Now if only the darn stoller would recoil....

So now that we've been blessed with gorg weather, I am of course getting completely motivated to get outside and exercise! Yesterday, I picked up Henry from his escuela (school) and we quickly rushed home to grab the bob stroller, my running gear, water and sports drink, snacks for Henry and our sun glasses. We headed over to an area that is west of the Boulder Reservoir. I can never remember the trail name and I know I've talked about it before on my blog.... Thing is, I never really ventured out to run off-road with the bob and a 30 pound toddler (usually it is paved or the hubby is pushing the bob). WHOA. It wasn't until I took the bob out of the car and onto the trail with Henry in it that I realized we were low on air...the tires that is. "Hmmm," I thought to myself, this is going to be interesting. You're hear now, so get it together and just run the damn thing." I managed the 3 mile loop ok, but heck, those hills were rough. As a friend described, it is like trying to push a shopping cart through the snow. You try to push that thing away from you so that it could coast a bit, but its a no go. It literally comes to a stand still if you aren't consistently pushing it. Needless to say, I managed to burn off the chocolate I had eaten earlier so despite the angst, there were some pluses. Henry had a blast observing and checking the scene out. He loved seeing the horsies, cows, ducks, birds and the many doggies that jog the trail.
Having embarked on this trail run with the bob stroller and the 30 pound toddler in tow, got me thinking about the running workshops I used to teach, "Learning to Recoil." These classes encompassed posture, body awareness, core strengthening & stretching exercises, and stride/gate assessments. We taught efficient running posture so that one can move quicker more effectively with less energy. My friend and colleague Ralph Havens PT of Mission Hills Physical Therapy in San Diego and I put these together. They were so fun! So while in the midst of pushing the shopping cart through the snow, I thought about my posture, my stride, the angle at which my elbows bent (yes this matters) as well as where my hips where in relation to my knees and ankles. Of course I was v connected to my core too (with all that Pilates in my body). It helped as believe it or not, I am not sore today! Now if only that darn stroller would recoil.....
If interested, let me know if you'd like me to post a video cast of some running tips. Could be fun.

Henry in the bob


Huh?


Gorgeous Foothills (look how GREEN it is-even though the snow slosh we had 2 days prior really gave me a heartache)


short break to catch my breath and take in the views! Look at my cute baba!