So I was pretty pleased to have found a really great jogging stroller on sale second hand on one of my social media running groups. The dad who sold it to me even delivered it to me since he didn’t want me to have the hassle when I was pregnant and ensured I understood how it all worked. Gotta love the running community: it’s full of such friendly people. I pounced on the good deal but knew it would be a long while before it would get any use. So it sat in the corner of our condo dismantled for months as I waited to have a baby who was old enough for it. I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable using it until at least 6 months of age and not before baby could sit up unassisted.
When we finally reached those milestones, I was out with an injury. Upon my return to running, I wanted to return to running on my own before going out with a stroller. My daughter was about 8 months old when we finally got the stroller out of storage and were ready to hit the road. Now I needed to know that she’d like the thing, and all this waiting was worthwhile. So I first took her for a walk to our local bike shop to get the hand brake adjusted and air put in the tires, and she screamed her head off as I strapped her in. Thankfully once we got moving and out the door, she was fine and clearly enjoyed her new ride. It just took a little getting used to. Yes!
Now we run at least twice a week using the stroller and I am so very happy to report that my daughter loves joining me for workouts. I am so grateful for this because it allows me to have a bit more control over my training schedule as it doesn’t require someone else to watch over her every time I want to hit the road. I can go whenever I have an appropriate opening in my schedule. I also see this as setting a positive example for my daughter on how I prioritize and value an active lifestyle. And over the years, this time together will evolve. I can already imagine running with my daughter riding her bike beside me, and then one day when she's ready, RUNNING with me!
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| All smiles during our workout this morning! |
1) Allow time!
As with all things with a baby, they are predictable in their unpredictability. I assume I will get out the door at least 2 hours after I've woken up in the morning. I have to make sure that both of us are fed and dressed, and that I have all the baby gear available in the stroller basket should something come up along the way. Bottles, diapers, food, toys, soother, hat, sunscreen etc. If I time it well, our workout will lull her to sleep in the stroller and that morning nap has taken care of itself.
I've come to realize though, if I tried to squeeze a workout in on an already busy day, it likely won't work. So even if it's just a quick half hour workout planned in my training schedule, I will only go about it with baby in the stroller if we have the whole morning available. Because I have to ensure she's fed and possibly tired enough to fall asleep on the ride (rather than so tired she'll be cranky), timing has to be right. And I also have to factor time in as when we get home, it might be a while before I can get her settled down enough so I can have a shower and a recovery meal without stress. If I'm lucky, she'll fall asleep near the end of the workout and I can shower and even prepare lunch right when we get home in complete silence. Or it might be like today where she was wide awake and giggling the whole workout but cried and cried when I showered because I left her alone in her crib and she was not yet sleepy. Don't worry, we resumed playtime as soon as possible after! These are all considerations that are new when running with a baby rather than running solo. She's the boss over my time.
2) Keep expectations low.
Pushing a stroller while running is hard work! I expect to go a lot slower as a result. And because of what I described above, I am prepared to have to stop during a workout even if I don't need a break because baby needs a bottle or something else from me. I expect when she's older, I might need to stop a workout to let her play in a playground a little while. The outing is for both of us, not just my own training purposes. So it might not be the longest, fastest, or otherwise most ideal workout. But it is indeed a GOOD workout no matter what and a great way to spend time in the fresh air with my little one. I pay no attention to my pace or elapsed time on a workout when I look at my workout stats because I know that the stroller makes me slower and that I likely made stops along the way that I wouldn't have otherwise. It is not an accurate gauge of my fitness. I only look at the distance we covered.
3) Run without a stroller at least once a week.
I have noticed that since I have been running with the stroller most workouts now, whenever I go without, running seems so much easier, and so I can push myself harder. It's great for my confidence indeed, but I also realize that running with a stroller and also without a stroller, doing both of these things is making me stronger. Running without the stroller is a good gauge of where my fitness actually is. Without the added weight to push or unplanned stops along the way, it's on these workouts where I pay attention to all my stats. Ensuring I do this at least once a week allows me to see the progress I am making and to adjust my goals along the way. Also, with a stroller, your gait is different than without, so it's good to mix things up so ensure that you're getting the balance your body needs. I have generally been doing shorter workouts with the stroller and saving long workouts for when my husband is home to take care of the baby so I can go out alone. But that's not always the case as we're planning on doing a long one this weekend with the stroller.
4) Pay attention to your gait.
No question, your gait is different when you run with a stroller. I am very conscious of this as I want to be as balanced as possible and avoid injury. I want to ensure that running is still as natural as possible despite pushing weight ahead of me. I have a tether attached to the stroller which I wrap around one wrist and I alternate between pushing the stroller with two hands or with one. When using two hands, I tend to have to lean forward a bit more than normal, whereas using only one hand allows me to straighten out a bit and run closer to the way I would without a stroller. I use two hands when we are going uphill, when we are needed to slow down or stop, or when there are turns that require steering (rather than natural curves to the road). I use one hand only when I have some good momentum going, knowing that the other hand is still holding on using the tether. And I alternate which hand I use on the stroller vs. off the stroller so I'm not over-swinging one side of my body. Again, trying to achieve balance as best as possible.
5) Pick your running route carefully.
One of the things I love about running is the ability to do it anywhere. You can literally step out of your front door and go. With a running stroller, it's not so simple. Sure you could run along your neighbourhood sidewalks, but I don't particularly like this approach. It's not so much about all the ups and downs of the curb, as my jogging stroller has good suspension, but it's because of the narrowness of the paths and having to share with other pedestrians that aren't expecting us to be coming along at some speed and requiring space to get by. It's also things like untrimmed hedges, sidewalks that end, hidden driveways, drivers that aren't paying well enough attention, and so on. So I've been mostly using the paved green-way near home. I can access the green-way by walking a couple blocks and then going down a steep ramp, so our workout starts after a little 10 minute warm-up walk. We've also run on our local track. Or I pull the wheels off the stroller, throw it in the car, and we pick a paved path elsewhere to run like the miles of seawall available to run in Vancouver. The benefits of this approach is that there is width to the path we run so we can easily and safely pass other pedestrians, and we're likely needing to get on and off a curb or stop for traffic a lot less often. Less stopping means better momentum for a smoother, faster, and overall more enjoyable ride for both parent and babe.
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| Post-workout selfie (and bottle) with baby after our first track workout together. |
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