Have you ever run pushing a jogging stroller? What about a stroller with a baby or toddler in it? Or even your 40+ pound five year old? Pushing that stroller is hard. But, you aren’t going to let go of your kid are you? No way!

In training for anything, aiming to improve, you have to know when to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. And its uncomfortable there! To get better at anything, you need to push through the hard stuff. Whatever that hard place is for you. For me, its speed work. I can go and go and go at my particular “easy” pace now for miles and miles. But, I’d like to finish my next marathon faster than my fastest right now. And to do that I need to ramp up the pace. I’ve mapped out my half marathon training this spring to incorporate speed work in the mix. Two weeks ago was my first workout which was 5 sets of 400s at a pace between 2:00-2:03 and then a 200 recovery. I warmed up for about a mile and then had to mentally click my brain on when I hit the start of the 400 meter mark to kick up the pace. That is how I find myself able to push through the hard stuff – by preparing my mind for what I’m doing and getting focused.

Hard is a relative term. What is difficult for me today might be very different from what was challenging a couple of years ago. You might have a different challenge than I do. Being smart about pushing yourself is also key. If you are hurt, or sick, or tired then pushing yourself physically isn’t a smart idea. You are the only person who can truly know your limits. Coaches and friends can encourage and cheer you on, but you should be the person to push yourself because no one else knows you better than you.

Lets go back to the stroller. I didn’t run with my first child in the stroller until he was four and we bought it in anticipation of the arrival of his baby sister. I’d run for a couple years before that and transitioning to the jogging stroller was tough. It was heavy for sure, but it was a different way of running. But, I had a choice of either not running since I had children home with me, or running and pushing that stroller. I chose to push it because I wanted to run. And, as the baby got older, and heavier, how could you not push up a hill with a little face turned around cheering you on?

PS – that speed workout comes back this week… But last time I was aiming for 5 sets of 400s at 2 to 2:03 page… this is what I ACTUALLY did – 1:56, 2:01, 1:57, 2:03 and 1:57… focus and prepare and you can push through the hard stuff!