jogging stroller pdr
My Saturday mornings usually go something like this: wake up; get MacKenna up, changed, dressed, and fed; go out to the living room and play with MacKenna; wait until MacKenna gets sleepy and put her down for a nap; once M is down for good, go out and run. (Note: I like to let Matt sleep in as much as possible on Saturday because he needs much more sleep than I do, and I love him and it’s just one little thing I can do for him.)
However, now that MacKenna’s a little bit older (because 5 months constitutes old), she doesn’t go down for her morning nap until 9 AM-ish, which is a little too late for me to go get a long run in. In addition to the late nap, Matt had somewhere to be this past Saturday morning and I had a bridal shower to go to later in the day, so I had to get my run in as early as possible. Which meant I either woke Matt up early Saturday morning (which I didn’t want to do) or do my 10 miler pushing MacKenna in the stroller (which I also really didn’t want to do).
I went for a nice power walk with my friend Elena on Friday afternoon. Elena is pushing a woman in a wheelchair (for Team Living Water) for the half marathon in 2 (!) weeks. I asked her how often they switch off pushing the wheelchair. And she told me frankly, they don’t. She pushes the wheelchair the. whole. time. Can we just say, stud?! After she told me that she was pushing a grown woman in a wheelchair 13.1 miles (this is at least the 2nd time she is doing this also), I knew I was strong enough to push MacKenna 10 miles in the jogging stroller.
On Saturday morning, we went through our normal Saturday morning routine, except instead of going to play in the living room, I strapped MacKenna into the stroller and we headed out for a 10 mile run.
Honestly, it wasn’t nearly as terrible as I was expecting. Yes, it was hard, don’t get me wrong, but not nearly as awful as it could have been. I’m still not graceful at the whole jogging stroller thing. I go between running with both hands on the stroller to pushing with just my right hand because my left shoulder starts to hurt. I just can’t seem to find what works for me, but 10 miles helped me figure it out a little more at least! ;)
I had originally thought about doing 5 miles and stopping at home to grab a quick drink, and if I needed to, drop MacKenna off at home and then finish my run without her. But, I was determined. I knew that I was strong enough to do 10 miles pushing the stroller.
I settled into a nice 9-minute mile pace that I was able to keep throughout the entire run. It’s a little slower than the pace I normally push her at, but it was “comfortable” – or as comfortable as you can be pushing a stroller. I did an out and back route, attempting to avoid any major intersections, which is difficult where I live. The going out part was the hardest by far. Just trying to get to the turnaround point was killing me mentally. I was just ready to turn around the whole time, and when I finally got there, it was a relief to finally head back. And once I get to those last 2 miles, I knew I could totally finish strong. Those last 2 miles are the ones I run almost every single day. I know them better than any other route, and they’re by far the easiest 2 miles of any run that I do.
Running with a jogging stroller is hard, no matter what distance you do, but dang. Running 10 miles pushing the stroller felt like I had just finished a 20 mile long run. My body ached all over. My calves were tight, my shoulder were sore, and my stomach was killing me from dehydration and hunger. But, I did it. 10 miles pushing the jogging stroller – my new jogging stroller PDR.
So, how did MacKenna do on her first 10 mile run? She did amazing! She was wide awake until about 1 mile in and then took a nice little nap until the turn around point. The last 5 miles she spent looking around, staring at Mommy, and cooing. She was such a good girl (not that I’m surprised) and I can’t wait to take her out again on another long run next weekend!
Other Stuff
Since we’re talking about running, there is only 2 more weeks until the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon! That means only a few more weeks to help me support Girls on the Run St. Louis by donating at my SoleMates page! Even just a few dollars helps!
Also, Maddie will be in town running the race and we are planning a meet up after the race. If you are interested in attending – whether you’re running or not – email me at klvanhorn [at] gmail [dot] com. I’m still working out details as to where we are going (food of some sort will be involved) and what time after the race. If you have any suggestions as to when, where, etc., please let me know! Again, if you’re in St. Louis, you are more than welcome to come!
I was also wondering if there were any moms in St. Louis who might happen to be interested in doing a stroller bootcamp this summer? We would meet 2 or 3 mornings a week at various parks/trails around the area for 6-8 weeks this summer. I promise it would be extremely affordable and you would definitely get a great workout out of it. Anyone interested?!