OFFICIAL FINISH TIME: 31:44

PLACE: 249/630

Running was the EASY part….

Last Saturday, 3.9.2013, was a chilly morning and I knew I would need to bundle my little munchkins up. My race prep started Friday night at 8:00 p.m. First thing I had to figure out was how to get the double jogging stroller into the GTO coupe. It did not fit in the trunk and I couldn’t put it in the backseat since I had two little girls back there. I ended up taking all 4 wheels off and somehow managed to get it to fit in the front passenger seat. Once I got my girls to bed, I continued getting our race gear together – included my racing gear layers, belt, iShuffle (charged), outfits for the girls, mittens and beanies for the girls, extra blankets, stocked diaper bag, juice cups, and snacks. I called it a night about 11:00 p.m. and still wasn’t sure if I had everything together.

RACE DAY… my morning started just before 5:00 a.m. Got up, showered, put together my post-race Costco shopping list (sounded like a great idea at the time) and threw all remaining gear in the trunk of the car. In hopes of getting to the race location by 7:45 a.m., for the 8:30 a.m. start, I knew I needed to leave the house by 7:10 a.m….. at the latest. Normally parking is not much a concern, but when you have to situate a double jogging stroller, two little girls who might be cold, and little bitty bladders, parking suddenly becomes more important than you can imagine, especially when you have 2 yr old that thinks she is supposed to wander off every time she gets out of the car.

I woke my girls up at 6:30 a.m. and through fussiness, sleepiness, and whininess, I got both girls ready and had a tasty Honeybun waiting for them in the car (my incentive to get them into the car, sometimes motivation comes from unlikely places). We managed to hit the road by 7:15 a.m. No worries, this momma could make up the time in the GTO. As they enjoyed their Honeybuns, I ate my banana and drank my Herbalife24 Prepare to get me ready for the race. We managed to make it to the race location at 7:50 a.m. and got a great parking spot in the main parking lot. I was beyond thankful. Another MRTT Tally member had picked up my race packet the day before and I ended up parking about 100 feet away from her, lucky me. She gave me my race packet and back to the car my girls and I went to get ready for the race. Next was the fun step of getting the girls set up for comfort; which involved getting the stroller out, attaching the wheels, getting the girls in the stroller and situated with blankets, juice, and snacks. Then, it was off to find a potty for my little preschooler bladder. Oh, the joy of pre-race women’s bathroom lines. I know I need to say no more here.

As 8:30 a.m. approached, we made our way over to the start and took a spot in the back with all the other strollers. There were about 15 strollers in the back and I was glad to have company. Having run 7 miles the morning before, I was not too sure how my legs were going to hold up over 3.1 miles of a very hilly course while pushing two kids. The gun went off at 8:30 and I found myself trying to weave in and out and between people for the first quarter-mile, which is very difficult to do with a giant stroller in front of you. Once we got on the main road, I got behind another stroller pusher on the far left, just outside of the main runners. People warned me about how tough and hilly this course was and I was about to learn how tough it was. Just to give you an idea of what I had to push…. my 4 yr old weighs almost 40 lbs, my 2 yr old is about 25 lbs, and the double jogger weighs 45 lbs by itself… which means I was pushing  close to 110 lbs. I let the stroller coast on the downhill sections and made myself stretch out my stride. I did okay with the first few hills, but the last two hills got the better of me and I ended up having to walk. With so many people on the course, my girls were thoroughly entertained and kept telling me, “go faster momma.” Many times I had to laugh when they told me this because I couldn’t go any faster and once I started laughing I couldn’t breathe.

Once we saw the finish line, I did my best to pick up the pace and push hard for the last .10 miles and we managed to finish in 31:44, putting us in the top half of racers. The first 15 seconds after finishing I thought I was going to throw up (hasn’t happened after a hard run in several years now), but thankfully I did not. I think there may have been 4 stroller pushers that finished in front of us.

I’ve never run longer than a 5k race with a double jogging stroller and I have moments where I consider tackling a 10k with them before they get too big. I’ve often wondered if my girls will remember these races, if riding in the double jogger will inspire them to one day run races themselves, and what goes on in their little heads as they are leaning into the wind as mommy pushes them along.

After the race, I had the joy of loading up two, tired and hungry girls back into the GTO as well as breaking down the stroller and getting it back in the car. We did manage to run to Costco for a few things and got some interesting stares. Guess my running outfit generated a different response when not on the race course. We managed to fit our Costco goodies in all nooks and crannies in the GTO (amazing what that car can actually hold). As we headed home, I looked into the rear view mirror and saw two little munchkins covered in Gogurt and napping just fine. All that cool fresh air wore them out. As I drove home all I could think was that they were resting and getting ready for round 2, while I was just trying to survive the rest of the day.

HAPPY RACING!