Yesterday, I had the pleasure of going to the opening of the new Athleta store in Towson, MD. It was about a 45 minute drive to the store from my house. Close enough to go when necessary, but thankfully far enough away that the damage to my bank account will not occur too frequently.

I hear angels singing

The new store is AWESOME. As I was browsing around navigating through a million other women with my toddler in the stroller, I kept seeing all these things I’d seen in the Athleta catalog or on their website. That meant I was grabbing clothes and swimsuits by the armful to try on. After I picked about 4,596 items to try on, a very sweet sales associate offered to hold them in the back for me until I headed for the fitting room. Ahhh, free arms to grab more clothes to try on.

Once I was certain, I had touched every item of clothing in the store [side note: my husband laughs at how I have to touch clothes while I'm shopping, but I think that's something most women do as they shop] I finally headed to the line for the fitting room. There was no line when I first got to the store, but apparently as I was browsing, every single woman in the store got in line. I waited in line for about 35 minutes. I’ve never waited that long for a fitting room, but the wait was well worth it to finally get to try on my chosen items.

At least I have Elmo to keep me company

I’m one lucky mama because Zain was an angel while we waited. He whined a few times but I reassured him it wouldn’t be much longer and he was cool with that.

Once it was finally my turn to try on everything I picked out, Zain and I squeezed into a fitting room. I tried to be quick as to be mindful to the many people behind me in the fitting room line. I found 2 swimsuits I liked and one skirt – technically a tennis skirt, but really the same as a running skirt. My favorite find though was my Printed Rio Maxi. I liked it when I saw it the website, but when I tried it on, I HAD to have it. Especially because when I put it on, Zain said “ooooh, niiiiice!” What a sweet kid.

There are lots of goodies inside. At least I got a free bag after spending all my money.

If your 2 year old likes a dress, you obviously have to buy it

I love each and every one of you

I was really happy with all the items I found. The thing I love most about Athleta is their swimsuits. Since I had Zain, I am not a bikini wearer. Not necessarily because I’m not entirely happy with my post-baby body, but more so because when I’m playing with him in the water or on the beach, I don’t want to feel like I might accidentally flash the world or have to keep readjusting my suit. Athleta’s swimsuit sets are so customizable. They have tankini tops, bikini tops, bikini bottoms, shorts bottoms, and skirt bottoms. You can have as much or as little coverage as you want. Plus, their swimsuits are so pretty! They feel comfortable when they’re on and they’re just all around amazing.

With this pretty suit, I can have as little skin as possible showing

I love the colors on this one!

The Athleta Towson store was awesome. They sales associates were so helpful and friendly. They were always offering to find another size or style if you needed it. They all had smiles on their faces despite how chaotic the store was with the amount of people there. I was really impressed with my experience at the store. I’d like to say I’ll be back soon, but my bank account needs time to recover. If you live in the MD area, be sure to check it out!

Once again, here is the store information (the store is directly across the street from the Towson Town Center Mall):

Address:
Dulaney Plaza
834 Dulaney Valley Road
Towson, MD 21204

Store hours:
Mon-Sat 10am–9pm
Sun 12pm-6pm

If you don’t have an Athleta store in your area, do not despair! They plan to open more stores in the next year with the goal of establishing 50 stores by the end of 2013. One could be coming your way soon! Check out the list of their current locations.

Note: I was contacted by Athleta to help spread the word about their new store opening. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am ecstatic to help spread the word that something big is coming to Maryland – an Athleta store! On Thursday, May 31st, Athleta will be opening its newest store in Dulaney Plaza in Towson, MD.

I love Athleta, but unfortunately, there aren’t any stores nearby. That hasn’t stopped me from doing some damage on their website for quite some time though. I’m really excited to have a store close by so I can actually try on clothes and even more importantly this summer – swimsuits! I love Athleta swimsuits because there are so many great ways to mix and match their styles.

They have awesome gear for running, yoga, cycling, tennis, hiking, skiing, and golf, plus dresses, outerwear, footwear, accessories, and more. Check out their website and tell me what your favorites are!

I am currently lusting after the Printed Rio Maxi, the Swagger Skort, the Happy Isles Run Skort, and too many swimsuits to list!

The new store is located at:

Dulaney Plaza
834 Dulaney Valley Road
Towson, MD 21204

Store hours will be:

Opening at 9am on May 31st
Mon-Sat 10am–9pm
Sun 12pm-6pm

Note: I was contacted by Athleta to help spread the word about their store opening, however, all opinions expressed are my own.

