I can cross that off my list. I stated at the beginning of the month that I’d do a stroller 5K – I’ve run much further than that pushing him, but hey, I wanted it to be part of my run daily/blog daily routine. Last week I was on meds for bronchitis, recovering from a brutal 40-mile trail run I nearly quit after only the first five miles so sick was I, and spent yesterday recovering from a 30 mile biathlon involving 20 miles on big hills on the bike, then dragging same bike 10 more miles with a flat tire only to basically lose my chance to both do my stroller 5K and see my older son run his first race.
So, I put the kids in the SUV and drove to a proper track to finish the business. It was blazing hot. I took to the CALU campus at California, PA track, a bit stiff, and started strolling, yo. It’s always weird to run on one of those springy rubbery tracks. There was a marvelous breeze blowing, so when I slowed against the wind, I was getting buffeted with relief. My baby craned forward in his stroller, arms wrapped around his tray like it was a waveboard, wind blowing his curls back like a spirit mullet. My six-year old cavorted with a soccer ball on the astroturf, but joined me for the first lap of my second mile. I slowed considerably to get him to pace me. When we took the final turn, I tried to pry some speed out of him, but the poor tyke staggered to the finish and collapsed. I picked it back up. On the far side, I looked across the field and saw him still lying prone on the ground. Good. he was supposed to have run a 440 on Saturday. I gave him a chance to leave everything on the field.
On the third mile I was starting to feel warmed up, but the baby was getting agitated, hungry. On the third lap he threw his water bottle on the ground. I took that as my cue to step it up. I took the final lap much faster, my lungs still filled with garbage. If that’s still going on Thursday I’m going back to the doctor, I’ve decided. I want my speed back, my lungs. I finished my 5K, adjusted the baby stroller seat, checked the baby, did a cool-down lap to retrieve the sippy bottle, and checked my other son. His face was beat red and he looked dazed. We went to an air conditioned bathroom so I could slather him with cold water from a sink.
I hope to get a goodly hour of running in this evening after dinner, rise early tomorrow for a fast four miles. I hope I can flip my schedule for the summer. I prefer to run in the early early when it’s much cooler so I can push harder. I’m planning a monster run again on Friday, something ghastly. I need some alt sprints to get steeled up.
Fifty State Banana 