Napping and running collide

Lately my 3 y/o daughter has been asking to go with me on a run in the BOB jog stroller. With my weekend training runs it just hasn't worked out lately. Now that I'm tapering there was no reason not to take her up on it. We set out with the rain cover over the stroller just in case the clouds opened up on the run. I dressed for rain and she had her jacket and stuffed dog "Little Genevieve." I planned to run an out and back route toward the freeway and then stop at a local small market for some goodies (one of her conditions). I was thinking that we'd get about 10 - 11 miles out of it. About a mile and a half into the run she stopped talking to me and wasn't responding to anything I said. I slowed down and peeked in to see her conked out.

I kept going past my turn-around point and ran past the cows that she likes to look at when we pass them in the car. I figured I'd just go a little further as if I were going toward Cromwell and then cut back at the first shortcut. No reason to wake her up if we get to the store early. It ended up being a little farther than I thought it was but she kept sleeping so I kept going. I stopped to take a picture mid-run:

She and the dog were both in dreamland and I kept running. She woke up about 30 minutes later as I was heading back toward home and we picked up the conversation right were it left off. She comments on whatever she sees (birds, cyclists, big trucks, trees... ) and asks me question after question.  We came back to 40th ave and down the long descent. I started to feel sluggish and tired from pushing an extra 60lbs (her plus the BOB) for the last 8 miles. I took a gel and that lifted my spirits a bit. The intermittent sprinkling rain had gotten a little more serious at this point which didn't bother either of us really. She was dry and I was just happy to be out running.

We came back near the house and then peeled off to the right toward the market. The only downside about running with the jog stroller is the lack of decent shoulders to run on. I typically run with the flow of traffic and pull off the road and into the nearest driveway when a car is coming up behind  me. Drivers around here are really nice and give a wide birth if traffic permits which is great. We got out to the store which was at the 12.5 mile point and a bit longer than we'd planned to be out. We went in and picked up Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and Chocolate milk to share and a Gatorade for me. We stood under cover and enjoyed our treat before packing up and heading for home.

I was a little stiff after the 15 min. stop and the rain had picked up. My running pants were getting heavier and starting to sag. I did my best to pick up the pace but there's only so much I can do with the stroller and traffic. Instead of taking the roads all the way back I turned off to run down the tunnel trail and give my Cascadias a test than. The trail was only muddy in a few places so it wasn't hard to navigate with the BOB. The shoes felt good and had a little bit of extra grip that was nice on the dirt. The trail led out to a private road that heads straight back home. We had both enjoyed the rain enough for one day and were ready to go warm up inside. About 9 minutes later, that's what we did. Me soaked and her dry.


Time: 2:22:31
Dist: 15.35
Avg: 9:17/mi
Alt: 5004 (yeah, right. Maybe half that)


It's fun to run with her. It's not like running with Chris or Mike where we get into good conversations about sports or technology. It's funny answering her questions about what she sees and laughing at some of the goofy things she comes up with.