Run streaking that is. I’ve never done a running streak before. Being the injury prone runner that I am, I’ve always shied away from anything that will eliminate the rest days that my legs seem to require. Runner’s World hosted a running streak challenge in December, but unfortunately, I didn’t hear about it until it was too late to join. Plus, I was beginning my Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon training so I knew I needed my off days.

Since their first running streak was so successful, Runner’s World has offered up the challenge again with their RW Summer Running Streak. The challenge will run from Memorial Day (5/28) to Independence Day (7/4) – 38 consecutive days of running at least mile a day. This is a great way to kick off the summer! I’m not currently training for any races so I love the idea of having this challenge to keep me motivated.

Since I just got over an injury, I’m going into this challenge prepared to stop at anytime if I don’t think I can handle it. I’m feeling pretty optimistic though since I haven’t even had a twinge of pain for a while now. I’m typically a 4-day-a-week runner so on my off days, I’ll just run an easy mile. If I feel like running more, I will.

Are you doing the Runner’s World Summer Running Streak? If you are, be sure to tweet with the hashtag #RWRunStreak!

On Saturday, hubby and 2 of his cousins ran the Warrior Dash in southern Maryland.  This was my third weekend in a row of being a race spectator; I didn’t mind sitting this race out since it meant not getting muddy.

It took us about an hour and a half to get to the race which takes place on a Motorcross course.  Zain enjoyed the relaxing ride through the rural roads of southern Maryland.

Just chillin'

As we walked to the starting area, we saw the muddy runners coming up the hill.

What really caught my eye though was the number of porta-pots.  I wish all races had that many!

There are so many of them!

Unfortunately, this race wasn’t ideal for spectators.  After crossing the starting line, the runners headed into the woods and we didn’t see them again until they came back out to head to the finish line.  Zain and I still had fun watching the runners while we waiting for hubby and his cousins to head back to the finish.

Off they go into the unknown

Zain doesn't look like he approves of this race

We spotted the boys coming down the hill and I manage to capture some pictures of the fire jumping and mud crawling.

Sizzlin'

He appears to be enjoying this more than I'd expect him to

It kind of looks like he didn't want to get out of the mud

When the runners come down the hill to jump over the fire, they’re still relatively clean.  Obviously, the mud pit really does them in.  No worries though.  They had pool water trucks with hoses to rinse off the runners.

Before and after pictures of the guys:

Before

After

I managed to get a little muddy myself just by walking around.  I know, poor me.  Flip flops were not a good choice.

Zain enjoyed a nice little snooze on the drive home.  Watching races is tough work.

On Sunday, Zain got to test out his new bike! We got him this awesome tricycle for his birthday, but we hadn’t assembled until this past weekend.  It can be used for kids ages 9 months to 5 years with it’s different configurations so he’ll be able to use it for a couple more years.  I had just gotten back from my long run (finally back to double digits with a 10 mile run, wahoo!) when he and hubby were about to take the bike for a spin.

In case you hadn't noticed from my race/running pictures all over this blog, I really like my Another Mother Runner shirt

Mommy, I don't think Lance Armstrong wears a seat belt when he's on his bike

He LOVES his bike.  He kept saying “ride a bike! ride a bike!” He didn’t quite get the peddling part down so the parent handle is pretty nifty.  Yesterday, he kept asking me to “ride a bike?” but it rained all day.  I think we have a little cyclist on our hands.

Sunday afternoon, we went into Baltimore where Zain had a blast looking at all the boats.  He was fascinated by the water which led to a tantrum because we wouldn’t let him play with the bubbles floating in the Inner Harbor.  Poor kid has such terrible parents!

Here are some pictures from when he was still happy:

If riding a bike is like running and pushing 30lbs of toddler.

I haven’t run with Zain in the jogging stroller since before the Iron Girl Half Marathon.  Between having to take time off to let my foot/ankle heal and then making a slow return to running, I’ve been avoiding the extra resistance on my runs for 3 weeks now by running outside alone or on the treadmill.  I was nervous about taking Zain out in the stroller today because I was afraid I’d lost all my stroller running skills.

I’m happy to report I made it through 6 slow pain-free miles.  I didn’t lose my stroller running strength.  I figured I’d have to walk most of the hills, but I didn’t need to.  I just walked one big one in the middle of the run and powered through the rest.  Zain was happy as can be to be out for a run again, especially because there is some new construction going on along our route.  That meant he got to see lots of backhoes – to him every type of construction equipment is a backhoe (not that I know the difference myself).  He had to say “hi backhoe!” to all of them.

