This guest post is part 2 to Renee's orginial "newbie runner" post. I love that she wanted to share her progress and changing opinions about running with you! It's all a process! Check out Part 1 HERE. I've loved watching her progress and reading her stories on Instagram as she trains for her #StrollerStrongVirtualRun in Coronado, CA!
New to Stroller Jogging? New to Jogging? Yeah me too!
Read Renee's first post about starting her running journey here!
Ok, I’m starting to get it. I’m starting to understand why people would voluntarily jog for longer distances than couch to potty, (because, “I need to go pee-pee” shyly said by your two-year old would make anyone run to the potty). I’m starting to enjoy my morning runs. I’ve even gotten out of bed early and gone jogging alone, GASP!
Here’s why my mood towards running has shifted a bit.
First, and most important I’ve stopped worrying about “what this looks like” to other people. I’ve stopped caring how my loud breathing startles the person I’m overtaking on the path. Or if they can also hear my arm chub slap my over bra chub as I lumber by. I’ve stopped worrying about what I look like, or if the tourists sitting at the bar think “she doesn’t look like a runner, she looks like she’s dying,” as they sip their margaritas and snack on chips. Those, for me were the BIGGEST hurtles. Bigger than the physical hurtle of actually running. Bigger than finding the time for running. Bigger than being sore. I was more worried about how people I don’t know, and will never speak to, felt about how I looked running. Pathetic, I know.
Second, I’ve become addicted to achieving my goals on my smart watch. Yup, you read that right. My fitness tracker watch is actually helping me become fit. There is a slide that shows the recommended number of minutes of cardio a week, 150 Minutes, and damn if I don’t enjoy actually hitting that goal!
Thirdly, TIME, it’s so much faster to jog four miles than to walk four miles. Obviously that’s true. But think about this. You get a better workout, you knock the minutes off your fitness watch counter, AND you get it freaking over with! What’s not to love?!? In the time it takes to watch 2 episodes of Super Why, you could be done with your cardio for the day! That’s not so bad. Shockingly you may find you enjoy the time.
Yes, it’s not that simple, as just saying “I’m going to be a runner now” and start running marathons and looking awesome doing it. It takes dedication and practice. There is nothing you do, that you haven’t practiced to do. Stroller running is no different. It takes balance to learn how to push the stroller and jog behind it without tripping. It takes effort to keep at it when you don’t want to. It takes good strong will to go when you’d rather eat 2 more handfuls of chocolate chips, (plus you can do that when you’re done running). It takes planning to get your kids in the stroller and make them stay there happily till you’ve had your fill. It takes the support of a community to help you when you feel like you suck. It takes patience, being patient with your body, and abilities, and scraping dog shat of your shoes. (Really people, it’s the worst) Lastly it takes courage to go out and run, especially when you’re worried about how you look doing it.
So in the immortal words of Queen Elsa, “Let it go!”
Read Renee's first post about starting her running journey here!
Ok, I’m starting to get it. I’m starting to understand why people would voluntarily jog for longer distances than couch to potty, (because, “I need to go pee-pee” shyly said by your two-year old would make anyone run to the potty). I’m starting to enjoy my morning runs. I’ve even gotten out of bed early and gone jogging alone, GASP!
Here’s why my mood towards running has shifted a bit.
First, and most important I’ve stopped worrying about “what this looks like” to other people. I’ve stopped caring how my loud breathing startles the person I’m overtaking on the path. Or if they can also hear my arm chub slap my over bra chub as I lumber by. I’ve stopped worrying about what I look like, or if the tourists sitting at the bar think “she doesn’t look like a runner, she looks like she’s dying,” as they sip their margaritas and snack on chips. Those, for me were the BIGGEST hurtles. Bigger than the physical hurtle of actually running. Bigger than finding the time for running. Bigger than being sore. I was more worried about how people I don’t know, and will never speak to, felt about how I looked running. Pathetic, I know.
Second, I’ve become addicted to achieving my goals on my smart watch. Yup, you read that right. My fitness tracker watch is actually helping me become fit. There is a slide that shows the recommended number of minutes of cardio a week, 150 Minutes, and damn if I don’t enjoy actually hitting that goal!
Thirdly, TIME, it’s so much faster to jog four miles than to walk four miles. Obviously that’s true. But think about this. You get a better workout, you knock the minutes off your fitness watch counter, AND you get it freaking over with! What’s not to love?!? In the time it takes to watch 2 episodes of Super Why, you could be done with your cardio for the day! That’s not so bad. Shockingly you may find you enjoy the time.
Yes, it’s not that simple, as just saying “I’m going to be a runner now” and start running marathons and looking awesome doing it. It takes dedication and practice. There is nothing you do, that you haven’t practiced to do. Stroller running is no different. It takes balance to learn how to push the stroller and jog behind it without tripping. It takes effort to keep at it when you don’t want to. It takes good strong will to go when you’d rather eat 2 more handfuls of chocolate chips, (plus you can do that when you’re done running). It takes planning to get your kids in the stroller and make them stay there happily till you’ve had your fill. It takes the support of a community to help you when you feel like you suck. It takes patience, being patient with your body, and abilities, and scraping dog shat of your shoes. (Really people, it’s the worst) Lastly it takes courage to go out and run, especially when you’re worried about how you look doing it.
So in the immortal words of Queen Elsa, “Let it go!”
Thanks again Renee, for sharing your running journey with us!
This guest post is a part of our #StrollerStrong month here on i am STRONG like MOM. Check out all of the blogs here and follow #StrollerStrongVirtualRun on Instagram to see our stroller strong mamas do their thing!
This guest post is a part of our #StrollerStrong month here on i am STRONG like MOM. Check out all of the blogs here and follow #StrollerStrongVirtualRun on Instagram to see our stroller strong mamas do their thing!
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