3.5 mile run with some extras

I’ve been wanting to add some conditioning into my runs to help me get stronger. My plan for my run today was to run 3-4 miles with Z and stop along the way for some hill repeats and running drills. Finding the right hill for my repeats was harder than you would think. I needed a hill that was grass, not asphalt. It needed to be a short enough hill that I could leave Z at the top or bottom while I ran up and down a few times without being too far from him. There are some nice hills on my usual route that I could have used, but I really really really did not want to have to push the stroller up and down the hill for my repeats! I might be crazy enough to run 10 miles with Z, but hills are not my friend when I’m pushing him.

I decided on a good hill and ran about half a mile to warm up on our way there. I parked Z at the top and hoped I could run the hill 10 times.

Waiting at the top of the hill for mommy!

The first few times I ran down, then ran back up, I was greeted with this adorable huge smile from my little running buddy.

That smile gave me the motivation I needed to run up the hill quickly!

Unfortunately, that smile only lasted for 8 runs up the hill and then Z was done with the whole mommy running away from him bit. That was fine with me though and I didn’t want to upset him so we hit the road again and kept on running which made him happy.

Our next stop was at about the 2 mile mark where there is a dead end road with no houses or buildings on it – perfect for some drills. I had hoped to do high knees, butt kicks, skipping, lunges, and a few other drills.

Waiting for mommy to run back to him!

I made it through some high knees, butt kicks and a few lunges when Z decided once again that he’d rather be running. I tried to keep it fun for him by running backwards away from him so I didn’t have to take my eyes off of him and I could keep entertaining him. He just wasn’t in the mood for it which I understood. So we kept running instead and finished our 3.5 miles.

It was a good effort and the conditioning exercises I got to do were still beneficial. We’ll try again another time; maybe if hubby is with us, we can take turns doing the drills so one of us can entertain the boy .