Another cute thing he noticed was that in front of an office building we run past, they put new flowers in their big flower pots.  There used to be yellow flowers and now, there are red ones.  Zain kept saying “where go? where yellow?” Of course, yellow is pronounced “yeh-yo.”  He’s so entertaining and I missed his company on my runs, even though I didn’t miss the added resistance!

A return to stroller running means a return to non-stop snacking

Over the weekend, I was supposed to run a 5K.  It was another race in our neighborhood which is obviously quite convenient.  I ended up deciding not to run it to be on the safe side with my foot so I gave my bib to hubby.  It was pretty small race that benefited the music department at the local high school.  Hubby did awesome, finishing in 25:40.  The winner was a high school cross-country student that finished in 16:30.  Crazy fast!

I definitely could have run it since I was able to go for a nice 7 mile run on Sunday, but I wanted to actually try to race it, not just finish it.  I don’t think I’m ready to push myself yet since I’m just getting over my injury.

Hubby headed to the finish line

Zain and I are becoming experts at spectating

This weekend, hubby will be doing the Warrior Dash (a mud race with obstacles).  I was supposed to do this one as well, but I’m still trying to “take it easy” and I don’t think crawling on the ground and climbing over walls is the best idea.  I look forward to more spectating though!

Happy running!

Disclaimer: if you’ve had any kind of injury or other health problem that has kept you from running for 6-8 weeks or longer, I’m sorry that I’m being a whiny brat about a 1 week break from running.

First of all, I have to say – do as I say, not as I do.  I did not bother going to the doctor for my recent injury.  For every running injury I’ve had in the past, I’ve been checked out by the doctor.  I didn’t go this time because although I was in enough pain not to run, my pain was not severe.  I’m also not training for anything so I’m okay with taking some time to let my body heal while trying not to stress about it.

The pain from my foot/ankle injury has been fading away more and more every day.  I had planned to give myself until tomorrow to attempt running.  As of yesterday, it had been a week since I last ran and I was ANTSY.  It’s not like I’ve been a diehard runner all of my life and not running was totally foreign to me.  I’ve had plenty of times when I’ve taken weeks or months off from running without much thought.  There are 2 differences this time: 1. With the races I’ve trained for and run in the past year, I feel like I’ve made a bigger commitment to running than ever before. 2. When you can’t do something, you only want to do it more.  True story.

Since I was so antsy yesterday, I decided to allow myself a little test run on the treadmill while Zain napped.  I planned to stop at even the slightest twinge of pain.  I thought the treadmill was my best bet over a stroller run so that I could stop immediately if necessary and focus on my form.  I invested in some KT Tape Pro which was an excellent idea because I feel like it supported my foot and ankle even better.

KT Tape Pro = amazingness, plus a fun color

I planned to just run a mile.  Well, that mile felt pretty darn good so I figured I’d run just one more.  And then one more.  I forced myself to stop at 3.25 so I didn’t overdo.  I iced my foot and ankle after I got off the treadmill and I didn’t have any pain.  I had the tiniest bit of tightness in my ankle, but nothing serious.  I didn’t have any pain as the day progressed and no pain today.  Yay!

I’m still going to take it easy for a while since I don’t have any races to worry about at the moment.  I’m going to try to stick to just running every other day for the next week or so until I’m confident that my injury is behind me.

I’m very pleased to confirm I made a very important discovery on my run yesterday.  I have had this notion in my head for years that if I take more than 2 or 3 days off from running, I will completely lose all my fitness and my muscles will turn to mush.  I don’t know why I felt that way and I don’t believe there’s any scientific evidence to prove that.  Thankfully, yesterday I found that I could still run 3 miles without stopping and I didn’t feel like I was going to die.  I’m glad I proved my silly theory wrong.

I do believe what I had was a mild form of peroneal tendonitis based on the area of pain.  I say mild because it didn’t last long.  I have a feeling I know what caused it.  When I ran the Iron Girl Half Marathon, I wore my Saucony Kinvaras.  I had trained quite a bit in them and I love them dearly, but I’m afraid they might be the culprit.  I have high arches and they don’t seem to support my feet enough.  That’s what I get for straying from my beloved Mizunos.  And on that note, here’s my favorite professional picture from the Iron Girl half:

This isn't even a fake smile! Running toward a PR makes me happy

And this one just makes me laugh.  I threw my arms up above my head as I crossed the finish line and the photographer captured them on their way back down.  Combined with my feet not touching the ground, I really do look like I’m flying over the finish line:

I can fly if I flap my wings

Happy running!

