Out with the stroller again


Today I wrestled the jogging stroller back out of the bomb shelter, and persuaded La Serpiente to go for a ride. I can’t remember the last time we did this; I paid $50 for the stroller and then had two or three incredibly strenuous attempts to use it, where La Serpiente would scream at me all the time and I’d be exhausted after five minutes. While I was manhandling the stroller today, I realized that the brake was jammed on and there was no way to release it, apart from detaching it entirely, and that was probably the source of my woes before. So, throwing caution to the wind, I undid the brake and then got La Serpiente to climb in, before taking her on a half hour run to her school and back, being extra specially careful not to rush into dangerous situations.

Running with a stroller is obviously a little different to running on your own. You don’t get to race cars for the lights at traffic intersections, because there’s a bit more risk when you’re propelling your first born (and you’re a good metre and change longer, which presents a larger target for motorists). I haven’t figured out the optimal hand position – running with both hands on the stroller leads to an awkward modification of your running gait, but running with only one hand makes the stroller veer from side to side more than feels wise. I’ve been trying to place my hands on the sides of the handle bar, rather than trying to control it like a bike’s handlebar, which made things a bit easier, but it provides a lot more strain on my chest and shoulders than conventional running ever does.

This time round was a marked success with La Serpiente. I’m not sure if we’ve matured as human beings or I just got her on a good day, but she thought having to slalom through the throngs of Pokemon Go players to be fun, rather than a source of constant wailing. She did start off by demanding more snacks and after half an hour I realized that both of us would have done better if I’d remembered to carry water with us, but other than that she was very happy. I got her to look out for our apartment building on the way back, and asked her if it was close or not. “It’s a little bit close” she decided when we were half a kilometer away, and it was visible above the other buildings. That’s a very precise description, although its meaning is obscure. Something to make me proud, obviously.

After the run, I didn’t feel as broken as previous times. I’m not sure we have an optimal route yet (too many of the pavements in this part of Singapore are too narrow, or have too many steps, to make this a practical transportation choice) but La Serpiente was unequivocal in her support, telling me that one day I could take her to school in the stroller, and leave it there, and then take her home afterwards. That’s a multi-clause sentence I could get behind. Next steps are to get some bottle holders on the stroller, or to start running with my Camelbak attached to me.


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