Little B and I ran our first stroller race together at the Moms' Run 5K on Mother's Day weekend!  Perfect weekend for a mom and son race, right? My mom was also in town, so she got to see me and Little B run. 

I had such a fun time at this race, mostly because I had the cutest running buddy ever (he even had his own race bib!). There was also a decent amount of crowd support, a good pre- and post-race party with several local vendors, food and kid-friendly activities, and the course goes through gorgeous (and shaded) neighborhoods on Daniel Island, an "island" neighborhood/town here in Charleston. The awards are all given out based on gun time instead of chip time, so runners who want to place overall or in their age group should start as close to the front as possible. 

Since it was only my 6th or so time running with a stroller, I had no idea what to expect. I figured I'd just take it pretty easy and speed up if I felt like it. I also started sort of far back since I didn't want to be up in the front of the pack because I planned to run slower and I had a stroller (and I had no plans of placing or anything).

I realized in the first quarter mile that I started a little too far back, though, and I was ready to move faster than a lot of the people around me. But it's much more difficult to get out of a crowd when you've got a big old running stroller in tow! Eventually I was able to break free and settle into a my race rhythm. And B was giggling the entire time. It's safe to say, he enjoyed his first race experience with me. 

I ended up coming in at 26:49 (8:37 pace), which was two seconds faster than my first ever 5K in June 2012 (without a stroller), and this was a pretty easy run for me and not really a race-pace effort, even with the stroller. I had negative splits and my last mile was significantly faster after I held steady during the first two miles. My Garmin stats, which were a little off (as always because tangents and all that), had me at an overall pace of 8:23, with these splits: mile 1 - 8:38, mile 2 - 8:37, mile 3 - 8:18, mile .1 - 7:13). 

This was the first race since the Race & Roast trail race that I haven't been wheezing and sick! After essentially spending most of the spring training and racing season with what really equates to an injury in the way it set me back, racing healthy was awesome! The weather was still humid, but there was at least a nice breeze going. Plus no wheezing! I know I already said that, but seriously, breathing is wonderful. 

My finish time put me at first in my age group (out of 19) in the stroller division, and I was the 8th stroller runner overall (out of 102). They didn't give out age group awards for strollers at the race, but there was an official stroller category where I think they just gave awards to the top three overall. But it's nice to see how I did in my age group, especially for my first stroller race.  I was 10th in my age group (out of 88) in the general race category. 

I also loved the swag for this race, which included a reusable tote (a nice substantial one, not a little flimsy one), a t-shirt with a cool design, nice fabric, and good fit, and a onesie for my little baby racer! So freaking adorable! I will most definitely be back next year for this one and by that time, I think my stroller pace will be much faster. 

Race summary:

Race location: Daniel Island, SC (Charleston)  /  Course: Shaded with lots of curves through gorgeous neighborhoods  /  Race size: 578 runners (102 in the stroller division) /  Cause: Postpartum Support Charleston /  Post-race party: Great! Lots of vendors and kids activities / Weather: 70 degrees, humid, breezy

My results:

26:49 (8:37 pace) / 1 out of 19 in AG in stroller division / 10 out of 88 in AG overall / 8th stroller overall / Health: good (finally!)