Category Archives: Jog stroller runs

Energy Surge! 34 Weeks

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pregnant shadow 33 weeks

34 week pregnant shadow

I’m 34 weeks pregnant! Running and life in general have been wonderful the past few weeks.

Let’s start with running: Ever since the 32 week mark, I’ve had a surge of energy (hello nesting) and my runs have felt easier and lighter (even though I’m getting heavier)!

33 weeks pregnant

Pic from 33 weeks pregnant. Feeling awesome!

I’ve been running 3-4 miles a day, and could go farther but figure that’s plenty. I get lots of exercise running around with Currie all day and there’s no need to go crazy since I have no running goals for the near future! For the most part, temperatures have been in the mid 60s on my runs so I haven’t been overheating and that’s definitely helped me feel better!

Onto life stuff:  Do you know we’ve been traveling around since the end of June when we sold our house in NY? We’ve been to the beach, we lived in Seattle for 3 weeks, we’ve spent time with friends and family in Ohio, and we done lots of house hunting in Pittsburgh!

Right now, we are in a hotel in Pittsburgh since we still don’t own a home. The good news is that we found a house and will be moving in officially on September 3rd. Too bad I haven’t been able to use any of this extra energy on getting our house ready. We will move in just about a month before Baby Boy Bigham is due. Hopefully the energy spike lasts!

Currie and I took a stroller run past our soon-to-be house Monday morning!

I really don’t like to complain about pregnancy because it’s all really wonderful and I feel lucky to have pretty “easy” pregnancies so far. But, in case you were wondering, the downsides of this part of pregnancy are:

  • I feel like I have to pee almost constantly, especially when running.
  • I get winded really easily. Going up stairs is a joke.
  • I have hip/sacrum discomfort if I’m standing too long. (clamshell exercise actually relieves this for me!)
  • I’m uncomfortable when sitting as my belly gets bigger.

Other than that, things are going great! I’m starting to plan post pregnancy running, racing, strength and coaching and sometimes I get so excited I forget how pregnant I really am!

 Is it acceptable to stalk your new house until you move in? I’m headed out to run by it again today!

When did you get a surge of energy (if ever!) during pregnancy?

 

Me + Nuun HTC

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I’ve never run a Hood to Coast relay. I was offered a spot on the Nuun HTC team last summer (2012) but had to sadly decline because we were leaving Seattle that weekend after spending our summer there. In an attempt to catch a glimpse of what I was missing out on, I attended the Nuun HTC meetup at Oiselle Headquarters with Currie, planning to join with the stroller. Little did I know my stroller had the first flat tire ever… from the tiniest thorn the world has ever seen… and I was unable to join on the run. :(

thorn the pierced BOB revolution tire

The tiny thorn that gave me a flat tire in 2012.

Fast forward to this year’s Hood to Coast relay. I was honored to be offered a spot on Nuun’s speedster team, but quickly realized I was pregnant and had to decline again. This year, I was thousands of miles away when all the ladies were meeting up at Oiselle HQ (where they not only joined in a fantastic run but also got some sweet Oiselle apparel!). I went out with my jogging stroller that morning in rural Ohio and I had my second flat tire on the jog stroller ever. EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER. EXACTLY WHEN THE OISELLE + NUUNHTC MEETUP WAS TAKING PLACE!

Is the universe trying to tell me something?! Am I destined to run #nuunHTC next year or else face another flat tire, this time on a double jog stroller?!

Did you run HTC? 

Are you jealous of everyone who ran while you lived through their journey on social media? (That was me!)

The Week of Running

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Well, I guess last weekend was exciting enough to have a very lame week of running.

brueggers bagels race jcc

After a race, I like to give my 31-year-old-self at least 2 days to recover. Since I “raced” Friday and again on Sunday, I knew Monday and Tuesday would definitely be easy days. On Monday, I felt surprisingly good. It was one of those days I wanted to run forever! Those days always seem to coincide with the days I am on the biggest time-crunch of the week. I took what I could get and completed a few glorious miles.

