Archives for March 2014

Baby Jogger Summit X3 – jogging stroller review

OperationMove · March 26, 2014 · 5 Comments

With an increasing number of running specific prams on the market, it can be hard to know what will best suit your training AND your little person.

When looking for a running pram there are a number of factors to consider; Where do you run? How old is your child? How much time will be spent in the pram? Will it fit in your car? Does it need to serve as an everyday stroller as well, or will it only ever be used for running?

The newly released Summit X3 by Baby Jogger has been highly anticipated. Baby Jogger are known for quality products and clever design, and the Summit X3 is no exception.

The jogging stroller (or as we prefer, running pram) has one key feature that is noticeable the moment your child gets in; all wheel suspension. Of course a number of prams boast this feature these days, but even over the bumpiest corrugated dirt road my daughter had a noticeably smoother ride than in our old running pram.

The Summit X3 also has a generous canopy with a three part fold that, when opened fully, provides optimal protection against the harsh Aussie sun. It features a lockable front wheel (which should be fixed for running, but can be released to a swivel for everyday use and walking) which offers greater versatility than its fixed wheel counterparts.

It is an attractive unit which will safely carry a child up to 34kgs, a huge increase on standard single prams . What this means for us is that my 5.5 year old son will outgrow it height wise before he reaches the weight restriction. Being tall for his age he’d probably only have another few months of sitting comfortably in it, whereas my 3yo will have a cushy ride for years to come. When you’re a mother runner and the only way to get your training in is to do it with the kids, it’s good to know that the Summit is a decent long term investment.

Standard features include an easy flick foot brake, additional quick grab hand brake and secure quick release five point safety belt for the child.

The renowned Baby Jogger one handed fold requires only that you undo two safety straps before grabbing the handle in the centre of the seat and lifting, and for such a sturdy stroller it boasts a more compact fold than many others. It should fit comfortably in the boot of most sedans with room to spare.

We took the stroller out for an 8km run/walk on various terrains including gravel, dirt, rough track and asphalt. It performed well on all surfaces and my my daughter seemed not to notice the difference in terms of her own comfort, something she has commented on in other prams.

The one handed recline is very handy for children who are likely to fall asleep while you are out running, and you can separately purchase a console for snacks and entertainment items. Also available: wet weather cover, mesh cover, parent console and other options.

At $749RRP the Baby Jogger Summit X3 is an investment item for most families, but when considered against the cost of a gym membership plus creche with the added benefit of getting out in the fresh air with your children, it may be one worth making.

*Please note: whilst a bassinet and travel system option are available for the Baby Jogger Summit X3, it is not recommended to run with a child under the age of 12 months unless under paediatric guidance.

If you want it, plan for it

OperationMove · March 13, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Hope is not a plan.

If you want something, write it down. Research shows that if you actually write down what you want or your goals, even if that’s all you do, you are far more likely to get there than if you don’t write it down. Making something real, has a way of bringing it into your reality.

Full disclosure. I’m a structured person. I don’t particularly enjoy surprises. I’m not that spontaneous. I can’t do Fartlek because what even is it? Pick some object in the distance and run fast to it. How far? And how fast? It’s impossibly confusing. I’ll let you in on a secret. There’s a reason I’m so structured. And it’s because I’m lazy. I have a lazy personality. Path of least resistance. Take the easy option. Take the way of doing the least work possible. At odds with this in my personality is the fact that I am a highly ambitious person. To get from point A to point B there are always certain non-negotiable things that need to be done. Even my lazy self recognises this. At a certain point these two aspects can come to an agreement of sorts. Ambitious person will identify the most efficient manner possible of achieving goal and Lazy person will agree to do those things because there’s simply no other way to get to point B.

The beauty of the plan

The fantastic part about a plan is that it will separate out what you want to achieve into chunks of things that are actually doable. And because it does this you have inbuilt markers for how you are tracking towards your goal. You’ve written it down which isn’t just an act of having something so you can remember it, it’s an act of intention and commitment. That act of commitment will help you get through the days when lazy person shows up and wants to sleep in because it’s a stupid freaking goal anyway and doona. The plan will get you out of bed when you are tired and whiny and have nothing resembling motivation. The plan will show you how far you have come. And the plan will stop that voice in your head that whispers seductively ‘ you could just run 5 today’, BECAUSE PLAN.

You can always change a plan, but only if you have one

It’s not to say it’s completely inflexible, it’s not. Having recently completely stripped my body of all it’s iron stores, I can’t do my normal long runs right now. I’m not going to insist that I stick to the plan there. But I change it. I sandwich medium runs on the weekend instead. And some days it isn’t the lazy person saying stay in bed, it’s your body saying I need a break and you need to listen to that too.

Reach the goal, anyway you can

No matter how you get to your goal, it takes hard work.

“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo

I know myself well enough to know that without a plan I would not be capable of that hard work. I wouldn’t have a goal, I’d just have some vague wish off in the distance. With a plan my ambitious self and my lazy self can get along just well enough to agree that there are certain steps along the way that are necessary and that they will take together. Sometimes, I might need to change the plan but I will never change the goal.

You will never know your limits, until you push past them

The cool thing about writing a plan is that you can take something that looks achievable and then increase it to a level you wouldn’t think possible. Not by an insurmountable amount, just enough to test yourself. The brilliant thing is? When you get towards the end of the plan – it is within your reach. And as much as it rewards you to see it done, the ambitious person in your mind only has one word: NEXT.

