The Jogging Stroller

I went out for a run this afternoon for the very first time with my baby boy in a jogging stroller. I have been wanting a jogging stroller for a long time, but as you already know I am cheap and therefore would not shell out the money (which I find so hard to come by) on what I considered to be an exorbitantly expensive stroller. (Price them and you will see what I mean.) However, I have met a number of other moms at my boys' preschool and a couple of them are runners as well. We began discussing our running schedules and how we manage training with our family demands. I mentioned that I have difficulty getting a run some days because I am not ready to trust my oldest with watching the baby yet. One of the moms had a jogging stroller in good condition that she was no longer using and volunteered to sell it to me for fifty dollars! Problem solved!

I planned a fairly easy run of five miles. From the beginning, I had a difficult time figuring out my pacing. I had planned on a warm-up mile at an 11:30 min. pace. I knew I was working hard, but I thought the stroller and the weight of the baby were most likely the reason. I looked down at my watch at 3/4 of a mile to find that I was running on target for a 9:00 min. mile pace! Good grief! So much for a relaxed warm-up. The rest of the run was more of the same. Too fast, then too slow.

I could have gotten really frustrated and would have a month ago. A month ago, I would have been unhappy about not strictly following my training plan. At some point during the last four weeks of training for the half marathon, I have changed my attitude toward my individual runs. I am learning to treat every run as a good run, even if I did not accomplish what I had in mind for the day. I am trying to focus on the positive about every outing and leave the negative behind once I have culled the information needed to improve my performance.

I had fun taking the baby with me and he had a good time, too. I know I got in a good workout regardless of pacing. Best of all, I knew my money was not wasted when I found myself planning the next run with the baby!