Buggy running

I wish I had taken a photo of today's run.

My youngest, aged 2, loves running. She often grabs my running belt, shouts "Steady, Go!" and off she goes, just like Mummy.

As the end of the summer approaches, I've been thinking about how I am going to fit in my marathon training runs over the winter. During the week I can only get out to run once Husband is home from work to look after the girls, and this will involve late evening, dark runs. I am not keen on running alone in the dark, personal safety is a must.

I've been watching several running specific buggies on eBay for a while now. I had attempted a run with my ancient Phil & Teds a while ago, but it was heavy and difficult so I hadn't tried again. All of the joggers I have been watching were selling for around £150 in various used conditions, and not only was this an amount I couldn't afford, it was too much of a risk to spend on something I might not use and then not be able to redeem if I re-sell.

Over the weekend, I had an email reminder that one of the joggers I was watching on eBay was soon finishing. I had the time, so I logged on expecting the same to happen as usual - a couple of early bids taking the buggy to the £50 mark but they have all soared in the dying seconds of the auction. The auction hit the last two minutes, and nothing was happening. No other bids - very unusual for this type of buggy. Trying not to get too excited, I entered my maximum bid, still well below the other auctions I'd watched, and waited for the countdown to hit 5 seconds. Still no other bids. Needless to say, I won the auction and bought the buggy for a bargain £77.

Luckily the seller was quick to answer my email requesting collection, and being a Bank Holiday he was home the following day. I could barely contain my excitement!

Of course, being a Bank Holiday in England it had to rain. And rain. And rain. But as soon as there was a break in the weather, I was out for my planned 35 minute session. This time when B said "Mummy run. Me? Run?" I could say yes. She eagerly hopped into the buggy - I'd love to say and off we went all jolly but the reality is that we had to fiddle with quick release wheels, straps and fixings before we could finally get going.

Running with a buggy is different to normal. My whole body position was different and took a little getting used to. I'm not one to stop running once I start, but straps needed adjusting, B needed a drink and so it took a little longer than usual to find my rhythm. Once we were going, B delighted at the speed we were travelling at. The new buggy is much, much lighter than anything else I've owned and I felt like I was gripping the handle too tightly - I didn't quite trust it not to tip. The fixed front wheel is also something I'm not used to. All of my pushchairs / prams have had swivel front wheels that I only lock to rock babies off to sleep. Turning corners was therefore a bit of a challenge, and I could feel the strain in my upper arms and shoulder. My hands were too hot on the foam handle, but other than that I was pleasantly surprised. I chatted a bit with B who was loving the wheels splashing through the puddles, and her little squeals of laughter made me smile and I relaxed into the run.

I got a mixture of reactions from people who saw me. Some smiled, others gawped and shook their head, and several people need to learn how to share a footpath. I am going to invest in a loud bicycle bell to warn other pedestrians as I approach them, that way if I swipe them at least I can say I warned you! The Manager's (yes, that's you darling husband!) next task is to buy and install the bell, remove the old foam handle and replace that with something user friendly and he did promise he would clean the dog poo off the wheel for me...

I was pleased, and surprised to be able to run for 3.5miles in 36 minutes with a two year old in a buggy. This isn't dissimilar timing to the end of the Couch to 5k programme. Who knows, with practice B and I could be sub-60 10k runners together!