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Had a pretty cool experience today -running with my daughter! One of the gifts we received was a jogging stroller as my mom knew that Mandi would want to get back into running as soon as possible. Little did we know, that not only would it be something that I would enjoy, but something that I could use so soon.
As many of you know I have been rehabbing my foot for quite some time now and have not been able to run. It's been months now that I've been backing off any exercise that requires the pounding of my feet and strangely enough, I actually missed running. I would expect somebody who loves to run to feel those emotions, but coming from a guy who absolutely loathes running, I was surprised that I missed it. Fortunately while rehabbing my foot (this consisted of different stretches, ice, heat, rest etc.) I did discover a great way to get my cardio in, as I've also talked about on this blog, and that is spin class! Spin class is 45 min. of pure torture but it gets my heart rate going and keeps my lungs expanded for almost the entire time. I'm so thankful that I discovered that class.
Sorry, I'm getting off track.
Anyway, during the last couple of weeks I have been attempting to slowly get back into running. I'll go for a short run here or a quick sprint there, either on the treadmill or outside, in attempt to slowly work my way back into running shape. I've also been trying to pay attention to my body to make sure I'm not pushing it more than I should be. The last thing I want to do while getting back into this is re-injuring my foot. I was planning on going for a run today and when I mentioned this to Mandi she suggested that we run together with Mckenna in tow. I had first balked at the idea knowing that Mandi generally leaves me in the dust, but just as quick as I balked, she reminded me that she is also getting back into running shape. So off we went!
I insisted on running with the jogging stroller because I really felt like it was something that could come in handy as my legs started to tire. I pictured myself casually “leaning” on the stroller for a little bit of extra support towards the end of my run. Let me tell you, not only did I lean on the stroller a bit towards the end, but I also leaned on it a bit throughout the entire run. It provided some much needed support and I really feel like I ran faster than normal. I'm not sure if this is the case or not but sometimes the feeling of running faster is just as good as actually running faster :)
The last thing that running with the stroller provided was some good old-fashioned motivation. When I set out to run, in my mind, I didn't see us running as far as we did. That was the awesome thing about having Mckenna with us. Every time that I wanted to slow down or stop I just looked down and saw her staring back at me...well, she was asleep, but you know what I mean. Let's be serious, if I can't be motivated by that, I might as well pack it in.
I can tell you this, I won't be packing it in anytime soon!!
