Broken chains and dissapointments

Last weekend Josh competed in his second triathlon. It was up at Millerton Lake. Armen and I stayed home since it would have been a nightmare trying to get out of the house with him that early in the morning. My Dad and Josh headed up there around 5:30 am and the race started at 8. My Dad called me around 8:20 to tell me Josh had finished the swim and was in the top 10 out of the water, and he had just left on the bike. I waited over an hour to hear back from him (Josh should have been done by then) before I finally called to see what was going on. Josh answered and gave me the bad news that he hadn't finished the race. Halfway through the bike ride the chain broke. He had to coast his way to the halfway point and wait with the volunteer till everyone else had come and turned back around. The volunteer took Josh and the bike back to the start. Needless to say Josh was terribly disappointed, but what can you do about a bike chain breaking? It was just one of those random, freak things that sometimes happen. That's the thing about sports that require equipment other than your own body. Things break, things fail. You can prepare as much as possible and things can still go wrong. I told him to chalk it up as an experience, and that he'd kick butt next time. He's planning on doing the Sacramento one that he did last year when I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. This time we'll have an 11 month old to take with us! I love watching Josh compete, I feel so proud every time I watch him cross the finish line. I hope that as Armen grows up he enjoys watching Daddy race as much as I do. Josh's commitment, dedication and endurance in the sports he chooses to do never fails to amaze me.