Saturday's half marathon in Mount Pleasant was a new kind of challenge for me. I ran 13.1 miles while pushing my eleven month-old baby daughter, Eliana, in a stroller. Overall, I think things went pretty well.
To ensure parking near the start, my mom arrived at the race site early and held a parking space for me. After I arrived, we had time to relax in the warm village hall. I fed and changed Eliana, and there was ample time and space for her to crawl around after that. With about fifteen minutes before the start, we made our way outside. A Journal Times reporter took our picture near the hall entrance, but we didn't make the paper. Oh, well. Maybe next time.
Eliana had a hooded sweatshirt, fleece pants, socks, boots, a winter hat, mittens, and a blanket to keep warm, and I was all set in my cheese cowboy hat, long-sleeved base layer t-shirt, yellow Wisconsin Marathon shirt, cape, and green shorts. And, yes, Eliana had her cape on as well.
Miles 1-3: 10:03, 9:40, 10:32
Things went pretty much as planned in the first few miles. The biggest issue was the limited amount of space on the side of the road. We were on the right side of the street, so I had to watch carefully behind me as cars went by, some of them a bit on the speedy side. I was also trying hard not to get in the way of other runners, as the whole race was a stop-and-go effort for me. Eliana would sometimes push the blanket so that it was dragging on the ground, so I had to pull over, adjust it, and get moving again.
Mile 4: 12:19
Eliana was getting pretty feisty at this point. I was more than comfortable, but she was crying loudly and flailing her arms and legs. Very unsettling. The mittens came off, and she had removed one of her boots as well. After several quick attempts to comfort her, I pulled over for about two minutes for a thorough re-bundling. I tried to give her some water as well, but she wasn't interested. Though she still wasn't overly happy with me, she settled down a bit as we continued down the road.
Miles 5-9: 10:14, 9:24, 9:29, 9:30, 8:59
Eliana finally fell asleep. With her resting comfortably, I kept moving as best as I could. A little sprinkle of rain here and there didn't slow us down at all.
When my parents stopped by to cheer us on, I had to tell them to keep it down because Eliana was sleeping. I also preemptively quieted aid station volunteers by putting a finger to my mouth. There weren't a whole lot of runners this far back in the pack, so they were happy to temporarily cease the chants of "GATORADE! WATER!" so that Eliana wasn't startled awake. Aid station volunteers are great people.
Make Sure They See You
During the fifth mile of the race, I noticed a police car with its lights on and another car just in front of it. I later learned that a car hit a runner at approximately the four-mile marker. Scary. I don't know the extent of the runner's injuries, but she was treated at the hospital and released. My thoughts and prayers go out to her for a quick recovery. I have two additional thoughts on this:
1) Whenever possible, the course should run on the left side of the street (facing traffic) if the street cannot be closed, rather than on the right side (with traffic). I'm sure the race organizers will take this into account for next year's race.
2) As I mentioned before, whenever I was running on the right side, I frequently looked behind me to ensure I was safe. Whenever you're out running, whether in an organized race or a training run in the neighborhood, never assume that a driver will automatically yield to you. If there's a vehicle about to cross my path, I usually don't proceed until I make eye contact with the driver. I certainly don't blame the runner in the above situation -- there was likely nothing she could have done to avoid the collision except leap off the road entirely. All I'm saying is to take whatever precautions you can to stay safe.
Mile 10: 11:18
With Eliana rousing from her sleep, I made a pit stop at a portable restroom at another aid station. A volunteer smiled and waved at Eliana, doing a great job of keeping her occupied until I was ready to keep going.
Mile 11: 16:26
Eliana's mittens had come off again, and her shoes and socks were coming off too. She was not happy with me at all. She was ready to be done with this crazy race. I pulled to the side of the road to discover I was missing one sock and one mitten. Eliana did not want to keep her hands under the blanket, so they looked a little pink. I resorted to giving her a pouch of food -- I think it was pear and mango -- in the hope that it would calm her down. As I was feeding her, several other runners went by, asking if we were okay. One runner had found the missing sock and mitten -- a big THANKS to her. After the food and some water, Eliana seemed more relaxed, but she was still whining. I bundled her up as best I could, and there was nothing else I could do but keep going. So that's what I did.
Miles 12, 13: 10:32, 9:01
Go, go, go! "We'll be done soon, baby girl!"
Finish: 0:58
Eliana wasn't crying as we reached the finish. I wasn't overly tired, but I was thrilled to be done. My finish time was 2:18:25, which was about where I expected to be.
Bonus
I finished the race just as the costume contest was going on. I had just enough time to change Eliana and enter the group division, as we both had capes on. There were plenty of people in costume, so I didn't expect to win. I was thrilled when they announced, "Fifth place goes to the cheese cowboy and the cute baby." We got a $15 gift certificate to Georgie Porgie's in Racine. Yum.
Final Thoughts
I pushed Eliana to the limit at the race, both in terms of distance and temperature. To any other folks out there considering a run with a youngster, I recommend ten miles or less and 40 degrees or more. Still, we made it, and it was a great time.
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