Let's "Go"!

It's funny how the best laid plans go haywire at a moments notice. What was supposed to be my last 6 mile slow run of my training cycle (before ramping up the milage considerably) turned turbulent with those little words, "Daddy, I have to go potty!" On the heels of Potty Bootcamp, hearing those words is like springing into Defcon 4.

The trail was packed this morning with everyone taking advantage of the crisp cool air. I was pushing the jogging stroller today so my first few miles were slowed a bit, but I quickly hit pace and was loving the company of hearing Chicklet point out all of the "doggies" on the trail and telling me what color shorts everyone was wearing. She was quite the chatterbox. With her talking and me running the time was quickly peeling away. That's when we hit crisis mode. About the three mile mark I hear those dreaded words.

Just as Chicklet told me she had to "go" I realized we were 3/4 of a mile away from the nearest toilet. No big deal unless you have the bean-sized bladder of a 2-year-old. What was supposed to be an easy 6-mile run turned into a sprint. After .25 miles I was feeling the burn, but I knew I had to keep pushing -- after all, I was the one who didn't think to bring a change of clothes and we were getting dangerously close to needing one. I kept telling our little one to hold it and she said, "Daddy, I'm tryyyyyyying." Good news is I got in a great, unexpected speed workout, great news is we made it! While putting Chicklet up on the toilet she animatedly told me, "Daddy, you were runnnnning faaaaast." Thank goodness I'm the only one who has ever pushed her, because otherwise she may be telling me the opposite if she ever knew how slow I was really going compared to others.

After the quick pit stop it was back to the trail and back to 10 versions of Wheels on the Bus....until you guessed it, time for another crisis sprint to the loo. I was lucky this time, we were only about 1/3 of a mile from the restroom and like clockwork we pulled up just in time, albeit with a much higher heart rate than I had anticipated on this morning. The rest of the run was great. While pushing the jogger isn't always the greatest key to good form and a good run, today it was the perfect way to enjoy the morning. And Chicklet even got out an sprinted to the line at the end saying she was proud of herself for running fast. Now that's a scene I hope to see repeated dozens of times in the next several years.

Workout stats:
6 miles
55.10
9.10 avg pace