This is not a race recap.  It’s a spectator recap.

I decided to be smart and not run the race given my foot pain.  I’m 99% sure that what I have is peroneal tendonitis.  The peroneal tendons run from the bottom of the outer foot up behind the ankle bone.  My pain started in my outer foot and has since spread into my ankle and feels exactly like peroneal tendonitis is described.  No, I have not been to a doctor yet to confirm this because the pain has let up to a degree since I stopped running; I think this is an injury that will just take time to heal.  I don’t have any swelling and I can put weight on my foot.  The answer seems to be rest and ice.  So rest and ice is what I shall do. I’ve promised myself that I won’t run again until I’m pain-free (and if it starts to hurt badly again, I will call the doctor).

I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t completely bummed about missing the MD Half Marathon.  Zain and I walked hubby to the starting line – it doesn’t get much better than being able to walk to the race start from your front door.  It was a misty morning and I was thankful for the rain to hide my tears.  Don’t worry, I’m totally joking.  I was more angry than sad that I couldn’t run.  Stupid foot!

Hubby is ready to race

Runners lining up! It's amazing to see so many runners out there running for a great cause

A misty morning - perfect weather for a race in my opinion!

On mommy's back and ready to spectate

These guys are so fast, their feet don't even touch the ground (the guy in the neon yellow was the winner)

Hubby is in there somewhere

We watched the runners as they went on their way and then headed back home.  Another awesome perk of having the race in our neighborhood – I could watch out my window for when the runners were looping back around into the ‘hood.  Zain and I went back outside to cheer on the super speedy runners.  The police on motorcycles leading the race even waved to Zain which pretty much made his day.  We saw the top male pass by with a huge lead.  Eventually, all the other speedy runners came by and Zain and I had a blast cheering for them.

We walked around the neighborhood a bit and cheered the runners on up some big hills.  I even promised them it was mostly downhill from there.  Some jokesters questioned my use of the word “mostly”.  What can I say? The MD Half is no joke when it comes to hills.  There’s a monster hill in the last mile before you head to the finish line.  It’s a beast and I run it all the time with the stroller.  I could feel their pain!

The picture really doesn't do this hill justice

I was stoked when we saw hubby around mile 11.  Zain was so excited.  He kept yelling “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” After we saw him pass by, I quickly mixed him up a bottle of Nuun (I know – I am an awesome wife) and we headed up to the finish line to see him cross it.

Here he comes!

Off he goes to get that PR!

When we saw him headed to the finish with a big goofy grin on his face, I was so excited.  I looked at the clock and saw it said 2:05.  Hubby got a shiny new PR! He also got bloody nipples (I told him to put Body Glide on!), but we’ll focus on the positives.  His previous PR was from the Rock ‘N’ Roll Half where he finished in 2:09.  I’m so proud of him for setting a new PR on a seriously tough hilly course.

I'm so proud of my love!

I think Zain and I deserve some medals for our awesome cheerleading

Hopefully next year, I’ll be able to run with hubby!

We got to take a picture with Dozer.  Dozer escaped from his yard during last year’s race and ran most of the half marathon.  He ran alongside us for part of the race.  He didn’t run this year, but he was there to greet everyone.

Meeting Dozer! It appears that I'm terrified of the dog from the way I'm standing, but I just had to angle myself that way so you could see the little man on my back

Have you ever been a race spectator? What kind of things to you like to say to runners? My go-to lines were – great job/awesome job, looking strong out there runners, come on and push it up this hill, you’re almost there, etc.  I’m not very creative and I was running out of things to say!

I’m no stranger to running injuries.  I dealt with some weird ones while I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon.  I say “weird” because my doctor couldn’t really put a name to my injury.  Basically, I had really terrible arch pain when I ran and in the end, I needed more arch support in my shoes.  A pretty simple solution, but it took a while to figure it out.

Leading up to the Baltimore Marathon and even more so while training for the Rock ‘N’ Roll USA Marathon, I had knee problems.  I was diagnosed with a typical case of runner’s knee.  I still have have it, but it’s not bad enough that I can’t keep running.  My left knee gets stiff and achy sometimes during my runs or afterward.  However, it rarely hurts bad enough to keep me from running.  There have been a handful of times I’ve had to skip a run or cut one short, but nothing too serious.

During my first attempt to run after the Iron Girl Half Marathon this past week, I had a sharp pain in my foot that was enough to stop me in my tracks.  I’ve never had pain like this while running.  It’s along the outside edge of my foot, just past my arch.  I literally could not run it hurt so bad during that first attempted run.  The odd thing was that I didn’t even have a hint of this pain before taking my first running steps.

