level ground. Later they add a short run after the bike. As the race gets closer, they move the bike to hilly neighborhoods to more closely approximate race conditions. The week before the actual Triathalon all the DASA athleetes and their shadows run the entire actual course. This is important, because it is a lake swim and swimming in a lake is much different than swimming laps in a pool. (I will take their word for this)

It was one week before race and word came that Mr. Geek's Athlete would miss the last big practice because she is sick. Later she gets the bad news --- STREP THROAT!! Her mom hopes with enough rest, liquids, and antibiotics, she will not miss the Big Race, but only time will tell.

On the night before the Triathalon, it has still not been decided. Is she strong enough? It is necessary to wait until the last possible moment to decide.


Mr. Geek heads for the Triathlon that morning convinced either he would race or help in the transition area. Middle Geek is tapped as official photographer. (He had a good time, but it started out REALLY early.)

They were calling time for the transition area to be closed and still Mr Geek's Athlete had not arrived. Had she woken up to sick to race, had they had an accident on the way to the race? NO! They were just running late. A did not want to miss the race after training for it all summer. So the team set out, not at 100% physical but with their eye on the prize (finishing).

The swimming and transition went well (I am still trying to get the video uploaded. During the

bike, I am told they hit speeds of over 30 mph (the Tandem is a heavy bike and it flies downhill). Mr. Geek assures me that they were very safe the entire time.

Remember after the biking, you still have a 2 and one half mile run ahead of you. This course is through the neighborhood streets and contains hills. This is the most challenging part of the race. By the end of the run A's head began to ache, either from the fatigue or lingering effects from the strep.

She pushed through it and finished strong.

She finished FIRST in her division, Fifteen minutes ahead of the nearest competitor.

Mr. Geek's Triathlon

Part One --The Background (or the Story behind the Story)



When Mr. Geek had his midlife crisis, he did not find a blond or try to purchase a shiny red sport's car, (thankfully)-- he instead began to run triathlons. (What did I do? Thanks for asking. I joined a Rock Band. But that is a story for another day.)



Another part of his midlife crisis was to question, "what is my purpose here on earth?" and "What is it that God expects me to accomplish in my lifetime?" (hey I never said we were original, just geeky) Mr.Geek and I have often discussed how best to live our lives in a way that will leave the world in a better way than how we found it. Mr. Geek even talked at one time with entering the ministry. (I do believe the possibility of taking Greek might have seemed a bit off putting.) We finally decided that if we tried, we could help people as engineers. (See here all the ways engineers have made the world a better place.) As I stated to Mr. Geek, people are going to be even more receptive to the Good News, if they have running clean water and proper sewage treatment. Oh yes they will and you may quote me.

And in keeping with the overall plan to visit new countries and bring with us running water and sewage treatment (I know we are geeks, haven't I said that already), I have been taking notes and generally being obnoxious asking question after question over at Kash 's (rhymes with mosh) website. Kash has moved to Mali and has been documenting everything from what to pack, to her first meals and grocery shopping and has given us a fabulous house tour. Thanks Kash!



However the reality is right now we are committed to three boys that need routine and a careful diet and a careful watch on their education progress. So what can we do right now and right here.

Another aside (Please bear with me I have trouble telling stories chronologically)-- Mr. Geek has been an active member in DASA for several years as board member and president. For those of you in the St. Louis area DASA is an organization for youth with physical disabilities. The founder is named Kelli, she is a Physical Therapist with oddles of energy. She discovered that in our area there was the Special Olympics for children with mental and physical disabilities but no outlets for children with only physical disabilities. As a problem solver, Kelli jumped in and started getting these kids into everything. She started with track and field and now includes rock climbing, kayaking, swimming, ice hockey and so much more. She is an incredible source of energy and inspiration.


So I had a thought that seems obvious now but at the time seemed genuinely inspired. One of the Triathlons that Mr. Geek races in has a disabled division . DASA athletes participate in this race and each athlete has a "shadow who runs along in case the athletes need help. "Maybe," I commented to Mr. Geek, "they could use another shadow." And as they say, to make a long story longer, began the story that I promise to to tell in Part 2.


Mr Geek was linked with a young athlete (I will call her A for Athlete) that was vision impaired. The first race was done as a team. His Athlete swam and ran and another athlete did the biking portion. We considered trying to get A to use our Trail-a-Bike but although she was not a very tall girl she was too tall for that. So I said maybe we could talk a bike rental place into loaning DASA a tandem bike for the race and then she could do the entire race. DASA was even better than that and found the funding to purchase a used tandem bike to train and race on. (This is a great organization if you are looking for a place to support.)


