3 Generations

Friday morning Averie and I bundled up to meet my dad, "poppy," for a run in Davis. We headed to the Arboretum, a familiar loop we've run probably 50 times. It's only 3.5 miles, and in our better days we'd do the loop twice, but on a cold Friday morning three generations, two rusty runners and toddler in a BOB with a low left tire, hit the pavement again.


We started out slow, with my dad setting the pace. He's really good about that, controlling his run in the beginning so he can finish strong in the end. Long before the Garmin told us we'd hit a mile my dad volunteered to push the stroller, and I gladly accepted. The subtle hills around the man made lake on the campus of UC Davis were enough to have me huffing and puffing well before I should have been. We chatted about all kinds of stuff, like we usually do when we run. We made sure to notice all of the ducks that Averie pointed out along the way, and thank her for the occasional "go, Papa, go!" or "go, Mama, go!"


Half way around we stopped for a while to pet the horses. Averie welcomed the chance to stretch her legs and I welcomed the chance to get my heart rate under control again. 10 minutes later Averie and Papa were ready to go again, I on the other hand was COLD and feeling like I was really near my current 2 mile limit... lucky for me, I had my dad there to, once again, coach me back out on the path. The 45 degrees felt like 30, now that I was sweaty, and it was hard to get started again. But, on we went, and by the time the Garmin chimed 2 miles, we were back in stride and my dad was saying that by the time the weather hit 80 degrees, we'd feel like we could, once again, do that loop twice-- and feel good doing it.


We had a good run. My dad sprinted the last 200 yards (pushing the stroller, like he did 75% of the run) so that Averie could catch a glimpse of the passing train. I finished the run... farther than I've run since I was about 4 months pregnant. I didn't feel like I was going to die, but I was glad it was over. However, I was not sore yesterday, so let's consider it a victory on the books.


So, I have a goal now-- 10 miles a week. Not high mileage, I know, but everyone has to start somewhere. Today is Sunday, so let's say the week goes Sunday to Saturday... 6 days to do it, can it be done? We'll see.