Growing Up in the Jogging Stroller

The jogging stroller was the best investment we've made.  It has logged in thousands of miles carting B places and races and many adventures.

Below shows her growing up, beginning in 2007 and ending with a Memorial Day race in May 2013.  She eventually became too big and too heavy for me to push, but what a wonderful journey we've had!

Top left: October 2007 in DC at my Marine Corps Marathon.  Top right: August 2008 in Cleveland.
Bottom left: August 2009 in Oregon at Voodoo Donuts.  Bottom right: October 2010 in New Mexico after our Day of the Dead 10k race.

To Left: at the Girls with Sole race in June 2010.  Top right: in Savannah, GA in 2011 at a 5k halloween race.
Bottom left: falling asleep after one of my runs in the Metroparks in 2012.  Bottom right: at our last race in May 2013 in Cleveland.

Day of Reading and Racing

Memorial Day was awesome in this house.  B and I started our day out with a nice 5k race at the St. Joseph Academy Jaguars 5k.  While there was no "official" stroller division, the kind volunteers at each intersection announced to B and I that we were the first stroller in the race.  Talk about pressure.  As I rounded the corner in the last half mile of the race, I spied a double stroller gaining on me.  Let me tell you, after pushing my 50 pound daughter for 25+ minutes, I was in no condition to sprint.  However, I am also one who enjoys a little friendly competition so sprint I must! I crossed the finish line only seconds in front of the dad pushing a double - but a win is a win in my book! Best of all, B got her Malley's chocolate bar (a race sponsor) and I got my uhmm water bottle. Gotta love small races and this one might have to be a new Memorial Day tradition!

Later in the day, we squeezed in a movie (Epic) and waited for Greg (who saw Fast & Furious 6) back at Barnes & Noble.  Love this pic of my girls sitting peacefully reading books.  It was one of those rare moments where everyone was quiet and I got to enjoy a magazine!

That's How I Roll

Doesn't it just figure that I have the *one* kid who loves to ride in the jogging stroller...at almost age 6...in 10 inches of snow! And Jameson, he's happy as a lab can be! Happy Jogging Day, everyone!

Girls with Sole 5k Race Event

Beautiful weather, wonderful cause, great company, and an amazing 4-year-old in the jogging stroller! That's a recap of my Sunday morning. I woke up at 6:00am with every intention of running 9 miles before the 8:00am 5k race. After piddling around petting Jameson and feeding him powdered donuts while loading up my fuel belt, my 6:00am start time turned into 6:25! Yikes! So I wasted no additional time and pounded out 8 miles before meeting Greg at 7:45am for the hand off of Bridget in the jogging stroller. My little doodlebug is a whopping 45 pounds, add in the 15 pounds for the jogging stroller, and I was toast! Even though I had already ran 8 miles, I was happy to be running 11-minute miles while pushing B. Good run, great company, and the best tasting banana granola pancake post-race!

Running and Biking

What a great week so far! I completed an 11-mile long run on Monday. Should have knocked it out over the weekend, but too many Memorial Day activities prevented a Saturday or Sunday run. No worries - Monday worked just fine. Rest day Tuesday, then a hot, humid 3-miler during lunch on Thursday. Hello Summer - did we even see Mr. Spring this year? Wednesday and Friday brought some great cycling weather and I took advantage of it by biking to work. As I was carrying Violet (my bike) up the stairs at work, I actually had someone ask me if I rode that into work? The smart ass in me just wanted to reply, "No, it's Show & Tell week. Today we're on the letter B for bike!" The Metroparks is so zen in the morning. By the time I reached my office, I was in the best frame of mind. Beautiful, tranquil, and I could hear so much - the water rushing, squirrels dashing around the leaves and trees, and just enjoy the silence as well.

Sunday brings another long run of hopefully 12 miles. This training for a June half marathon certainly caught me off guard. I thought I had more time. Is it just me or do the weekends tick away far too fast anymore?! I have a 5k Girls with Sole race in the morning in which I'll be pushing Bridget in the jogging stroller. Doing so serves two purposes - it eliminates the hopes of a PR (what a relief there!) and it gives me quality time chatting with my 4-year-old while running. I'm going to try to complete most of my long run BEFORE the 5k (and before the spike in temps), then muddle through the race with kid in tow. With any luck, total running miles should equal 12 tomorrow. Pancakes smothered in syrup are going to taste soooooo good afterwards!

Oh, and let's not forget, I'll be celebrating my 7th anniversary with my better half! Can't wait till he sees the cool anniversary gift I have in store!

Have a wonderful weekend running, biking, swimming or just being still!

A Fun Run

And yes, running can be fun. Tonight, after an exhausting and mind-draining day of work, I dashed through my door, changed my clothes, and went for a run. I asked my 3-year-old if she'd like to come along in the jogging stroller. While I got dressed, she loaded up the stroller, got her a glass of juice, filled up my water bottle and waited for me at the front door. This has never happened. Together we knocked out a 6-mile run and it was fun. I felt good. She enjoyed herself. And a good run was accomplished (with a little strength training pushing a 40-pounder in a stroller up the hill at Sweetwater).

A 4-Miler, Trip to Mitchell's & Lots of Smiles

The picture says everything :)

3 Things About Jogging Strollers

Doodlebug joined me on a short 3-miler Friday after work since the sun was still shining and the weather was still kind enough that a coat wasn't necessary. So off we went in the jogging stroller. I bribed B that if she was good, then we would stop at Mitchell's (yes, I am THAT parent). So here's what I quickly learned about our jogging stroller:

1. In spite of large, off-road tires, snow is still tough to navigate through.

2. Children grow, which is normally a wonderful thing. Unless it results in me pushing an additional 10 pounds up Sweetwater Landing Hill. This counts as strength training, right?!

3. I love this new-found time with my little one - I love that I can squeeze in an after work run and still call it quality time with my little one.