Our first race of 2013!

Last night Baby Girl and I ran our very first race of 2013 - the Bloemfontein Striders Night Race 5 k right here in our own neighbourhood!  Being in Week 4 of our current 8 week training programme, we actually shouldn't be racing just yet (shhhh).  But I thought we'd give it a bash anyway - using it as a training run rather than a race, with plenty of friends to keep us company.

We were given the option to pre-enter the race the night before, which I gladly made use of seeing that we're always late for races.  Registration was quick and easy, and I must just share with you the sum total of what we received during race registration / packet pick-up:

Yeah, we really go big out here in the Free State.  [In all fairness, one can't really expect rainbows and glitter for a R20 ($2 something) entry fee, right?]

After a hot, hot few days in Bloemfontein, it thankfully started cooling down as we lined up for the start.  The turnout was very good (for a local race) and Baby Girl and I again started way at the back to avoid bumping into someone with the stroller.

After standing around for a minute or two, the starting gun fired and we were off!  The first kilometer or so is always a bit of a frustration, but the field spread out soon enough and Baby Girl and I got into a comfortable rhythm.  The route was lovely - mostly along quiet back streets, with a few hills here and there. We got a whole lot of comments on the stroller again; the most common one being: "Can I hitch a ride?"!

One thing that I really still struggle with, is pacing myself with the stroller.  Without the stroller I can stick to a goal pace like a metronome, but as soon as I run with the stroller I usually start out wayyyy to fast (perhaps as a result of the additional momentum on the straights and downhills?) and end up paying the price later.  Which is exactly what happened again last night: Those last two kilometers were tough!  But I kept thinking of Dorothy Beal from Mile Posts, who runs with a triple stroller (!!) and refuses to give up.  So I huffed along and guess what?!  WE PR'ed!!  Yip: 24:37 for a 5k with a stroller (our previous best was 26:49) - woohooo!  (The course did measure a tad short, though.)  Looks like The Vortex is finally paying off - so thankful and so happy!

After the race we jumped into the car to go and cheer for Will, who was participating in a cycling criterium on the other side of town.  We made it just in time and could watch most of his race.  Unfortunately his back wheel had a blowout towards the end of the race, so he couldn't finish this time, but watch this space for the next one!

We had such a fun family evening out - counting our blessings and thankful for each one!