Jogger Stroller Joyride Towards the River

Thank goodness for sagebrush and other high desert plants that line the trail along the river by my house.  If it weren't for them, I'm quite sure my son would have had the most thrilling jogger stroller joyride of his life....on down into the Deschutes!  Yesterday was one of my most adventurous of trail runs yet.  My husband suggested I take both boys on my trail run--Ashe the dog and my five-year-old son Sam.  Ashe comes running with me every day now...that's no problem at all.  But I think my son has grown to be a little too big for the jogger stroller. My husband thinks otherwise.  He takes Sam for runs in the jogger stroller often.  Apparently, he has a great system worked out where Ashe runs ahead, Sam hold on to the leash and all that's left to be done is steer the stroller a bit. I went ahead and tried this out for myself.  It worked fine.  Great actually.  But there were a few kinks in my plan:  1.  I'm not used to the jogger stroller anymore.  2. I've grown quite comfortable with the fact that my kids are old enough to fend for themselves most of the time with regards to staying nearby, walking, not shoving dirt in their mouths.... you know, being responsible.   3. Running with the dog AND the stroller is new to me.  4.  I didn't expect the dog to have to poop at the top of trail right as we started running.  

As soon as the dog decided to do his thing, I saw that his leash was in the way.  I didn't think anything of letting go of the stroller and bending down to untangle the dog. S#$t!  Right as I was unsnapping the leash, I hear my son shouting (a happy and fun shout) "Woah! Woah!!  Ahhh!" as the stroller rolled down the path straight for the river's edge.  I think I've found my new SPEED work!  Forget the track! My heart jumped into my throat and I ran as fast as I could to catch up with him.  Lucky for all of us, he crashed into a huge bush.  This made me laugh a little but I was still kind of scared at what could have been.  White water and a little boy strapped in a jogger stroller aren't a good mix.  My son thought it was hilarious and fun.  He said "At least I was buckled in!"  Um, no, that really would have made matters worse if you would have rolled in the river.  Mother of the year award goes to....

A few positives from this story:

• My son didn't roll into the river.
• It made me laugh when it was all over and I was able to see the whole situation from an outside perspective...this mom, her pooping pup, and a five-year-old in a jogger stroller speeding towards the river with nobody steering.  
• The run actually turned out to be a good one.  It's a great workout running on trails, period.  Then add a jogger stroller and you get an even better workout!  
• Having this adrenaline producing experience actually proved to be quite a boost in my mood...after the fact.  

I'll be sure to add this adventure to my new journal where I'm writing about trail running adventures and reflections.

Note:  Just for the record, the place where he would have rolled off into the river wasn't actually one of those steep embankments around parts of the Deschutes.  However, he would have been quite shocked to find himself bounding off rocks and into a bitter cold and rushing river (not a calm spot).  

And just a video from this morning's trail run (without a jogger stroller):  

Amanda

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