The top five reasons to go for a walk.

OperationMove · March 12, 2014 · 1 Comment

Walking is one of the very best ways you can choose to move. It’s free, accessible to people of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels, easy on your body and can be as challenging as you want it to be.

For those people who are focused on weight loss, a brisk walk is a great way to push your metabolism into the fat burning zone and improve your cardiovascular health as well.

But there are some extra advantages to going for a walk that you may not have considered yet.

You can walk with kids.

Little ones can be pushed in a pram, older children can walk with you. Either way it’s an opportunity to have a chat with them about the things around you, and what is happening in their lives without the technological distractions of home.

Walking is like meditation.

When you go for a walk you can get ‘in the zone’ just like with running. The repetitive physical motion can be a signal to your brain to relax as well, and you might find yourself able to deal with emotional and mental issues with more clarity. It can be a great time to become inspired with new ideas as well.

You’re not likely to break yourself.

Unlike other stop/start or high impact sports, unless you are prone to falling over, chances are you won’t injure yourself when you’re out for a walk. Which doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but if you’ve ever been sidelined from a sport you love due to injury you already know that actually, it is!

You don’t need gear.

Of course if you LIKE gear, there is plenty available. Hello Nike Frees and nice capris! But really the only necessity is a pair of decent shoes and the determination to just get off your bum and out the door. Everything else is just window dressing.

Your family will thank you.

Walking regularly not only improves your heart health, circulation, digestive function and metabolic processes, it can also make a huge difference to your mental health. And everyone benefits from that!

So what are you waiting for? Lace up and just get out there!

Happy walking!

You could do that

OperationMove · March 11, 2014 · 1 Comment

That dream you have in your head that you don’t say out loud for fear that people will laugh at you? Yep, that one. I don’t think it really matters what it is. I think you could do it.

I know that if it scares you, then it is probably a challenge worthy of your attention. If it scares you, it probably means something to you. If people aren’t going to laugh at you when you say it out loud, maybe it’s not big enough. No matter what it is, it is within your capability to achieve it.

It’s not just going to happen. It does require something of you. It requires you to take steps and leaps and bounds. It requires you to increase your abilities. It requires a whole lot from you. It requires you to set aside doubts. Like you are too old, too weak, not talented enough or not capable enough. It will require you to accept failure as a teacher. It will require you to invest yourself in it.

It will give something back to you as well. When you achieve that crazy dream, the journey will have meant more than you ever could have possibly imagined. It will have taught you that the crazy dream, the one you were afraid to say out loud was nowhere near big enough. You’ve got more.

That’s the magic of it. There’s always more.

And that dream? That big scary one? One day it will be just something you did once and the distance from it will make it seem easy and almost inconsequential. But the journey, that will stay with you for your whole life – your constant companion.

Maybe you still don’t want to say what that big dream is out loud. You don’t have to. You can just go out and get it.

Disappointment is okay

OperationMove · March 7, 2014 · Leave a Comment

I wrote this post just after a race where I met my goal pace but fell short of my secret goal pace. I ended up right on target for my goal pace and that was kind of good. And kind of not good. When I finished my race I struggled with it a little bit. On the one hand I was glad I hit my target pace, on the other hand I was disappointed. And then I kind of felt guilty for feeling disappointed. But there it was, I was disappointed and there wasn’t a whole lot I could do about that.

Which got me thinking about disappointment. And how it is actually okay, if you use it for good.

1. Assess your expectations

Is your goal (or your secret goal) reasonable? Is it backed up by your training plan? Have you put in the work? Or is your goal just too much of a leap? I don’t think 5:30 was overly ambitious on my part, but maybe it was! And it’s good to keep in mind that my overall goal was for my training plan, not for my race. So the goal for the training plan was to be able to do 5k on hills under 30 and I haven’t done a time trial yet. I’m thinking two. One on the hills and one on the flat and see what happens.

2. What went wrong?

Some things are outside your control. Things like weather conditions. But some things are well within your control. Was there anything that didn’t work that you would have done differently?

In my case there were a few things that didn’t quite come together. It was windy and hot and I’m used to doing my runs at 5 in the morning, not at 8. Unbeknownst to me at the time I was actually on my way to being quite sick with a cold and a temperature. Nothing that serious but suddenly that feeling like I was going to pass out for most of the run makes a whole lot more sense, as does why I had trouble getting my breathing under control. But if I could do it over I probably wouldn’t have quite so much dairy the day before . . .

3. Progress towards your goal is still progress

Finding the things that did work and that you are proud of are just as important. Although the run didn’t pan out exactly as I would have liked, I did manage my secret goal pace (on average) for the first 4kms which is as fast as I’ve ever gone. That is something I can definitely build on.

4. Rework your goal

Sometimes your goal might need tweaking. It might be a matter of working on your training for a bit longer, or making your attempt under different weather conditions or it might not need that much adjustment at all. Maybe you just had a bad day.

5. And remember it’s okay to be disappointed

It’s okay to be disappointed that you worked for something and fell short. Because it means that you are actually invested in it and you care about it. And that feeling might make you train a little harder, or work a little harder to get there. And when you do, it will be all the more amazing because it was a little more difficult than you thought it would be.