Yesterday,
this happened.
The first of many times that I will head out for a run with all 3 kids on their bikes.
Running with kids has had many, many phases.
We started when the kids were so young.
As they have grown and matured, it has dictated how and when we run.
Our running started with me pushing a double jogger that had a platform on the front. Em would balance on that platform, with Sophie and Myles safe and sound inside the jogger. Oh, the looks we got for this. It really was not safe now that I look back on it. I remember running all out one day, hitting a little bump, breaking the front axle which sent the front down into the ground, with Emma on the platform, and flipping the jogger, end over end. I never let go of the handle and went over the top myself. Upside down jogger, full of 3 kids, and a mom on top of the whole pile. Not pretty, but no injuries. Myles started off as an infant, in his car seat, tucked into the jogger. Eventually, the total weight of all 3 together passed the 100lb weight limit. (maybe before that axle broke??) Anyhow, that took us to.....
Phase #2 - running in the evenings with Brian, so that he could push one jogger with 2 kids, while I pushed the other with one kid....Until Em was around 6 and started to ride a bike. Which led to....
Phase #3- One kid on a bike, and two in a jogger. I was back to being able to run during the day with Brian at work...but still preferred to wait until he was home and all of us could run together. Until Sophie was around 6 and started riding her bike.
Phase #4 - Two kids on bikes, one in the jogger. And this is where my "running with kids" has been for the past 3 years. Which is why my summer running cuts back so dramatically. Myles is no small boy, he's tall for his age and it's no easy task to push an almost 7 year old in a jogger....nor does it appeal to me at all, and looks totally ridiculous!! It is one thing to push a smaller kid, but pushing all that weight would bring on aches and pains that really were just not worth it. My past 2 summers have consisted of grabbing runs when I can, and hitting the treadmill at home when I can't get out to run, and spinning on Brian's spin bike when the treadmill became my nemesis, which would happen about a week into summer. On the weekends Brian and I try to get a trail run in, but not consistently by any means. While the kids are not trail ready on their bikes yet (hopefully that'll be phase #6), we have hit the day I have been waiting for, for many, many years......
Phase #5 - All 3 kids on bikes, with a ecstatic mom running behind them!!!
Leaping for joy! Or, just trying to keep up with them.
The goal for now is to get Myles riding well enough to hit the trail. He needs to perfect steering and stopping before I would feel right having him on the trail. There's a lot of other runners, bikers, and walkers, so he needs to learn trail etiquette well enough that I'm confident he'll stay on his side of the trail and not run anyone over. But for now, at least I can head out the door and run!!
Yesterday was a huge, huge day in the land of "I'm a mom with 3 kids who runs".
Here's to enjoying Phase #5!!
For those wondering, we have a Bob double jogger(I think it was called the Safari?), and a Bob Ironman double jogger(the yellow double jogger). Both have been amazing strollers. Both have at least 4000 miles on them and are still in decent shape. They've been off road, on the dirt trails around Diablo, too, and have done great. We've for sure pushed the limits of what you should do with a stroller, miles wise, terrain wise, and weight capacity wise, and they've held up well.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I got from this is that, wow, you've been at this a while! It's impressive you've managed to stick with it through all the challenges. Congrats on graduating to Phase 5!
ReplyDelete