Passing the torch and eating humble pie

My son and I participated in a Rugged Maniac obstacle course race this past Saturday. OCR are a ton of fun an kinda my new thing. I've done one other Rugged Maniac, a couple of Tough Mudders and a Spartan Beast. Since my passion for triathlon has waned in the last few years these have really filled a void. My son is nineteen and though he played baseball from age seven through high school and wrestled in high school he doesn't work out regularly at all. I kept joking with him that I was going to finish the course ahead of him and go back and do it again at his pace. The sad thing is on some level I think I believed it! I was pretty sure he could handle the obstacles. Some are pretty challenging. Others, not so much. He said he had run one time in preparation. He ran about two miles, came home and promptly threw up. This was going to be easy. The old man, a well seasoned endurance athlete, was going to school this young buck. As we huddled in the corral I could see he was a little nervous. When the horn went off he sprinted out. Rookie mistake I thought. He let the adrenalin get the best of him. He can't sustain the pace I thought. Well, he could and did. It was all I could do to stay a few steps behind, I was grateful for bottlenecks at some of the obstacles. It gave me a chance to catch my breath. He totally rocked the course. We stayed together but had we truly raced I'm pretty sure he would have won. I was a little disappointed and hoped I hadn't let him down somehow. I was super proud of him and think he is proud of me too. He has seen my train and race for quite a while now and maybe has a greater appreciation for what it takes to prepare and toe the line. My son and I drifted apart some during his adolescence. Despite my best efforts to remain close he needed some space to grow.The teen years can be tough and they were for us. He is definitely maturing and we are reconnecting as not just father and son but two grown men. I love him dearly and cherish our time together. I had an awesome time with him. I even convinced him to hold hands as we went down the slide just before the finish line. I guess he will always be my little boy. I'm not throwing the towel in just yet.We have a re-match in the fall. Four months of training will be plenty!