On Tuesday I was reflecting on 9/11/01 and totally zoned out most of my easy paced run. With 3 miles to go, I found myself within 10 feet of a large buck. I kept yelling “go buck”! It was not as much fun as the day I ran into 2 bucks on the trail and yelled “Go Bucks!”, but it did help lighten my mood.

ohio state women's cross country 2001

Go Bucks! A little Ohio State humor for you. Pic taken during cross country 2001. Look, I’m Pippi Longstocking!

Wednesday was supposed to be a workout. I set my alarm for VERY early. My daughter woke up 10 minutes before that so I was on child duty. I decided to do the workout that night when Jeff was home from work. Unfortunately, I ate something that didn’t agree with my stomach so Wednesday turned into another easy run.

Thursday was going to be a workout for sure. I set the alarm early again, and my little lady was up early AGAIN! So, a medium length trail run with the stroller took the place of speed.

running trail pittsford ny

Playtime on the trail post-run.

Currie and I are headed to the beach on Sunday morning so I’m doing my long run on Saturday. I figured today might as well be another easy run then I’ll hit the long run hard with a few quality miles mixed in tomorrow. During my easy miles today, I added 7×100 meter strides on the track. I had to remind my legs they were fast before tomorrow’s run!

What do I do when I am forced to run easy when I planned to do speed? Run with my phone and hope to see something entertaining! Here are a few things I saw.

upside down road sign

Second road sign prank on this corner within the past 6 months.

decorative tree

This tree is along my every day running route. It gets dressed up according to holidays, seasons, etc. Here the tree is sporting the “end of summer” look.

decorated tree

This is the tree back in the spring. It likes to dress-down too. Sometimes, all you need is an umbrella.

That was my week of running! I was trying to find a race for tomorrow (Saturday) before we leave for vacation, but I couldn’t find anything too exciting so I’m sitting this weekend out of the racing scene.

What’s going on in your running world this weekend? Have you ever seen a fancied-up tree?

 

University Race Recap

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I raced pushing the stroller Friday night and had a great time! It was a very low-key, tiny race at the University of Rochester to welcome students to the new school year. Don’t feel bad that I had to race pushing the stroller, feel bad for me because I was organizing my house and walked up and down the stairs to the second level and then attic (carrying boxes) about a million times in the 2 hours leading up the the race.

The course was 2.1 miles in a big loop along the Genesee River. Based on the past 2 years, I had a feeling I could tempo-pace this race and get second. My husband was running and would capture first place, but I was hoping to keep him in sight as long as possible. I lined up in the front, right on the starting line and started out fast. The “fast” was short lived. Within the first 50 meters I almost caused a pile-up as my BOB stroller went haywire on one of the bumps on the bike trail. I was swerving back and forth across the path, blocking anyone who wanted to pass. There were some gasps from the pack and a guy passed me. I could hear   people right behind me. I knew I’d have to go slow on the bumpy parts of the trail.

I can tell you how the whole race went: me going as fast as I could on the flat trail parts, then me going very slow on the bumpy trail parts. It was sort of like a fartlek actually! There were just 2 hills and I thought I could gain some ground on the downhills to make up for the slow parts but no, the downhills made my stroller sound like a car peeling out of a driveway… SCREEEEEECH and it started zig-zagging again so the downhills were not places for making up speed.

CS run university of rochester

Here’s a blurry, far away pic of me. I’m hunched over because I was coming off an uphill. I don’t usually run with both hands on the stroller, but the bumps in the trail (at 6:20 pace) left me no choice!

Around the one mile mark, I passed the guy ahead of me so I was in second place. I saw my first mile split: 6:20. Much faster than I expected considering my stroller troubles. I ended at 13:15 or 6:20-ish pace for 2.1 miles. I was happy with that. After Currie and I crossed the line, I released her from the stroller and she ran 50 meters back on the course, then ran across the finish line with him. Actually, ahead of him! I caught the most classic picture with my iPhone!

CS Run at university of rochester

Currie inched ahead right at the finish line right as Jeff was wiping sweat out of his eyes! What an awesome, unplanned picture!

