Since I only had two kiddos for most of the day (can you believe he goes to kindergarten from 9:05am until 3:51pm? For kindergarten!) I decided to celebrate the gorgeous day and take baby Charlie, 6 months old today (awwww) out for a run. Elliot, my 3 year old, was all for it, and really, he's great to run with. He chatters happily, pretends to count my laps, says encouraging things like "Go mommy!", and narrates everything he sees, ie: "Look mommy! That girl running! That boy walk! He no run, he walk!" It's all said with a super cute lisp, and with great excitement. Charlie, unfortunately, has not yet found the jogging stroller love. Still, they were both good sports while I loaded them into the double jogger, waited patiently while I tracked down the bicycle pump and inflated the tires, and even smiled and giggled happily all the way up to the reservoir. Of course, once we passed those fabulous art deco statues at the entrance to the park, all hell broke loose. Charlie began with a bit of whining, but quickly escalated to a full on wail. I tried to calm him down, but then decided to just give it the old college try and see what happened. What he's done in the past is calmed down once he found his thumb, since I knew he was tired, so we gave it a shot.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating. I hate being "that woman" with the screaming baby in the jogging stroller. Before I had children, I used to wonder who these people were who would run with a screaming child in the stroller. And now I know, they're moms and dads just like me, who are desperate to run on a beautiful day and have a good feeling that their child will, sooner rather than later, calm down and probably go to sleep. I stopped a few times around the upper loop to calm Charlie down, and got some amused comments from sympathetic passers by, but as soon as I'd put him back, he'd just start wailing again. So I ran to finish my lap and headed home, since running was the quickest way. Close to the entrance I checked on him again, stuck my finger in his mouth, and felt not one, but TWO sharp little teeth poking out on the bottom. Miserable mood explained! Poor child, teething sucks. I adjusted the seat and put him back in, and he was happy as a little clam for about two miles. I did one loop around the outer track, which is pretty hilly, and got a couple of "You go, girl!" comments, which are always nice, and even managed a full lap and a bit around the upper track before Charlie got restless again. I heard Elliot say, "I help mommy, I tickle baby!", which I think woke him up, so I just threw in the towel after that and headed for home. Amazingly, I managed to get 4 miles done, and fairly speedy for having the jogging stroller with me. I guess that screaming baby is pretty motivational!
Haakan and I have the Ikea Half Marathon this weekend, so I won't be attempting another jogging stroller run until next week, but hopefully it'll go better the next time. I had been planning my exercise thinking about how to run with just Charlie, but if Elliot's willing to come with me, too, that kind of puts a new spin on things. Haakan and I also checked out the new Urban Active fitness club, which is enormous! It seemed very sci fi with all the tv screens and such, especially after the teeny tiny gym I go to for pilates, but I wasn't impressed with their offerings for yoga and pilates, so I'll probably end up passing, or just getting a winter membership at BodyTech so that I can run on the treadmill and have someone else watch the kiddos. It seems kind of stupid, though, since we HAVE a treadmill, we just don't have a good place to put it, so I can't use it early in the morning, or while Charlie naps, because it wakes him up. Doh! It's like a logic puzzle trying to figure it all out!
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