Flashdance - What A Feeling

And finally it was time for Lochore Aquathlon a.k.s Joey's ultimate-super-best-always-great-weather-most-favourite-'tri'athlon-race.  Oh, and also the final IRC qualifier.

As a total side note, I stopped at lights on our way
down and randomly looked down and we'd hit
exactly 100,000 miles! When I looked back a minute
later while we were driving, the number had
disappeared in place of some other number, so pretty
cool that we'd stopped and I saw it just at the point! 
Or so I thought....

Except this year, it most definitely wasn't nice weather. 

Anyway, first race was a 250m swim and 3km run, and our Joey came in third boy (and second Scot).  But I didn't really get any pictures, maybe because I was still traumatised by the fact that I'd never actually signed him up for the race!  A bit of a shock after getting up at stupid o'clock and driving all the way down to Fife, knowing that he had to come in 2nd, 3rd or 4th to qualify for IRCs.  Very kind Triathlon Scotland staff (probably helped by the fact that Joey was wearing his Scotland IRC hoody and they knew him from last year) allowed him to take the place of a boy that had pulled out, thankfully. I have to say I did think it was weird that I hadn't received any emails in the run up to the weekend giving race timings and information, but you know... so much else going on that I didn't think more than it was strange!

Anyway, just as we'd settled in our garden chairs to have our lunch and dry off before the second race a few hours later, the heaven's opened.

And half an hour later, thankfully after we decided to retreat to the car, they really opened. I pity the poor kids competing in that downpour - and parents who had to stand outside and watch!

It brightened up for Joey's second race of the day: a 300m swim and 2km run.

Absolutely funniest moment by far of any sporting event I have ever been to came during transition, after Joey had run through and I'd stopped filming the above, thankfully.  One of the boys we know well pulled his trisuit down with his wetsuit, fully flashing all those that were standing outside cheering the boys on.  I was standing next to his mum at the time and, honestly, our sides have never hurt so much from laughing.

Anyway, Joey came overall third and second Scot, behind his team mate from last year Fast Eddie, who had already qualified for IRC by being the first finisher at Big Bobble Hat.  So he got the result he wanted and is back down to Leicester in September.

Our own OC was also down as part of the British Triathlon Superseries, and just perchance this photo came up on iChum's Memories this morning:

So of course we had no option but to duplicate it:

Such sweet boys who love sport.