Ducks and goals...

I love Sunday mornings.  Especially Sunday mornings that begin with a friend who enjoys the same things I do...stretching the legs and spending time with our kids.  This morning Brie and I started bright and early with the kids in tow...rather in the lead resting comfortably in their respective jogging strollers.  The plan?  Head down to city dock, feed the ducks and return in time to get a shower and drive to Sunday School.

It was chilly, there's no denying that.  But it was a nice change.  That crisp morning air just lends a little something to the aura of Annapolis in the early hours before the whole city wakes up and tourists flood the streets.  The quiet is also conducive to sharing all the gossip that must be shared.

The run downtown was kind of slow (umm, yeah, actually the whole run was kind of slow).  Both Brie and I are aching...her knee my hamstring.  But we are bad ass and just keep going.    And somewhere along this path I hit the 800 mile mark.  That's right folks, 80% of the way towards logging 1000 miles this year.   That just feels awesome.

When we got down to city dock and Brie pulled the bread out from under her stroller the kids were ecstatic.  I don't remember ducks being so thrillling when I was three, but they must have been.  Ducks fed, we continued down city dock, alternately racing the kids and carrying them (well me carrying the diva).  Brie also spent time telling B what was special about the Bear and the Bull, two almost ancient sailboats that are still in operation.  All in all it was a success...and then we had to hightail it back to Brie's so the diva and I didn't miss Sunday School.

I thank every opportunity to run with friends, particularly my BRB.  It makes the solo runs and the races easier later on.  In particular, its made my goals easier to envision this year.  All's well.  Happy trails!

Stats -
Miles:  5.42 (plus 2.34 walk with the diva to get her ready for her first race)
Time:   1:05:48 (average pace of 12:08 per mile)
Location:  Annapolis, City Dock
Feeling:  hamstring is pinching again

Oh glorious day...

Today was BEAUTIFUL!!!  I can't say enough about what a pleasure it was to be running on a day like today.  The temp was in the mid-70s, the sky was clear and the humidity was manageable.  I would be fine if the rest of the year was just like today.  Yesterday, however, was a totally different story and I guess I need to start there.

Friday was hot, humid and all things sticky.  It was way too hot to be running outside in the middle of the day and normally I would have taken this as a rest day.  Why, then, was I running at the height of this day that was designed for a treadmill workout?  Because the new Joovy Zoom 360 came in and we just had to take it for a spin.  Nothing too strenuous, mind you.  Just a quick two miles to check out the performance versus the old Baby Trend Expedition.

I must say, I am in love.  The Zoom 360 works like a dream.  All those things I hated about the old jogging stroller?  They don't exist with this one.  There are no exposed hard plastic areas for the diva to knock her head against when we hit bumps, the maneuverability is 100% improved and the stroller has a suspension system, so it has an amazing ride.  Did I mention that it came with cup holders too?  If I were a kid I would probably live in this stroller.  The diva seems to like it too.

Now for today.  Oh the glorious day we had.  This morning, the diva and my husband headed out to a family fair over at the base, which left me some time to run and do some cleaning around the house.  I started with the run. 

It was so comfortable out that I just hit a rhythm and kept going.  If I didn't have so much I wanted to accomplish, I would have made it a 10 miles day.  As it was, I limited it to just over five and took one of my less usual routes.  I headed over to Broadneck Park and wound through the walking path there, headed over to Cape St. Claire and hugged the curvy windy roads down to the shopping center and turned back to home with gas left in the engine.  I even raced a lizard up the connector from Cape St. Claire road to Old Cape St. Claire Road.  It felt amazing.

And that was just the start.  The day kept giving and I was willing to take.  We ended the day out on a friend's boat watching the sun set and the stars brighten the sky to the chorus of kids laughing while feeding chips to the ducks.  It doesn't get any better than this.  Happy trails!!!

Stats for Friday -
Miles:  2.14
Time:   20:15 (average pace of 9:27...better than with the old stroller)
Location:  Chesapeake Preserve
Feeling:  tight hamstrings but great stroller

Stats for Today -
Miles:  5.3
Time:   45:16 (average pace of 8:32 per mile)
Location:  Broadneck Park to Cape St. Claire and home
Feeling:  tight hamstrings but the rest of it was great....maybe it's time to hit the icy hot again

Adding to the jogging pleasure...

I have been looking forward to today's run for several days.  Why?  Well, today Brie and I switched up the routine and took along the kids.  Yep, my second run with the jogging stroller (see more on the jogging stroller saga below) and the added pleasure of new running partners, or rather spectators.  All around an enjoyable effort.


We started out a little late, but since the weather was cooler than it has been, it actually wasn't an issue.  We headed downtown toward City Dock and the playground on Newman Street.  This is a really cool playground if you have kids.  It's got just about everything you could imagine for the kids.  The diva still enjoys swings and slides over most other playground elements, but she is curious about tunnels.

After the playground, we headed over to City Dock to feed the ducks...feeding frenzy doesn't quite do justice to the melee in ego alley.  And took in the farmer's market to buy some great heirloom tomatoes to make BLTs for lunch (also got some zucchini to make bread, but that will have to wait a couple days).

Following the downtown events, we headed back up to Franklin Street - quieter and more shade covered than West Street, and then shimmied over to Poplar Trail.  I don't want you to get the idea that this was an easy run.  No way, I'm no where near accustomed to a jogging stroller, but it was great fun...especially with new jogging partners.  We ended with one smily boy and one rather tuckered out little girl.  I hope these two will grow up to be great friends...there mamas certainly are.

Now for the jogging stroller drama....wellnot so much drama as just determining that I really dislike my jogging stroller.  Sure its heavy, the combined weight with the diva means I'm pushing around 60 pounds.  That's not a big deal.  What I don't like is that I have no maneuverability, which is crummy on windy trails.  The seat sits too far back, so the diva has to lean forward to see around her.  And that means if we hit a bump her head is bumped against the unpadded side rails.  All in all, sucky.  So what's the solution?  I researched jogging strollers and reviews and will be the proud owner of the Joovy Zoom 360 by the end of the week.  I should have improved maneuverability, good suspension, better seat position...and a cup holder for me :)  I'll be sure to review the stroller after using it.

Finally, I logged this morning's run only to discover I was 0.07 miles from hitting my target for the week.  So what did I do?  I went out and ran a couple more miles.  It was warmer than this morning, and certainly less shade covered running the cloverleaf in Chesapeake Preserve, but felt decent and got the job done.

I'm hoping for more opportunities to get outside this week, as opposed to my treadmill running of the past two, though this will mean time with the dreaded Baby Trend jogging stroller.  Perhaps I can find a long straight road.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  6.11 in the morning, 2.26 in the afternoon
Time:  Not sure about the morning (forgot the watch) but the afternoon was 19:20 (average 8:33)
Location:  All around Annapolis & Chesapeake Preserve
Feeling:  Hot and sweaty, but the muscles were working well