Remember A was 12 and had never ridden a bike without training wheels . So it took an incredible amount of courage for her to climb on that bike with Mr. Geek (Whom I had given a stern talking to before hand about not going too fast). Last year they completed the entire race and came in first.

The Littlest Geek's Second Triathlon - The Story

If you haven't watched the video of his triathlon go here and watch it. (and then come back and tell me how wonderful the editing was. Oh, Thank you.)

Now for the story behind the video.

The Geek family arose early on race day. (Well Mr. Geek, the Littlest Geek and I did, the other two slept in.) We arrived at the race location early, but not as early as some of the even more obsessed families. We picked up the race number, marked the race number on the Littlest Geek and went to stake out our transition area.

As race time approached they opened the pool for warm ups. LG did a 100 IM his traditional warm up. (The 100 IM is one length of the pool of each stroke, Back Stroke, Butterfly, Breast Stroke and Freestyle.) Most people use the freestyle for their race, but sometimes LG's fastest stroke is his Breaststroke.



After Warmups, we met and learned about the course. LG's age group swam 3 lengths of the pool (75 yards), two laps of the bike route (2 miles) and two laps of the Run (1 mile).





As usual the swim went well and LG was about the fifth kid out of the pool.

Next came the bike portion. LG had his new road bike and he rocked the course. In fact maybe he rocked the bike course a bit too much. Because...

He started the run strong and as he approached the big hill got a stitch in his side. Ouch! He slowed to a walk and then a crawl and then he stopped. Mr. Geek ran to the rescue. They walked slowly for a portion of the course, while LG vowed never to run another triathlon. However, the second time up the big hill, he found his second wind and as you can see in the video, he finishes strong. (That is Mr. Geek running behind him up the hill trying to catch up.)

Final Time 28 minutes 48 Seconds.

Woohoooo!!!!!!

The Littlest Geek's Second Triathlon

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The First Triathlon

I know you are all very curious and what to know--- How was the first triathlon?


Here's the short story in pictures.


If you are unfamiliar with a triathlon, here is how it happens.

The littlest Geek (LG)

Mr. Geek

First, you have to have your number assigned.










The first race is the swim.






Followed by biking. No picture of Mr. Geek, I was in the pool area.









The last part is the run.











Time starts from the beginning of the swim so transitions are very important.

The Results

Third Place - Boys Ages 9-10

Second Place Men 40-49

The Story

We chose this triathlon for the littlest geek (LG) because it was a mini-tri (a little bit shorter) and we thought it would be small. We were right the size and crowd was perfect. They started in six person heats and LG went and introduced himself and shook their hands.

LG has been on swim team for several years, so we figured the swim portion would be no problem. Once again, we were right and LG was the first out of the pool.

The clothing change had been laid out meticulously by Mr. Geek and also went very smoothly and he was up on his bike and off.

Now I was not so confident of the bike portion. He had just recently outgrown his bike and was on his older brother's bike, his first with gears and hand brakes. So as the people that had left after him returned and there was no sight of him, I began to worry. I mean I know it was a closed course with people monitoring it along the way, but he is just a little boy.

Finally he returns, pushing his bike. The group of spectators that have been waiting with me begin cheering for him. When that doesn't cause him to pick up the pace (he loves applause) I knew something was wrong.

He returned his bike (okay he dropped it) and went out for the run at a slow slow walk. I walked with him trying to find out what happened. "Are you okay?" "Do you want a drink?" "Do you want to quit?" No answer. I finally stopped him and refused to let him go any further until he drank some water. (Oh did I mention after a cold, cold spring the temperature was now ninety degrees!) By then Mr. Geek had finished his race and walked the final leg with him.

After the race he ate and drank some and finally perked up and told us that he had crashed on his bike. (No blood, only a very small scrape.) After that he was so mad.
When he saw he had won third place though (yes out of three, what is your point?) he was very happy.

And the best part of the day was when he went to the officials and told them he really didn't deserve to win because after he crashed the bike, he turned around right there instead of continuing to the proper turn around location. I was very proud of him. And yes they told him he still deserved third place for trying so hard.

So I think we can declare: The First Triathlon was a Success!!

Training for a Triathlon

This summer my youngest is determined to race in a triathlon, just like his dad. Today was his first run (1 mile).

He has been on swim team for several years so I think the swim will not be too hard.

Stay tuned for more details.