I love this family of ours. Over the past few years we have done some amazing things together. Some all work , some all play, and some… a combination of the two. This past summer most of the Tinti/Ball family competed in the Kingston Triathlon. Just for fun… kind of.

Those of you who know me, know that I am ridiculously competitive. I can’t help myself. Egidio knows this and uses it to try to get me wound up… but I am onto him! The Tintis  don’t like to admit it, but they are rather competitive too. The combination of the two families was sure to make a fun day and some great memories.

So, Ball vs.Tinti hit the water/bikes and ground one very early morning in July. We had to be at the Kingston Point Beach at 5:30 in the morning to check in our teams and get ready for the first leg of the race, the half mile swim. In this segment I must admit, team Ball had the clear leg up. All four of my kids have been competitive swimmers their entire lives. I could have put either one of my kids in this event, but we needed a little strategy. Egidio doesn’t know how to swim, (Imagine that!)…and I am told that out of Christina and Elmo that Elmo was the stronger swimmer. We had done a few 10K and 5K races together so I knew that Elmo and Christina had very close running times. Christina would run for team Tinti and Elmo would swim. My son Connor is a very strong middle distant swimmer but hates to run. Also, the last time I set him free on the roads with a bike he got hit by a truck…. So swimming it would be for Connor. Even though running is really my thing… not biking,  I decided that it would be best for Parker to do the run for several reasons.

1. She has kicked our collective butts in every running race we have done.

2. The bike portion was 12 miles long and they were not going to stop traffic.  I had visions of DSS waiting for me at the finish line.

3. I really wanted to go head to head with Egidio.

It was a beautiful morning. I had a little chat with my son before it started. I explained my strategy.. he needed to give me a BIG head start on Egidio. I knew Egidio could take me in the bike. We had gone for several bike rides over the summer… I knew he was faster than me. I told Connor it was all on him. Not too much pressure!

In case you were wondering… The Hudson River is VERY cold at 6:00am… So I am told. Swimming in open water with 95 other people flailing around next to you is very different from swimming laps at the Kingston High School pool. With that said, Connor came in 6th over all. I had the lead I needed on Egidio. I have to tell you… that bike ride was the most awful thing I have ever done, and I have completed two full marathons. It was literally up hill both ways!! We passed each other at one point in the ride. My legs were screaming!! I got to Parker before Egidio got to Christina and Team Ball was victorious! I have to be honest… Egidio’s split time beat me by over two minutes. My kids pulled it off for the team.

After the race we went to breakfast at the diner and recapped the day. I hope one day when all of our kids have their own children that they will tell them the story of the morning of the Triathlon. I hope they remember that day fondly, and tell their kids that we had fun together. The best part of memories, is making them.