After the race, we enjoyed a beginning of the school year BBQ which was quite tasty. While we were eating, Currie asked: “Daddy when will I be able to run as fast as you?” Ah, that was heart warming.

So there you have it. I know there were better pictures taken during the race, but I’m not sure when they will be available so I’m going to post this recap without them.

Next up, a 5k this morning where the first place prize is $100 and bagels for a year. I won this race the past 2 years so I’ve had a lot of bagels since we’ve lived in Rochester and I would like to keep this streak going. I pre-gamed last night by eating some of my winnings from last year’s race. Gotta keep my eyes on the prize. (HA!)

How did your racing or long run go this weekend? Have you raced pushing a jogging stroller? 

 

Weekend of Races

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Someone please stop me from racing 3 days in a row this weekend.

There are 3 options for races this weekend and a small part of me wants to do all three. I’ve done it before, but I had a much better base, many more workouts under my belt, and different goals. At this point, racing 3 days in a row is asking for an injury. The races are as follows:

  • 2-ish miler on campus where Jeff works on Friday night. Pushing Currie in stroller.
  • 12k on Saturday which goes towards the local runner of the year series (I won’t have enough races to count toward the Runner of the Year title since we were gone all summer, but it’s fun to do these races).
  • 5k on Sunday to win free bagels for a year. I won this race the past 2 years and have happily devoured the prize. What runner doesn’t love free bagels?

The Friday evening race is a definite. This was going to be my only race until I started looking at the local racing calendar. Then I saw the 12k and thought it would be a good effort to do some miles before and after and make it a fast middle portion long run. Then my friend mentioned the bagel race last night and I looked it up today and saw it falls this weekend as well. I feel like I need to do the bagel run for tradition if nothing else. Plus, they have free childcare during the race so Jeff and I can both race!

With all these things in mind, I think I should forget the Saturday race. I guess that’s where I’m leaning… but something is telling me to do all three…

What would you do? Have you ever raced multiple days in a row? How did it feel?

 

Racing this Weekend + Time to Move Home

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I’m racing this weekend! I couldn’t let 7 weeks in Seattle go by without squeezing in a race, and since we are leaving on Sunday morning, bright and early, I’m racing on Saturday. I’m not sure about the competition or terrain for this race, but I know we’re supporting a great cause and it’s going to be a fun time! If you are in Seattle and not running Hood to Coast this weekend, please consider running this race, the 2012 Run/Walk for Aidan. Read Aidan’s story here.

In other running news, I got my first flat tire on the BOB stroller this morning.

thorn that pierced hole in jogging stroller

This is the incredibly tiny thorn that pierced the tube inside the tire of my jogging stroller. Argh!

It was a HUGE bummer since I was getting ready to go for a run with the NuunHTC ladies! I was able to chat with a few of them and if you think you are missing out by not being a part of this, let me tell you – you are! Awesome group of ladies, wonderful company, loads of fun. I’m so jealous of happy for all of them!

blurry picture of runners

This is the picture Currie took of the Nuun Hood to Coast team while they were at Oiselle HQ. Blurry and no heads or feet!

In non-running life news, we are heading back east this weekend and I’ve been busy preparing our fall schedule.  After dining out for almost every meal this summer, I have to remember how to cook nutritious meals at home. (HA!) We are blessed in Seattle to have numerous healthy restaurant options, including our favorites:

Sunlight Cafe – try the lemon tahini dressing on a side salad and the nutburger. You won’t be disappointed! I also enjoy the yogi tea with soy milk.

Cafe Flora – I always get one of their featured seasonal dishes. You just can’t go wrong with any order at this place!

Revolutions Espresso and Bakery – Ok, I’m not claiming this place is the healthiest, but I can tell you they have the most caffeinated coffee around and Phil and Amanda are the friendliest owner/barista combo ever! Must be all the coffee?

Back to the running. I haven’t done a LONG-ish workout in a LONG time. In the spirit of running with as many friends as possible this week, I decided to join 2 friends for 2×2 miles then 4×400 (fast) plus a long warmup and cooldown. Compared to what I was expecting, the workout flew by thanks to the wonderful company. I’m even a little sore in the abs and quads today. I love to feel the body aches from a successful workout/race – it’s getting me excited for the fall! I don’t have a race schedule planned out right now, but I have a few potential races floating through my mind.

