As much as I love running with the kids, I had been yearning for a day off from the stroller. It's heavy, it's slow, my back and arms were sore (stroller running really is a full body workout, especially triple stroller running) and I just needed some alone time. It would have to wait. We spent the morning having fun at a 2-year-old birthday party. It was fun, it was perfect, the mom did an amazing job cooking and crafting and prepping all sorts of creative activities for the little ones. But, when you already feel the itch for a break from kids, being around 20-30 additional kids does not exactly scratch that itch. What I needed was a run. Driving home from the party, I told the girls we were going to "Get home and hop straight into the stroller for a fun run!" They complained a bit at first, as they often do, though once in there they love it.
Then Cesia fell asleep, in the car. Ugh, she had been up since 5am and she needed a nap so I hated to wake her. As much as she needed sleep, I needed a run. What to do? Man, if Alan were home, on a Saturday, as he should be, I could have just left her at home asleep in the car with him as babysitter, I began to think. Frustration was filling my head and patience was dissipating from my body. Adara was annoying me for no good reason and Isaac was getting into everything - climbing into the dishwasher, spilling Snowball (our cat's) water, pulling out every single plastic plate and cup from the drawer, tossing a stainless steel mug repeatedly onto the ground, clinging and clinking and climbing up my legs as I tried to wash a single dish, and slipping and whining and.. I needed to get out of here.
An hour had passed, Cesia was still slumbering away in her carseat when I loaded Adara and Isaac into the triple. Next I attempted to transfer a sleeping Cesia to her seat in the mother-load stroller. Of course the transfer did not go smoothly. She woke up instantly, groggy, crabby and seconds later was screaming. Yelping about everything and anything. Now what was I going to do, run down the streets pushing 130+ lbs of weight uphill with a shrieking child? What fun! And on a Saturday of all days, when I was supposed to get in a solo run. I considered calling up a friend and begging her to Please watch my two girls, one of whom was screaming her brains out, for an hour while I ran alone with Isaac. I could handle running with one kid, surely, but three on a day like this.. I was not so sure. I picked up my phone and then changed my mind. We had the triple for this very reason, for days like this, and so we were off. Maybe we would turn around in 5 minutes and call it a day. Who knew?
Thankfully, Adara had grabbed two chocolate coins on her way out the door and one of these was handed to Cesia as a peace offering. She accepted, ate, quieted down and 5 minutes up the road was passed out again! Alleluiah! The girl really was tired and slept for the next 2 hours. God had heard my prayer this Saturday afternoon and blessed me with a day-changing, marriage-saving, inspiring, meditative 90 minute long run.
For 90 minutes I sang an ode to the triple stroller.. in my head. I was breathing too heavily from the 130 lbs I was pushing up hill to actually sing out loud, to your favor, neighbors. Stroller running surprises and amazes me. Four years ago I dreaded every single run with a stroller. I couldn't find the right stride, my arms ached, my back burned, it was so different from running alone. Why would anyone run with a stroller? I would surely rather wake an extra hour earlier and get out there alone. Months passed and I got used to the single, a little bit. I now realize that you get what you pay for when it comes to running strollers. We paid $99 for a jogging stroller found at Costco. It did the job, but not well. It has since been sent to the trash. Then I got pregnant with Cesia. Enter the Chariot double trailer with jogging kit attachment. This baby got me into shape and fast. More than that, it made me love stroller running.
Running with my two girls every afternoon became our thing, an activity, something to get us through those long afternoons and a means of napping for both girls as Adara refused to nap in bed any longer. Miles of road and trails covered with my girls and life-long memories made along the way. The double stroller became my refuge.
I absolutely love being a stay at home mother, but there is no use in denying the long lonely afternoons that can creep up. Motherhood is hard, especially before your kids are verbal enough to hold a conversation. You spend 12 hours with these beautiful, but needy beings who can't even talk back to you. You hear your own voice all day explaining and pointing out things and teaching the world to them. You get little back in return. As intriguing as child development can be, the first two years can be mind-numbing for a stay at home parent. I was used to constant stimulation academically, mentally and physically. Just 2 months before Cesia's birth I was finishing my Master's Degree in Integrative Physiology from UCLA and working in a Neuroscience research lab there. My brain was being challenged on an hourly basis. Now I was home with at least one child in my arms at any (every!) given second, changing diapers, wiping bottoms, cooking, cleaning and serving as full time slave to my 19 month old and newborn daughters. Running was my escape.