The next day, I tried to run again.  I pushed myself through 2.4 miles, but I had to stop and walk several times when the pain got to be too much.  Ultimately, I had to stop completely because I was too uncomfortable.

I haven’t been to the doctor yet.  I know my mom is reading this and she’s going to call me in 5 minutes to tell me to call the doctor (right, mom?).  Since it came on so quickly, I want to see if maybe it will go away quickly too (I know that’s wishful thinking).  Consulting with Dr. Google, I have narrowed it down to 3 possibilities plantar fasciitis, peroneal tendonitis or stress fracture.  I don’t think it’s PF because I had a mild form of that in the past and this feels different.  Between peroneal tendonitis and a stress fracture, I think it’s most likely peroneal tendonitis – and that’s obviously what I’d rather it be.

I’m supposed to run the Maryland Half Marathon on Sunday and I cannot even express how excited I am for this race.  It was my first distance race last year since having Zain.  I was really looking forward to another race with my husband.  However, my stupid foot still flippin’ hurts.  It’s been sore since my short run on Wednesday.  It hurts if I stand or walk for too long.  I’d imagine 13.1 miles won’t feel so great.

I’m going to see how it feels tomorrow by going for a little test run; then I’ll decide if I’ll be up for Sunday’s race.  I’m honestly not feeling too optimistic.  I’m seriously bummed though since I had such a great race last weekend!

My saving grace for my runner’s knee has been KT Tape.  The patellar knee band did not work for me at all.  KT Tape applied with this runner’s knee application is amazing.  You sort of can see it on my knee in this picture:

KT Tape also has an application for peroneal tendonitis.  How perfect! Since that is my current self diagnosis, I taped my foot up this morning and will see if this helps throughout the day.

In the meantime, I have come to the conclusion that nothing makes you want to go for a run more than not being able to run.  I’m already going crazy, but I have no choice but to take it easy.  Since I hope to not entirely lose my fitness while I rest and figure out this issue, I’m going to head out for a bike ride with my 30lbs of cargo.

Would anyone else like to diagnose my mystery injury?

The starting and finish line

One of my goals for 2012 was to run a sub-2 hour half marathon.  The Iron Girl Columbia Half Marathon was the race where I had hoped to do just that.  As race day approached, I didn’t know if it was going to happen.  I was doubting my abilities and if I really had it it me for this race.  Even when I was waiting at the starting line chatting with my hubby, I actually asked him what I should do.  Do I try to run my hardest and reach for my goal? Or, should I just take it easy and enjoy the race? It took me until halfway through the race to finally make up my mind.

Still contemplating my race plan

When we arrived at the starting line, I did what every other woman there did – get in line for the porta-pots.  This was an all women’s race with 2,000 runners and there were a mere 20 porta-pots.  I think they needed closer to 200 of them.  I ended up having to skip the bathroom break and going straight to the starting line.

At the starting line, Zain kept saying "yay, yay, YAY!"

Off I go! Waving to my little running buddy on the sideline

For nearly the whole first 2 miles, we headed uphill.  I’m familiar with those hills though as I’ve run them many times in training and also part of them for the Clyde’s 10K.  I did my best to tackle them while my legs warmed up.  I tried not to let the excitement of the race start force me into going out to fast.

Mile 1 – 9:38

Mile 2 – 9:27

Mile 3 – 9:19

Mile 4 -9:23

Mile 5 -9:14

Mile 6 – 9:08

The hills weren’t the only thing that kept my pace slower in the beginning – I had to pee! It’s really distracting and uncomfortable to have to pee during a race, especially when there are no bathrooms to be found.  Finally, at mile 6, I stopped and asked a volunteer if any porta-pots were coming up.  She told me there were some at the next water stop in half a mile.

What she didn’t mention was that for over half a mile, we would be climbing a freaking mountain to get to that water stop.  I’ve run a lot of hills, but this particular hill was the biggest beast I’ve met.  It was a little over half a mile long and it was steep.  Nearly everyone around me slowed to a walk.  I kept running, but I wasn’t going much faster than those walking.  At the top, we headed across the halfway point timing mats and I spied the glorious porta-pots!

Mile 7 – 10:38

Mile 7 was my slowest thanks to the epic hill and bathroom break.  Once I hit the pavement again, I was really to roll! I sped up quite a bit and made up for my lost time.  That was the point where I seemed to finally make up my mind that I was going to go for my goal.

