I just finished week 4 of my 16 week marathon training plan and this was the first week that I actually got all my mileage in. It was a light week so I had no excuse not to run all 24 miles, and I even ended up doing a few extra. I hope my momentum continues because this week will be more difficult! My long run this coming Saturday is 16 miles and I know that if I don’t get up early to beat the heat I won’t get all the miles in. I’ve learned that if you try to use your baby as an alarm clock and actually want them to wake up when they normally do (at 5:30) they will miraculously sleep until after 6. I have got to get better at waking up early!
I’ve had a few questions about running with a stroller, so I figured I’d talk about that here. We have a BOB Revolution SE and despite being kind of unwieldy when it’s folded up I really like it. This is not our primary stroller and we tend to use it only for running. The front wheel swivels so when you run you lock the wheel forward. Running with Jack tends to add about 30 to 60 seconds to every mile unless hills are involved, and then it’s even more. It’s a tough workout but I don’t think it’s too unnatural. I tend to switch arms often, which helps. I lost the baby weight in about 4 or 5 months from working out, eating healthfully and breastfeeding, but once I started running with Jack in the stroller (at about 6 months) my metabolism went through the roof. It’s such a great calorie burner and it has really firmed up my legs and my arms because it’s also a great resistance workout (especially if you run hills). When Tom and I run together with Jack in the stroller we switch every mile or half mile. Overall, I really like going out on runs with the stroller. Jack loves it too, thankfully. I’ve run 7 miles with it but don’t think I’d go much farther by myself because it’s pretty exhausting.
If you have any running questions or if you’d like to me to discuss any specific running topics please let me know!
