I am afraid of my running stroller

Running with my kids used to be one of my favourite workouts — I got to spend time with them and pushing their extra weight gave my workouts a boost. That was the story until last week.

 

Following my own advice about stroller running strategies, I started my run close to her nap time. We’d had a fun morning of playing at the park to tire her out and the stroller was loaded with her favourite snacks, blankets, toys and a fully-charged iPhone with 40 minutes of Little Bear ready to go. The first 3K was a breeze — the local rail trail we were on was flat and along the water, giving her lots to look at. But when I turned around to head back to the car, the meltdown began. As first it was just fussing and I tried YouTube to see if she’d sit still. Then I tried bribing with jelly beans and blackberries. Within minutes my content toddler was a hysterical and screaming mess and I had to strap her into her seat just to try and get back to the car faster. Unfortunately, she unbuckled herself and climbed out of the stroller. And. Just. Kept. Screaming. 

 

Three kilometres from home and literally in the middle of nowhere. Treats, nursing, TV and a diaper change did nothing to help. She was done with the stroller. So with my screaming daughter on one hip and pushing the stroller with the other we walked the rest of the way home. 

 

It was awful.

 

Since then, I’ve tried to bribe either child back into the stroller and they are having no part of it. My run training for my ultra marathon was nonexistent last week with my husband travelling. And I have the most expensive piece of baby gear gathering dust in my basement.