Short Run Long Post

I woke up at 5:45 am all set to run 11 miles. However, mother nature had a different plan. Thunderstorms. So I went back to bed and had to devise a different plan for today's training. I decided to schedule my long run for this weekend and just do a short run today. But, I wasn't looking forward to the treadmill ( which I refer to as the dreadmill since it's dreadfully boring to run on). My 5 year old son suggested we go for a run together outside since the rain had stopped. We packed up the jogging stroller and dropped baby sister off at school. Then we were off to run the 66 bridge. It's a nice flat easy route, and I figured if I was pushing a 40 pounder in the jogger it would be perfect. We both got out our Ipods and headphones and headed out. I was surprised at how much faster I ran on a 3 mile run, even pushing the stroller. Got a little speedwork in just for fun.I know I'm supposed to just work on base miles and not speed right now, but sometimes it just feels good to go fast.

As far as jogging strollers go, we have two. A Schwinn and a Baby Trend. I usually push my 18 month old in the Baby Trend and it feels like I'm fighting it the entire way. Running with the 5 year old in the Schwinn was way easier, even though he's 20 pounds heavier than his sister. It's like driving around in a clunker with no power steering and suddenly you upgrade to a Caddy with all the bells and whistles. After I completed my short 3 miles, my son wanted to get out and run too. So we ran together for almost 3/4 of a mile. His pace is not bad, about what I ran the Turkey Trot 8 mile last year. I think he's not too far out from running some of the 1 mile fun runs for kids. And once he learns to ride his bike he can ride next to me while I run instead of getting a free ride in the stroller. Then I can see how it feels to push his little lightweight sister in the Schwinn.

I've switched training plans from the Hal Hidgon Half Marathon plan to the Hal Higdon full marathon Novice 2 plan. I'm not 100% sure I'm going to run a full 26.2 mile race, but since I'm already up to 11 miles for my long run, and my 13.1 mile race is still 2 months away, I thought I could switch over and see how far I can go. I may decide that I love running longer distances, or I may decide my true talent lies at 13.1 miles.