The Double Stroller in Florida!

At Disney!

I'm back after a nearly week-long trip to Cape Canaveral, Florida.  Rick had a work trip there, and I decided to tag along with the kids.  Fun times!  Here are a few things we did:
*
I took the kids on a double stroller run while Rick was at work.  I carried the stroller from our room down to the lobby (I love our Bob, but it doesn't fit through standard door frames so we have to carry it through).  Then, I got the kids their breakfasts and piled the plates and bowls onto their laps in the stroller.  The kids were going to spend the rest of the day running around the beach and swimming at the pool, so they would do fine for a short run.

Then I noticed that the stroller's tires were very low but not quite flat.  I decided I would try to inflate them at a gas station and found one about 15 minutes into my run.  After taking the cap off of one of the tires, it quickly deflated, and no air was coming out of the hose.  That's when I walked around the machine and saw the sign, "Air $1.00."  So I dashed into the store carrying two $1 bills.  The attendant, who must have seen me struggling outside, would only give me $1 change and wasn't very nice about it!  The lady behind me in the line said, "Don't worry, your day will get better."  Having tossed and turned all night and now this, I really did believe it could only get better.  I ran back out to where I had left the kids in the stroller to their cries of "What are you doing, Mommy?" and "Why aren't we going?"

I put the quarters into the machine and heard a loud sound as the air came on.  Knowing I only had $1 and that the attendant wasn't going to give me any more change, I quickly started filling the tires.  I managed to get them all inflated properly and gladly resumed my run.  Nothing like a little adventure to make the run interesting!
*
I went on a beach run the next day alone.  I couldn't get the hang of running in the sand with my shoes on, so I headed back to the road.  I turned it into a little of a tempo run and did one sub-7:00 minute mile with 7 miles total.
*
I went two days without running!  One day, we were at Disney, and we walked all day long (9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.).  The stroller came in handy that day!  The next day, we rode home for another 12 hour day.
*
It felt great to get my usual 10 miles on Monday even though I left Florida's 70 degree highs for our 30's.

Brrrrr!

July 14-15 Training

Thursday, July 14

Hal called for a 7 mile "marathon pace" run today, and for me that's a 7:27.  I headed out without a Garmin at 8:30 in the hot morning sun for my run.  Oh yeah, and I was pushing the double stroller. 

Needless to say, I did NOT run a 7:27 pace.  But I did run for 70 minutes, was dripping with sweat when I was done (my hands were pruney like I'd been in a swimming pool), and managed to fit in a stop at a nearby playground for my two kids to get some exercise too.

I read a blog about a mom that pushes a triple stroller.  I really admire her because she is brave enough to post her splits when she runs with it.  I don't think I've ever worn a Garmin when I'm running with the double.  It is hard enough to run with 100 pounds of stroller and children!  In case anyone reading this wants a few tips for running with the kids, here is what I thought about today.

• Pack snacks  Mine usually eat their breakfast in the stroller (cereal, Poptarts, granola bars, etc.) or their lunch (cheese cubes or slices, crackers, drink).  If they finish it all, they get dessert.  Here is where you can add in foods that take a long time to eat (gummy bears, ring pops, and--my favorite--candy buttons).  Today I packed my kids' food in reusable bags, with the dessert inside this bag in a ziplock bag.  My kids could easily take their bags to the stroller and strap themselves in. 

Dry cereal breakfast with a gummy bear dessert

• Repeat your route  Others may disagree, but I think doing the same 3-6 mile route with your stroller is just enough, and this way the kids know how much longer they have to sit. 

• Reward them at the end  My favorite thing to do is to "race" my kids for the last block or so as we head home.  I let them upstrap and then "race" me home (of course, I let them win).  This lets them have some fun too! 

Happy faces (and ballet poses!) as we head out for our run

Friday, July 15

I had intended for this to be a 14 mile run since I was adding 2 miles to the 12 miles I had run last week in my long run.  I started the run with my friends, and we did our first mile in 11:02.  The rest of the miles were around a 10:00 pace.  They did 6 miles with me. 

Since I had not gotten a marathon pace run yesterday, I tried to speed up gradually so that my last few miles would be faster.  I was aiming to get a few of them to marathon pace.  I was happy to note that the last few miles ended up feeling great.  I think the speedwork is helping me to feel stronger in the long runs.  This is something I will try to note since it is a new thing for me.  I felt so good that I decided to add 2 more miles to the 14, and I ended up with 16.58 miles.  The last 5.58 were: 8:47, 8:07, 7:56, 7:46, 7:28, and 7:19 (for the .58).  My music died early on, but I think running the miles without distraction was also a good move training-wise.  I liked how focused I felt. 

One week down, 11 more to go!