Finally, check out the Oiselle blog today to see me in the Mesh Tank again. Currie made the photo shoot!

Are you racing this weekend? Tell me about it! Have you gotten a flat tire on a bike or jog stroller before an important event? I was quite frustrated that the store didn’t open for 2 more hours and I had to miss the run.

 

A Whole Lot of Randomness

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Random fun things about running lately:

Jog stroller stuff:

I was doing an out-and-back course and really struggling on the slight uphill about 1.5 miles from the finish. A cyclist passed me and said “you are AMAZING!” I certainly didn’t feel amazing but my pace instantly quickened, my spirit lifted and I was happy the remainder of the run.

COWEN PARK SEATTLE

I run this trail almost every day with the jog stroller. Sometimes Currie gets out and runs too!

I was running on that same trail a few days later, feeling like I should have done my run earlier so I didn’t have the stroller, when a group of male college runners passed me. I heard them say “that’s awesome” and “that’s definitely dedication”. I’m 99% sure they were talking about something else going on it their exciting college lives and not my stroller running, but I pretended they were talking about me and it helped me push through.

Like the recent post from my Oiselle teammate Andrea, make sure to give praise to stroller runners (or really any runner you meet on the trail). It can really change someone’s day!

Husband runs too:

Jeff Bigham at Bergen Road Race

Jeff runs! He even pushes the stroller on rare occasions!

Here are a few running conversations I had with my husband on Sunday, mixed in with playground time, random life topics, and talking politics…

Me: So a five-fifty is 87s and 88s, right? Jeff: Yep, 87.5.

Me: Mason dropped it and we did a six forty one to finish up today. Jeff: That’s cool!

Me: How far did you go? Jeff: Hour twenty with some fast ones in there.

If he wasn’t a runner, would he understand my need to randomly bring up workouts of the past, present, and future into our totally unrelated topics of conversation? Would he even know what I was talking about and be able to answer these questions without hesitation? I know most couples have their “things” that keep them in sync and make them feel connected. I’m glad one of ours is running.

Training:

I had a strange day of training today. I ran 2 miles to the zoo, the last mile is a long uphill. I felt good about that effort, and was planning on running longer on the way home. While playing at the zoo, I got a sharp pain behind my shoulder blade that wouldn’t go away. It was bad enough to stop me from running home with the stroller. Later in the day the pain was slightly better and I ran another 3 miles. So, I did 2 runs today, but only got 5 miles total! Funny two-a-day.

sunlight cafe

Post second run silly girl

This is my last week of Seattle running before we head back to the east coast. Going to make it count by running with friends and running quite a few miles (as long as the shoulder blade cooperates!

What randomness has been sprucing up your runs lately?  Any cures for a random behind the shoulder blade pain?

 

Forget Shark Week – It’s Snake Week!

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Two events have happened in the past week that brought pythons to the front of my mind. First, I read that a woman made a very realistic looking python cake for her 6-year-old daughter’s birthday party. Um, no thank you. Unrelated in all ways except in the category of “cake-I-wouldn’t-eat-even-though-I-love-cake” is this picture of the cake my brother-in-law had at his 30th birthday party. Um, definitely no thank you.

poop cake

Brother-in-law’s “poop” cake (I think they use another not-so-nice-term), complete with real toilet paper and fake flies.

Back to the pythons. I was running in the park where I run every day, pushing Currie along in the stroller, when I noticed bright red, orange and yellow signs everywhere. I figured they were warning us of upcoming construction or pesticide use and I ran right past. On the way back through I decided to stop and see what the sign said.

cowen park python sign

Oh, a 7ft python escaped? Hmm, how does that happen exactly? Wikipedia tells me that attacks on humans are rare. I guess we will continue running there for our last 1.5 weeks in Seattle! Afterall, there is a heat wave coming through and this park is a great place to find shade!

pretending to be scared of cowen park python

After reading the python signs, I did what every parent would do. I stopped and took of picture of me and Currie looking scared. I look more happy and weird and she looks peaceful. Oh well.

