Flashback Friday - Behind the Jogger Edition

Who remembers this?

 

Milk's the soft soft drink doesn't burn, foam or fizzle

doesn't snap doesn't sizzle

if you wanna wet your whistle

drink the soft soft drink

that's good for ya' it'll make your whole insides say thanks

thanks!

makes your teeth grow stronger

starts a belly celebration

and a muscle jubilation

people all across the nation

drink the soft soft drink. 

for vitamin sensation

drink the soft soft drink

drink milk.

 

Speaking of remembering things,  I can remember when jogging stroller runs seemed a lot easier.  I think all those treadmill miles this winter really made a difference in my ability to suck it up.  I mean it's hard to run 10 miles on the treadmill while watching beautiful young people decide between becoming werewolves or vampires.  But pushing a now 4 year old up hills and down in VA heat is completely another kind of hard. 
 

 

Not only is all this jogging stroller running hard for me, it is also hard for my jogging stroller companion.  LBM is the best little running companion of my three kids.  He is most always happy to go for a "joggie."  Knowing that he is typically enjoying his time too helps make the miles a little easier.  But there are the days when things are not so mutually enjoyable.  During those days it's good to have a few tricks up my sleeves to keep LBM happy.

 

A few tricks that work for my 4 year old:

 

 Make sure you have a special snack.  I always take along something that I have made or purchased that LBM doesn't yet know we have.  When I don't have anything special I will add a few M&Ms to his little bag of crackers as a surprise.

 

Have fun.  This includes a lot of tricks.  If it's hot, take squirt guns.  And let your rider actually squirt you.  Sing together - out loud.  Let your rider choose your course.  Always putting safety first, of course.  Plan your run to include a pause at the park.  Or reward your rider with a park visit after. 

 

A secret toy.  Okay sometimes you have to pull out the stops and reduce yourself to a little bribery.  When LBM isn't so excited about our "joggie" I pull out the toys.  Usually I try to keep them something small that requires him to use his imagination to play with.  Action figures and dinosaurs often work great.  But when runs go long I pull out the electronics too.

 

Make it a treasure hunt.   Yes I admit it.  We pick up trash.  The kind you throw away on days when I am out for "time on my feet" or just taking a walk.  And we also pick up those little "treasures" that we find along the way.  Lately a "cool" find was a large orange reflector.  LBM still takes it on runs and pretends it is all kinds of things.

 

Make it seem special.  It's not secret that I am a little in love with all things nature.  So this is a given technique.  We take photos of the critters and flowers and sometimes, even rocks we see along the way.  Often we set a goal of seeing X number of critters or we count how many butterflies or woolly worms or red rocks we can see and don't turn around until we hit that number.  It doesn't take much to make every run feel like a special event that they "get" to share with you. 

 

 

There are times you don't have to do anything.  Something special just happens. 

All you have to do is be ready for it.