Welcome to buggy hell! Running with a baby is not for me

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Okay, I knew my life was about to change. That life with a child would just be completely different, and I was looking forward to it. And I don’t want to be a day without my daughter. Nothing can replace life with her and family. Nothing.

But part of the truth is that – if you really enjoyed your “old life” – sometimes something is missing. In any case, running has come up short in the last 1.5 years. And there were days when I had to pull myself very hard.

Anyone who runs almost every day and then suddenly stops doing it feels like a racehorse that has eaten too much oats and is in the box all day. An almost unbearable situation. You want to bang your head against the wall, you want to run a marathon from a standing start until you can’t breathe anymore. I’ve been wanting to run so much I actually wanted a baby jogger for my birthday. It’s actually a good idea, because that’s how you can combine your hobby and your father’s duties – says the advertising and says so in many articles.

Welcome to buggy hell

Incredibly nice that my in-laws fulfilled my wish. I was very happy to try out a used buggy that you can use for running. I admit: I really have to get used to being a dad in many areas. For me, baby joggers were always machines from hell, the tip of the iceberg as a bourgeois vaddi. I’ve seen a lot of running dads struggle with these parts.

My God, I’ve always had such respect for them. It must be torture using these things, I thought to myself. Sometimes I saw men who even competed with baby joggers. Just as I couldn’t imagine running a marathon ten years ago, I can’t imagine running a baby jogger competition. And it hasn’t gotten any better. So really not at all! When I saw my birthday present in front of me, I asked myself: Do you really want this? Somehow there were three hearts in my chest:

1.) Thank you in-laws, so sweet of you.

2.) I can finally walk again, the perfect compromise.

3.) Oh god, I hope nobody sees me with such an uncool piece.

The first run – and the will to just want to give up

“Be a good vaddi, try it. Even if you fail.” That was the motto before the first run with my daughter in the buggy. I’ll tell you how it was: after 500 meters I thought about calling my wife to pick up my daughter and buggy. The whole thing was even worse than I feared. When I run, I need my arms!

You have to swing. At every metre. This is non-negotiable. Just can’t because they have to be at the buggy. Then I have to be allowed to use my own stride length, otherwise I can’t run. It’s not possible, because otherwise I would keep kicking the buggy. Conclusion: No use of arms, tipple steps, both complete no-go’s.

So after 500 meters the fight with the buggy and with myself began. I really wanted to do it. Up and down the hill. After just a few meters, I completely removed my make-up from running fast. I collapsed inside and just wanted to cry. And I did. But, of course, no one should ever know!

Run – but run alone

Of course, as a runner, you have already tried many things. And in this exceptional situation you can also get the idea of ​​whether there is a certain technique that makes walking with the baby jogger an experience. Which brings back the happiness of runners. Honestly? You can read all over the internet and of course you can get used to techniques, of course you can adjust a bit to the baby jogger.

And yes, you can also try different models and manufacturers, but: I’ve done a few runs with the vehicle in the meantime, I’ve fought my way through, the truth is that it remains a (lazy) compromise. And no! There is no baby jogger that is so great that you can even begin to enjoy running as you do on your own.

And no! You can’t just walk yourself, according to the motto: Oh, that’s also great strength training. The best advice I can give is: run alone. Agree with your partner when the week is and then get out with yourself.

Alone.

That’s how it works.

Read all of Mike Kleiß’s columns here.