Pay Day

Call me crazy, but I decided to attempt my 18 mile long run today while pushing my son in the running stroller...that's about 45 pounds of baby+stroller. I knew it was ambitious, especially considering my week but I just had to get in my long run today no matter what it took.

I timed it such that the bulk of my run would coincide with my son's usual nap time in hopes that he would sleep for most of the run. It was, after all, going to take me 3 hours to complete. He does enjoy riding in his jogger, but perhaps not for 3 solid hours. My plan was to make 4, 4 mile loops in the park, then tack on an extra 2 at the end if I could. I have never run farther than about 5 miles pushing my son...

The first three miles, luckily, were not indicative of the rest of the run. When I first started off, my shin actually felt okay...almost like a memory. I could tell that it had been hurting, but while I was running it was not painful or bothersome. It was sort of like when you get a bruise and it doesn't hurt until you press on it. The surprising thing was that I had a pinching feeling in my right pelvis...the exact same pain I felt when I injured myself training for my last marathon. Great. What in the world had I done?

Happily, the pain in my pelvis subsided and my shin never bothered me. My first two laps seemed like a breeze. I was feeling good and not really struggling with pushing my son. It's true, I was running very slow (a sub 11 pace when I typically run a sub 10 pace...not shocking). He had fallen asleep by the time I started my third lap, 8 down 10 to go. Around mile 10 I started to fade, however. The added strain of running with the jogger was taking its toll. I pushed on. By the time I got back around to the park exit where we live, my husband was waiting to take my son to the playground on his lunch break. I had completed nearly 14 miles. I hammered out another 1.4 and called it a day at 16.2 miles. I was tired, but mostly from pushing the stroller. My legs felt great and never bothered me. Although I wasn't able to complete all 18 miles, I attributed that to the stroller and felt confident that taking the 3 days off had paid off. I am relieved that my marathon training is back on track and I can get right back into next week.