Haven't I been pretty clear that Nathan is the runner in our family? Okay. So then what do you think inspired me to suggest I go running with Nathan and the kids this evening? Yeah, I think I've been desensitized by watching all of the running that Nathan does like it is no big deal and thought that "it wouldn't be that bad"-oh man, if you could hear me right now I am laughing so hard I'm snorting...Nathan often goes running with his super athletic 16 yr old cousin Kim and takes 2 of the kids in the double jogger stroller. Well once the kids got wind that I was thinking about going they were totally begging me to go with and all excited and it must have caused me to have a moment of temporary insanity because I agreed.
Let me just preface this little story by saying that I haven't done any consistent cardio since I was very pregnant with Aly. Aly is now 22 months old. But I guess you got to start somewhere right? Starting off both Kennedy and Kohen wanted to run. This was fine. Totally cute too. Kennedy has the weirdest run, but somehow it totally works for her. And Kohen actually kept our pace for a good 20 seconds before he needed a short break in the stroller. I would just like to point out here that I can totally out run Kohen. So yeah, I'm not a total loser.
We met Kim at the corner and started up a long low grade hill. My lungs felt like the combustion chamber in an engine and with each breath I took in I am wondering how long I could possibly have left to live. I am totally ready to cheese this little 'run' and walk home but the Super-Athlete-Kim and the Amazing-Marathon-Man-Nathan keep encouraging me to push through it. My pride keeps me going through mile 1. Pretty soon the little hill drags out into a serious incline and I start walking but with really fast moving arms to keep up appearances. Kohen -back in the stroller at this point- is totally on to me and starts shouting encouragements like "Keep going mom, Keep going! It doesn't hurt, Mom, keep going!" It was so dang cute, but it was killing me as I was huffing and puffing up that hill like the Big Bad Wolf. I didn't want to let Kohen down so I started to jog when he was watching me and walk when he wasn't. This technique worked very well for when Kim or Nathan would look back to check on me, I got super good at it. Mile 2, I finally convinced them to just go at their regular pace and not wait for me cuz they were doing that like, granny shuffle trying to let me keep up. I don't know why their shuffle was still so much faster than mine. Dang.
So then , Mile 3, I was on my own...cue Chariots of Fire music...Eventually I did make it home. I was able to cut a corner of the entrance to our street and see Kennedy sprinting to our house. She probably did more actual running than I did. I am glad the children have a love of running from their Dad's example. They may have a love of eating junk food from their Mom's example. In fact you are welcome to come over for dessert tonight. I will be serving up Ibuprofen and huge slices of humble pie.
7 comments:
This is so going to be me in a few months, and I am so not looking forward to it.
Your story reminds me of at BYU- you have to climb these massive stairs to get to campus, and when you run into people you know on the way up you try to pretend you aren't breathing hard, but you're about to die.
Lol, I totally remember that! There were many a day when just the thought of hiking up on to campus was enough to keep me in my snuggled up in bed.
Erin you are so dang funny!
I am still laughing and you even told me the story already.
You are just a great writer.
This reminds me of the time we were going 'running' right after Kohen was born. You thought you could run with him in the front pack :) LOL.
Me + Running = disaster. How does your body hold up? (ie. hip, heel?)
My hip hasn't given me any much trouble since last summer but it got very angry with me. My heel felt great while I was running but still doesn't like walking :( I'm a mess. I vaguely remember trying to run with Kohen- I'm a boob! :)
I know I am going to feel the same way the first time I try anything "cardio" once I get the "go ahead" for regular exercise from the doctor. It's nice to know there are others out there who have a hard time finding time to exercise...it's nice to know I have company :). And don't be too hard on yourself. There's something to be said that you finished, even if you walked part of it. It's the same distance either way!
This is so funny, and totally coincidental that I just braved the pavement this week too! We got two jogging strollers and there we were pushing them up the hill-Sean way ahead of course. I too thought I would die, you put that into words so perfectly.
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