Gazelle in Training: Pound the Pavement for Peter 5k

Pound the Pavement for Peter 5k was my second stroller race with H. Originally, I was going to be solo parenting this weekend, but Angelina changed up some of her plans so she was able to come out with us. Two of our running mom friends were also running pushing their respective little ones (including one with a double).

I had run the race last year and snagged third overall. The course is tough. The first mile is very downhill, but you spend the rest of the race climbing back up. This is hard enough running normally, but even harder pushing a stroller.

We arrived plenty early. picked up bibs, and found the rest of the crew. The kids played together until it was time to line up. I went out for a warm-up jog sans-stroller, which might have been a mistake because I stepped off a curb awkwardly and rolled my ankle a bit. It's still a little tender, but nothing major. I dusted it off, gave the little guy a snack and we took off.

The first quarter mile was, as expected, chaotic. I got as far forward as I could. Despite pushing a stroller, I still expected to be finishing in the top of the field. I managed to avoid a few near collisions with zig-zagging runners and settled in. The first mile was in the low-7 range, but, given the course, that was expected.

Something I forgot to consider was that kids have a tendency to stop wherever they happen to be whenever they feel like it. Middle of the street. Left side. Right side. All without warning. I had to bounce around a few that stopped in front of me when we got to the first hill.

The guy who would go on to win the stroller division flew by me after the first mile. I made a small effort to stick with him, but it wasn't going to happen.

I spent much of the last two miles talking to H to get my mind off the run.

"What color are the trees?" - Green
"What eats the leaves?" - Giraffe
"Are you tall like a giraffe?" - No, I'm small

One of the nearby runners was highly amused.

But around the 2.5 mile mark, disaster struck. Puppy, H's chosen stuffed animal companion, dove off the front of the stroller. Poor Puppy got rolled over by the stroller, but didn't have any lasting damage. I circled back, picked him up, and resumed the worst hill on course.

The final climb on the course actually felt better this year than last. Angelina cheered for me up the hill and we skated in around the 23 minute mark, good enough for second stroller and T-30 overall.

Big take aways:

Stroller running is hard, but isn't as hard as I thought it would be before I started doing it. That said, stroller running on hills is a while new ball game. My quads were on fire after the last hill
H is a little champ. Having little conversations with him at the end of a race is a great distraction.
Other parent support is invaluable at stroller races. I would have been OK without Angelina at the race, if only because the other moms were there. Having her there made everything run very smoothly.

Results: https://runsignup.com/race/results/?raceId=16254#resultSetId-110173