Mile 8 – 8:46

Mile 9 – 9:15

Mile 10 – 9:05

I kept trying to do mental math to see if I was going to be able to make my time goal.  I have a 10 minute mile mentality.  I was automatically calculating my time in my head estimating 10 minute miles.  Trying to calculate with the pace I was actually going was too much for my long distance race brain.

Mile 11 – 8:50

Mile 12 – 8:27

I kept feeling discouraged that I wasn’t going to make it.  I knew I could at least beat my previous half PR of 2:08 from the ZOOMA race last year, but I still needed to dig deeper.

Mile 13 – 7:26

This is the third time in my whole life that I’ve run a mile in the 7 minute range.  I gave it all I had in that last mile.  Thank God there was a good bit of downhill to the finish.  When I saw hubby and Zain cheering for me, I started to feel tears coming to my eyes.  Races make me so emotional.  I pushed as hard as I could to the finish and saw the clock time was 1:59 and ticking.  I knew my chip time was a little less than that.  My official time was 1:58:32, an average pace of 9:03.  I just barely made it.  My pace obviously fluctuated quite a bit throughout the race thanks to all the wonderful hills.

I see my loves!

My form isn't as bad as I thought it would be at this point!

Zain's thinking, "Wow, mommy is running fast! Why can't we run that fast when she's pushing me?"

Crossing the finish line and meeting my goal of a sub-2 hour half marathon was – hands down – the best race experience I’ve ever had.  I felt proud of myself.  I worked hard for this and I did it.  My runner’s high was in full effect and I was somewhere floating in the clouds with joy.

Another pretty medal for my collection

And a bracelet!

I started out this race having no idea if I was even capable of reaching my goal.  I took 10 minutes off my previous PR.  I won’t lie and say I felt amazing during every mile of the race because I definitely didn’t.  I had my moments where I questioned everything.  I fought for my PR, but I felt strong until the end.  When I ran the ZOOMA half last summer, the last 3 miles were grueling.  I didn’t feel that this time.  I know I’m a stronger runner now than I was then and that’s encouraging.

My race results usually peg me as a middle of the pack runner.  I’m finally moving up in my placement.  I came in at number 357 out of 1,617 finishers and number 62 out of 208 for my age group.

Now, onto the next one! I’ll be running the Maryland Half Marathon on Sunday with hubby.  I won’t be shooting for a PR this time, just enjoying the miles with my love!

As a runner, I pay far more attention to the weather than those times in my life when I was a non-runner.  I obsess over the hourly forecast, the percentage chance of precipitation, wind chill, humidity, and other details that can affect how I dress for my run and how I expect to feel during my run.  Not to mention the obsession that ensues as soon as a race day enters the 10 day forecast.  Then it becomes full-blown daily stalking of the forecast.

As a stroller-pushing runner, the weather doesn’t just affect me.  I have to make sure my little passenger is dressed appropriately for whatever weather we will encounter.

Happy to run in any weather as long as his personal assistant dresses him accordingly

Once upon a time, when I ran with my arms freely swinging as a I went – and not pushing a 30lb toddler – I loved running in the spring.  The warmth and sunshine as winter faded always reinvigorated my love for running.  And quite honestly, I used to take a hiatus from running when it got too cold so spring would always be my back-to-running season.

Spring is proving to be my least favorite time as a stroller-pushing runner.  Why? Because one day it’s 80 degrees and the next it’s 50.  I can’t stand the back and forth.  But more than anything, it’s the [insert expletive here] wind that ruins it for me! In the mornings, while Zain eats his breakfast, I stare out the window at the trees behind our house to watch for movement.  Okay, they seem to be holding still.  I assess them again 30 minutes later once Zain is done eating and the branches are waving around wildly.  I check my weather app on my phone (probably my most used app) and see that there are 15 to 25mph winds.  Nooooo!

Stop whining mommy and give me more snacks

Running with the stroller in the wind is my personal hell.  I can’t seem to escape it no matter what direction I run.  And it always manages to be the worst when I’m trying to scale a mountain go up a hill with my 30lbs of cargo.  It’s like I’m not evening moving and I’m just running in place.  It flat out sucks.  Knowing how hard my runs will be some days completely zaps my motivation.

It won’t be long before I’m whining about the humidity and the heat, but for now, my biggest runemy (running + enemy; I know, I’m so clever) is the wind.

What is your biggest runemy? Or maybe runstacle (running + obstacle) Maybe it’s time to stop making up words…