Duathlon

Olivia competed in her first duathlon today at Chateau de la Hulpe.
0.6km run, 2.5km bike, 0.6km run.

The children were supposed to be between the ages of 8 and 12 but they didn't seem too strict on this as Olivia is not quite 8 yet. The course was tough with some killer hills, especially on the bike route, but she did brilliantly. 
Her attitude was to just enjoy herself and she certainly did. She smiled and high-fived all the way around, she jumped up to see if she could reach the overhanging leaves on the trees and when she came to a water station she stopped, propped her elbow on the table, drank her cup of water and generally took in the scene without any sense of urgency to get going or the fact that she was in a race. It was hilarious to watch.
Most of the bike ride was in the forest so we couldn't see her and when she  did finally emerge she was second last and I was a little worried that she'd had a fall but as soon as she was close to me she yelled:
"Mummy the forest was beautiful! I had to stop myself from singing out loud because there were too many people around! Can we come back to this part of the forest again on our bikes?" I love her to bits.

After her final transition she was still in second last place by some distance and even though she claims that 'running is just not my thing' she overtook approximately 10 other children during the final run!

After lots of embracing between Olivia and Dexter and high fives at the end of her race, I asked her how she felt and she replied: "terrible, but I'm so proud of myself. Can I do it again next year?"

She didn't receive a medal, certificate or t-shirt and she never asked about any of those things as she just wanted to get on the bouncy castle and eat the melted chocolate waffles which were being given out to the kids after the race!

I was so proud of her, not because of her athletic ability as I think she's going to be more creative and more of a performer, but because of her whole approach and attitude. I could learn a lot from her. She was so excited to do the race and so determined that she was going to have a good time despite where she finished. For a seven year old to rave about the beauty of the forest and the natural surroundings is pretty fantastic.

From here we went to yet another birthday party.