Tips for jogging with your baby!!!

As a past track athlete, I've always told myself I would continue to run my entire life. After having my first baby I quickly figured out how important it was for me to be able to load up the babes in the jogger. More than losing the baby weight, I needed it for my sanity. And honestly, now that my "baby" is almost 3 he loves it just as much!!! Ahhhh... what a relief! Its taken some fine tuning and I've learned some tricks along the way to make my runs relaxing with a happy baby. Maybe I'm lucky? I have heard of babies hating their stroller. I couldn't imagine? My little guy sits quietly and loves to get out. Take in the scenery. And if its even close to a nap time he will take his entire nap no matter where we are. I love it. Here are some things I've learned along the way.

Some tips I personally recommend:

• Timing- Choose to go for your run when your baby is happiest. After a full belly and before nap time. For us, morning runs were always the best. They are the perfect way to start the day! He was relaxed and happy.

• Make sure they have all their comforts. My son is a binky and blankie baby and we figured this out by trying to make him happy on our runs. A few runs without his brown blanket and the light went off! Ahhh... he only wanted his brown blanket! So we don't leave the house without either. Although, we would like to get rid of the binky real soon! Any tips? I'll take any advice! haha.

• Snacks. Make sure to be armed with a full sippy cup and snacks for the toddler/baby to munch on.

• Keep the weather in mind. Dress them comfortably. If I was about to sit for the next 30-60 minutes I wouldn't want to be bunched up in uncomfortable jeans and such would you? Keep in mind the weather. Dress them cool if hot and bundle them up when cold. There is nothing worse then a screaming baby because its cold out. That just makes me stressed and feel awful. When its hot don't forget the hat and sunblock! They're just sitting out there. Exposed to the sun.

• Purchase a high quality stroller. Really do some shopping for the right fit. For us, comfort and the swindle front wheel were MUSTS! I highly recommend the B.O.B. stroller (which I don't have right now!) Trying to hold off until we have another baby, and the double BOB is the first purchase we will make! I'm excited!!!

• Chose the proper route. When your baby is younger try to pick the smoother surfaces. I tried to keep the shaking minimal when EC was younger.

• Use all the safety harnesses. Make sure the baby is buckled in correctly and that you use the leash. Especially around busy streets. It would be horrible if you ever tripped.

• Don't expect to run your usual pace!!! This was a biggie for me until I changed my mind set when running with the jogger and the extra weight. I now treat it as a totally different workout. Yes you will run slower (at least one minute per mile slower than your normal pace), but you're burning more calories and doing resistance training. Now that my son is almost 3... HE IS HEAVY!! The more you run with the extra weight the easier it will get. And plus on the days I run without the jogger I feel so light and fast!!!

• Have fun!!! It should be fun for you AND your baby! Sometimes I chose routes that end at a park. The boy especially loves that. What a great reward for being patience in the stroller for mommy!

I need to start racing again.

My runs have been missing something. I'm missing the drive. I'm not pushing myself my hardest. I'm staying in my comfort zone to much, and not gaining the mental strength that comes from stepping outside of what I know I can already do. I think its the lack of competition. As a ex-collegiate track athlete I miss that.

Competition CAN be a good thing. I'm not trying to get off on a tangent or piss too many people off, but healthy competition is important. Especially in kids... especially in boys! I don't believe in the "everyone should be the same" attitude. Competing teaches kids important life lessons. It forces them to push themselves, to find out what they're made of, to win, to lose, to strive to be better. Nothing wrong with that. Now with that being said we will teach our son good sportsmanship, to be kind, and not to be arrogant. But mostly importantly, we will be teaching him to be the best he can be. Its a hard world out there. He might actually be like his dad who lives to compete. That's one of the things I love most about him.

Back to me. I'm going to start racing again. I think this is what I need to force myself to push harder. I'll start with 10k races and move up. I'm excited and nervous for this challenge. Its good to get out of your comfort zone. It make you a stronger person.

So Cali runners... What are some good races coming up this year? I can't wait to start signing up.

Pushing the Limits Push-up challenge!

I have a love/hate relationship with push ups! I love them because I know they tone the core, arms, chest, and back. I know push-ups are very effective and make you super strong. I hate them because they have always been so hard for me. They're very uncomfortable. Even more of a reason I need to do them. When it comes to working out...

Hard=good. Hard=results

I'm always up for a good challenge. Anything that motivates me. So when RunningBetty challenged me to to 100 push-ups by the end of July, I was scared and eager! Yeah! So fun. This is how it works:

Run DMT and RunningBetty have teamed up to present their readers with the ultimate challenge. During the month of July, they're Pushing the Limits with their Push-up Challenge! With the help of hundredpushups.com, this goal will be achieved. 

Are you up for the challenge? Sign up here. Help spread the word. Grab the push up challenge button. And get involved! This is going to be fun!

*I just did the initial test. I did 30 girl push ups. Rank 4. Hmmm??? Does that count? should I be doing the standard "boy" push ups? I'll check into that :)

Why adult diets are not appropriate for kids.

The hubby and I have currently taken our healthy eating to a new level. I'll talk more about this later. I don't like to say we're on a diet because we're really not. We are just eating healthy and eating foods that boost your metabolism. While we do this its hard to remember that our 2 year old is not trying to lose weight... and should not! Actually the contrary. He needs to put good fat on. 

I have a running group on Mom Bloggers Club where we talk fitness. The goal is to share tips and motivate each other to get out and run. One of the ladies posted this article that I wanted to discuss.

Why adult diets are not appropriate for kids. 

Dr. Dolgoff blogs about the importance in separating your diet and your child's diet. This is a good read for every mother! Check the article for facts. 

*I'm going to start a Good Reads section on this blog so please feel free to send articles you come across!*