So while most of you have been enjoying Shark Week, I’m enjoying snake week.

Would you eat that python cake? Would you keep running through a park if you knew a python recently escaped? What’s the strangest animal you’ve encountered on a run?

 

 

The Week in Workouts and Pictures

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This has been a tough week of training, as I did every run with the stroller and did about double the mileage of the week before. (To be honest though, I was sick the week before and had incredibly low mileage since I took a few days completely off.) I wanted to run more mileage this week and I definitely accomplished that goal despite a toddler who wasn’t loving the stroller and my own tired body. Here’s the breakdown:

Monday: As mentioned earlier this week, ran to grocery store the long way, loaded the stroller with food, then ran home the short way.

Tuesday: Currie wasn’t excited about the stroller run but I told her we would run to the zoo and she was happy. Went the long way which was 5 miles, pushed pretty hard up the hills (was sore the next day) and played at the zoo for a few hours before running back home the medium distance way, 3.25 miles. Added bonus, Currie was happy the whole time, played with her favorite ZooMorphs and slept on the run home.

zoo morphs

Gotta love the Zoo Morphs, available on amazon.com

Wednesday: Jeff worked from home coffee shops which means he came home and did a family run with us midday. Approximately 6.5 miles on some trails and bike path. Death grip on stroller entire time thanks to bumps that can easily send the stroller flying.

bumpy bike trail

Sure, the jog strollers have improved a lot in the past few years, but they still don't deal with bumps like this very well...

Thursday: Ran with a few Oiselle ladies, including my buddy Sarah K who was in town for the day. I was so happy to be running with them that I didn’t notice when my happy hoodie fell out of the bottom of the stroller! After 5.37 miles, we were back at Oiselle HQ and I noticed it was gone. Currie and I ran the route backwards, and eventually found it, but not before I accused a girl who happened to be carrying the same hoodie in the same color (violet!) about a mile from where it was found. (“Oh, did you just find that jacket? It’s yours? Are you SURE it’s YOURS? Well, if YOU ARE SURE it’s YOURS”) Oops, sorry girl! So, I ran about 10 miles when I planned on going about 6. Currie asked me along the way “mommy, why are you running so slow? Just speed up please!” Oh my.

oiselle happy hoodie

Reunited and it feels so good!

Also, Currie took her first picture of me with an iPhone:

oiselle mesh tank

Apparently she didn't think my face was important in this photo. Wearing the new Oiselle Mesh Tank

Oiselle mesh tank, violet

And a more professional pic, Oiselle Mesh Tank in Violet. Pairs well with Indigo Roga short in my opinion!

Friday: Ran a loop around the lake with Oiselle Team manager and friend, Kristin. Then ran the short way, 2 miles to the zoo with Currie, once again pushing the long uphill portion hard. Finished with a 2 mile run back home a few hours later. Thank goodness the zoo is just 2 miles away. I can always keep Currie happy about the jog stroller if I say we are ending at the zoo! It also means I get a good burn pushing hard up the hills to get there.

water at woodland park zoo

She calls this "the fountain".

Saturday: early 3.1 miles around the lake with my friend Em and Currie in stroller. About 2 hours later, pushed Currie to a track with Jeff where he did a real workout and I did maybe 8-10 strides as Currie ran around the field. I felt so fast and light and wonderful. Today would have been a good race day!

sprints on roosevelt track

Currie runs, one shoe off and one shoe on.

sand pit

Mommy, they have a sandbox here!

toddler cheering for mom on track

Go Mommy!

I did a lot of random miles this week. Lots of stop and go which makes me sort of feel more tired than running all the miles at once. I was happy to get more miles this week. I also wanted to do a real workout, but it wasn’t happening with the stroller. I’m counting my 2 hard uphill days as semi-solid workouts and my strides got my legs turning over faster than they have for the past month so that’s progress! Tomorrow I get to do a long run stroller-free! Yay!

 Have you ever lost something on the run? Did you find it? I was devastated when I lost my hoodie! How is your weekend going?