MUST. HAVE. JOGGING. STROLLER.

I am happy to say I'm the proud new owner/operator of an awesome jogging stroller.
I had previously been taking Billy along on my runs in his regular stroller. While it's a pretty cool stroller - it's not a jogging stroller. Since I'd already made a hefty investment in my running shoes (and super custom insoles to support my ridiculously high arches), I wanted to put off spending more money on a second stroller until I really convinced myself (and my husband) that I was serious about this new running hobby.
I was starting to get frustrated running with Billy's stroller. I felt like 4 miles with it was my absolute MAX. It was heavy, cumbersome, bumpy -- the weight of it made it impossible to get enough momentum going to actually run uphill, and I always walked down any inclines too, worried that I would trip & fall & the stroller would go flying down the hill with little B trapped inside. So it was partly an argument in favor of my increasing fitness and partly an argument in favor of our son's safety that finally won me my own jogging stroller.
Since I was a little uncomfortable spending $300 or more on a stroller that could end up being only mildly better than the one I had been pushing so far - I started checking out Craigslist to see what we could find. After a few days of searching, I found one that was decently priced that looked like a good find - and my super-nice hubby drove halfway to Arizona to pick it up for me ("halfway to Arizona" = East County).
The night he brought it home we put B in it after his bath and took a spin around the living room. Billy LOVED it. He was giggling and laughing the entire time. He spent the rest of the night climbing back up into the stroller ask asking for more rides around the house. I think the fact that he's seated further forwards in this one & the fact that it doesn't have the little tray for his snacks & toys makes him feel like he's really flying full-speed ahead -- like an "extreme" stroller ride. :)
I spent all day yesterday looking forward to our run. I had a 3.5 mile run planned on our traning calendar. It took me about a mile to get used to the fixed front wheel - but after that it was smooth sailing. And I mean SMOOTH!!! Wow. The stroller literally glided across the pavement. It was amazing. I hardly even felt like I was pushing it. It's balanced perfectly. I was truly amazed to discover that I could actually run uphill with it too..... it's so much lighter than the other stroller! It also has a hand-brake that completely enables me to control the stroller running downhill. Amazing. I feel like I've hit the stroller jackpot! The stroller even came equipped with a pedometer that tracks my mileage & my speed -- no more need to take the same familiar routes each day because I've calculated the distance on each different loop around the neighborhood. I love it. We actually ended up going five miles yesterday (well.... 5.6 if you include the trip back from the park to our house at the end). I felt like a super-star!!!
Bill told me that he got to chatting with the guy selling the stroller when he picked it up & both the seller and his wife are former Navy veterans who each served two tours of duty in Iraq. So I feel like I totally got an EXTREME stroller. How can I not kick-butt when my stroller has awesome vibes like that?!
I'm also totally jazzed because I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to do anything more than a 4 mile run with the B-monster. But with the jogging stroller I feel like I could do ten! :) Providing he doesn't get totally bored, of course.....
YAY! :)