I know many mothers -- especially new mothers -- are in the same boat. We are crazy busy, but bored. We miss intellectual stimulation and physical challenges. We want to be there with our children every second to raise them to be well-adapted, attached beings yet we need some alone time. We don't want to pay for a babysitter or go to a gym with daycare where our children will simply be plopped in front of a TV screen and handed dirty plastic toys while we sweat away. The running stroller can save you. I know it sounds dramatic, but it can. I am a firm believer that the most important thing you can give your kids is your time. All they need is your time, attention and love. These three things are far more important than the latest toy or outfit. They just want to be with you. When I am running with them, rather than dropping them off with a sitter or neighbor, I am sharing my life and passion with them. They see that and feel that.
As much as I love running with my kids, sometimes I do dread it, like I did last Saturday. You will dread it some days. You will look for other outlets and consider other options like hiring a babysitter, or dropping your kids off at a neighbor's house. Sometimes those are good options. But you will also surprise yourself, like I did this past Saturday. Stroller running will surprise you by how peaceful and soothing it is to run with your kids and watch them sleep (Isaac and Cesia both slept for 90 minutes) and listen to them talk (Adara sat there chatting away in her own world) and play "I-spy" and "Find the letter __" and all the little games we employ while out there in the world together.
You will also inspire others. And turn heads. Not a single run goes by that I do not get at least one cheer or honk or comment on "My three kids!" or "You're tough!" We are tough. We are mothers. We are runners. I guess there aren't that many triple stroller runners out there. I rarely meet other running mothers and I think it's largely because people are intimidated. There are hundreds of thousands of runners out there, yet few mothers who run with their kids. As a new mother I think this can be the most beneficial time in your life to be running. I'd love to do something to get more mothers out there running with their babies, believing in themselves and feeling better about themselves. Any suggestions? It's something that is always on my mind..
I debated for months whether to get a triple stroller. My main concern was whether I could actually run with it. I didn't want it just for walking. I don't like to walk. For me, it's slow, it's boring, I like to run and feel the wind in my hair and sweat on my face. I like a good challenge. I read every review I could find on the internet for every triple stroller I could find. Most were disheartening. Most said they were simply too heavy, too wide, too big. Many people were selling theirs for these same reasons. Then I found Dorothy Beal at mile-posts.com. She ran with a triple stroller and ran fast. As of last week she has run 26 marathons and she wasn't born a runner. She was overweight, depressed and needing something when her mother convinced her to try running with her. Her story is incredible. I don't know Dorothy, but her writing was enough to inspire me to run fast with a triple stroller, too. My good friend Jean convinced me, too. "Yeah, you may not be able to run as fast with a triple stroller, but I know you can run with it." She believed in me. Sometimes you just need that little push, that one person who believes in you.
Let me be the one to tell you that it is not too heavy, too big or too wide to run with. If you want to run with a stroller -- whether it be single, double or triple -- you can do it. If you want to run with your child, explore nature, spend the afternoon outdoors doing something for yourself but not alone, you can do it. The running stroller -- I will not call it jogging stroller because it's more than that -- is made to run with and you can do it. Is it going to be easy? No. Are there going to be days you curse it and wish you could just get out there alone? Yes. But will you enjoy it? Yes. If you are new to stroller running, it will take getting used to, but it is so worth it. I am not a material person, but I can't imagine our lives without this stroller.
Saturday was a crabby, whiny, rough day where I needed a break. I pushed 3 kids up and around our hills for 90 minutes and was transformed. Every run with the stroller is like that. You come back feeling empowered, invincible, hungry for more and thankful that you are fit and healthy and can spend these moments with your child. And one day, they will thank you for it, too. Saturday afternoon we finished up our run and came inside to make hot cacao since it was 51 degrees outside -- which corresponds to "freezing" on LA thermometers. "This is the best day EVER, Mama. Thank you!" came out of my 4 year old Adara's mouth. Long run + warm creamy chocolatey (almond) milk = best day ever. I agree.
Even our mailman gave me a hug when he pulled up later that afternoon to deliver our daily ads. "I saw you running up Rosario (our steepest local hill) with that stroller and wow, I was very impressed. You are amazing." Kind words can go far.
Oh, and Sunday afternoon I got my solo run. And you know what? It was boring, nothing to write home about, definitely not life-changing. The running stroller is where it's at.
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| Best day ever! At the end of our 90 minute family run. |
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